Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

with Winnetou and

Old Shatterhand Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in Western novels by German writer Karl May (1842–1912). He is the German friend and blood brother of Winnetou, the fictional chief of the Mescalero tribe of the Apache The Apache () are a g ...

as main protagonists and in the

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

and

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

with fictional characters Kara Ben Nemsi and

Hadschi Halef Omar Hadschi Halef Omar Ben Hadschi Abul Abbas Ibn Hadschi Dawud al Gossarah, literally ''hajji'' Halef Omar, son of ''hajji'' father-of-Abbas, son of ''hajji'' David al Gossarah, is one of Karl May's literary characters. ''Hajji'' means "one who has p ...

. May also wrote novels set in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and Germany, poetry, a play, and composed music; he was a proficient player of several musical instruments. Many of his works were adapted for film,

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s and

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

s. Later in his career, May turned to philosophical and spiritual genres. He is one of the best-selling German writers of all time, with about 200,000,000 copies sold worldwide.

Life and career

Early life

May was the fifth child of a poor family of weavers in Ernstthal, Schönburgische Rezessherrschaften (then part of the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Sax ...

). He had 13 siblings, of whom nine died in infancy. His parents were Heinrich August May and Wilhelmine Christiane Weise. During his school years, he received instruction in music and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

. At age twelve, May was making money at a skittle alley, where he was exposed to rough language.May K. ''Mein Leben und Streben'' (''My Life and Aspirations'') Karl May, 2014 in German .

Delinquency

In 1856, May commenced teacher training in Waldenburg, but in 1859 was expelled for stealing six candles. After an appeal, he was allowed to continue in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in t ...

. Shortly after graduation, when his roommate accused him of stealing a watch, May was jailed in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany ...

for six weeks and his license to teach was permanently revoked. After this, May worked with little success as a private tutor, an author of tales, a composer and a public speaker. For four years, from 1865 to 1869, May was jailed in the workhouse at

Osterstein Castle Osterstein Castle (german: Schloss Osterstein, lit. 'Eastern Rock') is the former castle of the town of Zwickau, Germany, in Saxony (''Bundesland Sachsen''). Now it houses the nursing home. History First mentioned in 1292 as "Castrum Czwickaw", ...

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

. With good behaviour, May became an administrator of the prison library which gave him the chance to read widely. He made a list of the works he planned to write (''Repertorium C. May''.) On his release, May continued his life of crime, impersonating various characters (policemen, doctors etc.) and spinning fantastic tales as a method of fraud. He was arrested, but when he was transported to a crime scene during a judicial investigation, he escaped and fled to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, where he was detained for vagrancy. For another four years, from 1870 to 1874, May was jailed in

Waldheim, Saxony Waldheim is a town in Mittelsachsen district, in Saxony, Germany. Geography It is situated in the valley of the river Zschopau, southwest of Döbeln, and north of Chemnitz. The municipal area comprises Waldheim proper, the localities of Rein ...

. There he met a

Catholic Catechist The role of a Catholic catechist is to catechise (teach) the faith of the Catholic Church by both word and example. Catechising To catechize means to teach: more specifically, to teach by word of mouth. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, t ...

, Johannes Kochta, who assisted May.

Early years as a writer

After his release in May 1874, May returned to his parents' home in Ernstthal and began to write. In November 1874, ''Die Rose von Ernstthal'' ("The Rose from Ernstthal") was published.Sudhoff D. and Steinmetz H. ''Karl-May-Chronik'' Karl-May-Verlag, 2006. . May then became an editor in the publishing house of Heinrich Gotthold Münchmeyer in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. May managed entertainment papers such as ''Schacht und Hütte'' ("Mine and Mill") and continued to publish his own works such as ''Geographische Predigten'' ("Collected Travel Stories") (1876). May resigned in 1876 and was employed by Bruno Radelli of Dresden. In 1878, May became a

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

. In 1880, he married Emma Pollmer. Once again, May was insolvent. In 1882, May returned to the employ of Münchmeyer and began the first of five large colportage novels. One of these was ''Das Waldröschen'' (1882–1884). From 1879, May was also published in ''Deutscher Hausschatz'' ("German House Treasure"), a Catholic weekly journal from the press of Friedrich Pustet in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

. In 1880, May began the ''Orient Cycle'', which ran, with interruption, until 1888. May was also published in the teenage boys' journal ''Der Gute Kamerad'' ("The Good Comrade") of Wilhelm Spemann,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

. In 1887, it published ''Der Sohn des Bärenjägers'' ("Son of the Bear Hunter"). In 1891 ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'' ("The Treasure of Silver Lake") was published. May published in other journals using pseudonyms. In all, he published over one hundred articles. In October 1888, May moved to Kötzschenbroda (a part of Radebeul) and 1891 to ''Villa Agnes'' in Oberlößnitz. In 1891, Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld offered to print the ''Deutscher Hausschatz'' "Son of the Bear Hunter" stories as books. In 1892, the publication of ''Carl May's Gesammelte Reiseromane'' (''Collected Travel Accounts'' or ''Karl May's Gesammelte Reiseerzählungen'') brought financial security and recognition. May became deeply absorbed in the stories he wrote and the lives of his characters. Readers wrote to May, addressing him as the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s of his books. May conducted talking tours in Germany and Austria and allowed autographed cards to be printed and photos in costume to be taken. In December 1895, May moved to the Villa Shatterhand in Alt-Radebeul, which he purchased from the Ziller brothers.

