"Positive marketing campaign": Karl-May-Verlag sums up the Winnetou debate - and warns critics
Created: 12/23/2022 10:26 am
By: Felix Herz
The actors Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand (lr), Pierre Brice as Winnetou and Ralf Wolter as Sam Hawkens in a scene from the film "Der Schatz im Silbersee" © picture alliance/dpa
With a little distance, the Karl May publishing house takes stock of the sometimes very emotional discussion surrounding the works of the author Karl May.
Bamberg – It was one of the most exciting topics in the summer of 2022: the debate about Winnetou and author Karl May. Because Ravensburger Verlag removed the accompanying books for the cinema film “The Young Chief Winnetou” from its range after allegations of cultural appropriation, a flare-up flared up Largely heated discussion about the works of the author, who died in 1912.
Critics felt the books were outdated and racist toward Native American culture -- and they romanticized the genocide of Native Americans.
Defenders of the novels, including the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, accused the critics of exaggerating, of portraying Karl May and his books in the wrong light, and of pursuing cancel culture in its purest form.
"Positive marketing campaign": The balance sheet of the Karl May publishing house
A few months later and with some distance, the Karl May publishing house based in Bamberg looked back on the debate - and draws a positive balance.
According to their own statements, they benefited from the discussion.
"A survey has shown that at least 70 percent of Germans support Karl May and Winnetou.
So the whole thing has also developed into a positive marketing campaign and has given a strong boost to sales of the 'Winnetou' books," the publisher said.
The debate was very emotional on both sides in the summer, even politicians like Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger made drastic statements about themselves.
Söder himself was again frustrated with the discussion, among others the comedian Micky Beisenherz took this as an opportunity for a side swipe.
For about two weeks, the discussion raged, especially on social media, and the number of posts by Winnetou on Twitter skyrocketed.
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Karl-May-Verlag warns critics – negative image is unjustified
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also spoke to Indigenous bestselling author David A. Robertson, who opposed sales bans - but advocated a different approach to novels about Native Americans.
In retrospect, the Karl May publishing house is happy about the debate.
For a long time, many people had subliminally had a negative image of Karl May. For example, he was accused of disregarding the genocide of Native Americans in his works.
A look at the foreword to "Winnetou I" would suffice to see that this is absolutely not true.
The debate from the summer brought this to light.
Finally, the publishing house in Bavaria warned that the critics should first deal with the works of Karl May before expressing criticism on social media.
That's how it was in the summer, they said.
(fhz)
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