The withdrawal from sale of two new apache books Winnetou, a now controversial hero who rocked the childhood of millions of Germans, mobilizes the “anti-woke” of Germany. The books accompanied the release of the film, The young chief Winnetou (“Young Chief Winnetou”) by Mike Marzuk on August 11, which was also controversial although it was neither withdrawn nor advised against by the Film Classification Commission. “I loved Karl May’s books [l’auteur, ndlr]. That didn’t make me a racist!was offended Sigmar Gabriel, former minister and former president of the Social Democratic Party.
Publisher Ravensburger’s decision to forgo adaptations of Winnetou continues to spill ink across the Rhine on the «cancel culture». The publisher, who justifies his decision with “negative reactions” and point “a fictionalized imagination full of clichés”, should not have yielded to the pressure, believes the popular newspaper Bild who rails against the “woke delirium”. “The large majority [des Allemands] will not allow themselves to be defamed,” reacted among others Manuel Ostermann, deputy secretary general of the police union, railing against “left-wing opinion leaders».
Winnetou is the hero of adventures set in the Wild West written by the German writer Karl May (1842-1912). This white-skinned Apache lost its popularity among young people. It symbolizes today a culture of the past but the sales volumes of May were a considerable time, of the order of 100 million copies in the German-speaking countries and as much in the rest of the world. “There was never any question of banning Karl May. His books are available throughout Germany. They are available in all libraries. Jürgen Zimmerer, professor of history and head of the center for historical research on the postcolonial heritage of the city of Hamburg, takes offense. “The real scandal is, in reality, the scandal created by the reactions of these personalities who suddenly defend Winnetou when the matter is trivial. Publishers routinely remove books deemed offensive,” he adds.
The historian is surprised to see these «anti-woke» defend an author adored by the extreme right. “Karl May’s work is profoundly colonialist, he recalls. The DNA of his works is racism. It is literature that conveys the idea that there is a white European and German superiority. “It’s no coincidence that Hitler and Himmler were fans. Occupation policy [des nazis] in the eastern territories, where German settlers were to settle, is inspired by this conquest of the West straight out of May’s books”, he adds. The publisher admitted it himself, considering that he had not done “Beware of sensitivities”. “We made a mistake and we will learn from it,” Ravenburger simply said in a statement. “We must pay homage to this house which knew how to recognize its wrongs, that of having tried to modernize without thinking a work which can never be”, insists Jürgen Zimmerer before adding: “Karl May remains on library shelves. But it is important not to bring his works up to date with young people or on the table of schools.