Later career and death

In 1899, May traveled to Egypt then

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

with his servant, Sejd Hassan. In 1900, he was joined by Klara and Richard Plöhn. The group returned to Radebeul in July 1900. May demonstrated some emotional instability during his travels.Bartsch E. and Wollschläger H. ''Karl May's Orientreise 1899–1900'' in ''In fernen Zonen: Karl Mays Weltreisen.'' (''In remote areas : Karl May's world travel'') Karl-May-Verlag, 1999, Original from Indiana University, digitized 20 Jan 2011. . Hermann Cardauns and Rudolf Lebius criticised May for his self-promotion with the Old Shatterhand legend. He was also reproached for his writing for the Catholic ''Deutscher Hausschatz'' and several Marian calendars. There were also charges of unauthorised book publications and the use of an illegal doctoral degree. In 1902, May did receive a

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...

from the Universitas Germana-Americana, Chicago for ''Im Reiche des Silbernen Löwen'' ("In the Realm of the Silver Lion.")Heermann C. ''Winnetous Blutsbruder: Karl-May-Biografie.'' Zweite, überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg / Radebeul 2012. . pp. 425−427. In 1908, Karl and Klara May spent six weeks in North America. They traveled through

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, the

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

and visited friends in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

. May was inspired to write ''Winnetou IV''. However, on his return, May began work on complex

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

texts. He considered the "question of mankind",

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...

and the raising of humans from evil to good.

Sascha Schneider Rudolph Karl Alexander Schneider, commonly known as Sascha Schneider (21 September 1870 – 18 August 1927), was a German painter and sculptor. Biography Schneider was born in Saint Petersburg in 1870. During his childhood, his family lived ...

provided symbolistic covers for the Fehsenfeld edition. On 22 March 1912, May was invited by the Academic Society for Literature and Music in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to present a lecture entitled ''Empor ins Reich der Edelmenschen'' ("Upward to the Realm of Noble Men"). There, he met

Bertha von Suttner Bertha Sophie Felicitas Freifrau von Suttner (; ; 9 June 184321 June 1914) was an Austrian-Bohemian pacifist and novelist. In 1905, she became the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel ...

. May died one week later in his own Villa Shatterhand on 30 March 1912. According to the register of deaths, the cause was

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

acute bronchitis Acute bronchitis, also known as a chest cold, is short-term bronchitis – inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) of the lungs. The most common symptom is a cough. Other symptoms include coughing up mucus, wheezing, shor ...

and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

, but according to Ralf Harder from the Karl-May-Stiftung, May's death certificate does not include the cause of death. Scientists examining the remains of May in 2014 found excessive quantities of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

and other

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals are generally defined as ...

, and concluded that his death was probably due to a long-time exposure to lead in water as well as tobacco. May was buried in Radebeul East. His tomb was inspired by the

Temple of Athena Nike A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose tem ...

Works

Introduction

May used many pseudonyms, including "Capitan Ramon Diaz de la Escosura", "D. Jam", "Emma Pollmer", "Ernst von Linden", "Hobble-Frank", "Karl Hohenthal", "M. Gisela", "P. van der Löwen", "Prinz Muhamel Lautréamont" and "Richard Plöhn". Most pseudonymously or anonymously published works have been identified. For the novels set in America, May created the characters of Winnetou, the wise

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

of the

Apaches The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, and

, Winnetou's white

blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...

. Another series of novels were set in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. In these, the narrator-protagonist, Kara Ben Nemsi, travels with his local guide and servant

through the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert to the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, experiencing many exciting adventures. May's writing developed from the anonymous first-person observer-narrator (for example ''Der Gitano'', 1875) to a narrator with heroic skills and equipment, to a fully formed first-person narrator-hero. With few exceptions, May had not visited the places he described, but he compensated successfully for his lack of direct experience through a combination of creativity, imagination, and documentary sources including maps, travel accounts and guidebooks, as well as anthropological and linguistic studies. The work of writers such as

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...

, Gabriel Ferry,

Friedrich Gerstäcker Friedrich Gerstäcker (May 10, 1816 in Hamburg – May 31, 1872 in Braunschweig) was a German traveler and novelist. Biography He was the son of Friedrich Gerstäcker (1790–1825), a celebrated opera singer. After being apprenticed to a comm ...

Balduin Möllhausen Heinrich Balduin Möllhausen (27 January 1825—28 May 1905) was a German writer, traveler and artist who visited the United States and participated in three separate expeditions exploring the American frontier. After his travel he became a popular ...

and

Mayne Reid Thomas Mayne Reid (4 April 1818 – 22 October 1883) was an Irish-American novelist, who fought in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). His many works on American life describe colonial policy in the American colonies, the horrors of slave ...

served as his models. Non-

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

tic Christian values play an important role in May's works. Some of the characters are described as being of German, particularly

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, origins. In a letter to a young Jew who intended to become a Christian after reading May's books, May advised him first to understand his own religion, which he described as holy and exalted, until he was experienced enough to choose. In his later works (after 1900) May left the adventure fiction genre to write

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ic novels with religious and pacifistic content. The change is best shown in ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen'', where the first two parts are adventurous and the last two parts belong to the mature work.

Early work

In his early work, May wrote in a variety of genres until he showed his proficiency in travel stories.Lowsky M. ''Karl May'' Metzler, