Adolf Hitler, Karl May and the German Boy
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Category: Scholarly Pursuits
Forum Name: Intellectual discussions
Forum Discription: Discuss political and philosophical theories, religious beliefs and other academic subjects
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23081
Printed Date: 16-Apr-2024 at 15:57
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Topic: Adolf Hitler, Karl May and the German Boy
Posted By: ulrich von hutten
Subject: Adolf Hitler, Karl May and the German Boy
Date Posted: 05-Jan-2008 at 07:10
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After our, currently missed, friend Pinguin published some venturesome articles about Adolf Hitler and the influence the German Author Karl May have had over the Führer.
Outside the German literature, i think Karl May is not very popular.
May (1842- 1912) was and still is one of the best selling German Writers ever. (for more details use this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_May - link )
Many of his books were about Old Shatterhand, the alter ego of May, and his bloodbrother Winnetou, an Apache chief.
Both were fighting against sneaky settlers, treacherous traders, brutal soldiers and of course indians.
Though the Indians mostly were heroic and noble, while many of the whitemen were discribed as cowardly and dishonest.
Adolf Hitler, in any case, didn't gave his orders to exterminate the Jews or other dissenters, cause he had read Karl May noveles.
And let me clarify, for the most German boys, and there were mostly boys, who played Cowboys and Indians, it was more preferable to be the heroic Indian chief, than to be the underhanded white man.
Karl May, who never had been in America and spend a time in prison, might be a literary smatterer, but as an example for Adolf Hitler, he is not good for.
 Karl May as Old Shatterhand
 The movies of the adventures of Old Shatterhand and Winnetou were made in the 1960s in former Yugoslavia. The Indian was played by the french Pierre Brice and the German Old Shatterhand was played by the american actor Lex Barker.
Today there are still some Karl May clubs, who are celebrating anniversaries and festivals. Very popular in Germany are the Karl May Festivals in Bad Segeberg and Elspe, were at an open air theater, many actors let revive the fights of the two heroes.
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Replies:
Posted By: http://bigpaperwrite
Date Posted: 07-Jul-2016 at 03:27
| I have always liked movies on adventures and it would be great to be shared with more. I liked the post, thank you very much! |
Posted By: Arthur-Robin
Date Posted: 07-Jul-2016 at 06:12
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sorry i didn't realise that it had duplicated posts (i had troble uploading & posting with image the first time but i didn't think it had posted). |
Posted By: Arthur-Robin
Date Posted: 07-Jul-2016 at 06:13
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That is very interesting. I had not heard of and did not know about Karl May. It is always interesting and problematic how things we know in our own European nations history are not so well known in other European nations histories, and vice-versa. I don't see what the link with Hitler is though (I haven't seen what Pinguin wrote), other than that Hitler was a German/"Austrian" boy and that Karl May was popular with German boys. The 2nd picture comes across quite racist contrasting the 2 types (i have added it to my collection of quite a few other similar examples i have seen in the last couple of years in this supposedly"anti-racist" western world regime http://www.freewebs.com/lifetradition/arthur%20robin.jpg ). It is disputed whether there realy was extermination/gasing of jews, but i don't deny that Hitler & nazis did have some bad things. (The sign "work makes you free" above Aushwitz gate is just like the modern corporatist slave for dole type stuff.) When i was a child i used to let the indians win over the cowbows, but it was not because of any heroic/noble chief or underhand, but because i always sided with the underdog/heretic/politically-incorrect/"badies" (while i thought/felt the "good"/pc/whites were bad abit like your "cowardly & dishonest"); My foster parents told me off for letting the germans beat the allies when i played with toy soldiers too. Abit strange the combination of American, French and Yugoslavian. How i wish today we citizens could commonly be "fighting against sneaky settlers, treacherous traders, brutal soldiers and ..." and "cowardly & dishonest whites". |
Posted By: Mosquito
Date Posted: 07-Jul-2016 at 06:55
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The books of Karl May were also extremly popular in Poland for many decades. As a young boy I have read most of them and it were books from the shelf of my father who got them as youngster from his parents.
When I was a young man I didnt consider those books as racist in any way, however today I find in them some accents which are reflections of XIX century German racist sciences. ------------- "I am a pure-blooded Polish nobleman, without a single drop of bad blood, certainly not German blood" - Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: J.A.W.
Date Posted: 09-Jul-2016 at 20:23
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Joseph Conrad's stories from the era still stand up, albeit about Africa, as do those of H.G. Wells. While others of the era, such as Kipling accepted 'White mans's burden' for 'civilizing' colonized areas. H Rider-Haggard was another of the era to write stories that placed more emphasis on a man's character while taking into account his cultural influences, rather than 'racial' assumptions. Its clear however, that power & control by those in charge, may be just, or unjust - regardless of race, although certain values systems may be used to justify what we'd today rightly consider corrupt, or even depraved conduct, it was, & is, always wrong - no matter who carried it out. ------------- Be Modest In Thyself.. |