''Der Tunnel'' is a novel by

Bernhard Kellermann Bernhard Kellermann (4 March 1879, Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria – 17 October 1951) was a German author and poet. Life Bernhard Kellermann enrolled in 1899 at Technical University Munich initially in general studies, but later focused on G ...

published in April 1913. The novel sold 100,000 copies in the six months after its publication, and it became one of the most successful books of the first half of the 20th century. By 1939 its circulation had reached millions. The main theme of the novel is social progress, particularly with respect to modern technology.

Plot

Allan, an idealistic engineer, wants to build a tunnel at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean connecting North America with Europe within a few years. The idealist's scheme is thwarted for financial reasons, and the tunnel construction (in particular a segment dug under a mountain) experiences several disasters. A fiasco seems inevitable, the army of workers revolt, and Allan becomes a figure of universal hatred throughout the world. After 26 years of construction, the tunnel is finally completed; however, the engineering masterpiece is outdated as soon as it opens, as aeroplanes now cross the Atlantic in a few hours.

Reception

The reception of the book and its sentiments was extremely positive, and was on its publication a success for Kellerman. The story anticipated important social events as the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and had the charm of a parallel world history of a 1920s and 1930s in which the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

never occurred. It also made the critical observation that technology always becomes outdated with its application.

Controversy

A controversial aspect of the book was its thinly-veiled

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

overtones in the character of S. Woolf, Allan's nemesis. Woolf is a financial magnate who emigrated from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, and was portrayed as immoral and perverted. These were common Jewish stereotypes at the time Kellerman wrote.

Film adaptations

Four films have been based on the book. The first was ''The Tunnel'' in 1915, a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by

William Wauer William Wauer (1866–1962) was a German sculptor and film director of the silent era. In 1913 he co-directed the biopic ' (1913). In 1915 he directed '' The Tunnel'' the first adaptation of Bernhard Kellermann's science fiction novel '' Der Tu ...

. Three films were released in 1933 and 1935, one version each in German (''

Der Tunnel ''Der Tunnel'' is a made-for-television German film released in 2001 and loosely based on true events in Berlin following the closing of the East German border in August 1961 and the subsequent construction of the Berlin Wall. Roland Suso Rich ...

''), French (''

Le Tunnel ''The Tunnel'' (french: Le Tunnel) is a 1933 French-German science fiction film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Jean Gabin, Madeleine Renaud and Robert Le Vigan. It was the French language version of the German film '' The Tunnel'', with ...

'') and English (''

The Tunnel ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', renamed ''Transatlantic Tunnel'' in the US). The French and German versions were directed by

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...

and the English by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

. At the time it was not unusual to release a film in separate versions in different languages, each using different actors or directors, but utilising the same sets and locations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunnel, Der 1913 German-language novels German science fiction novels 1913 science fiction novels German alternate history novels Novels set in the Atlantic Ocean German novels adapted into films 1913 German novels

Plot

Reception

Controversy

Film adaptations

See also

References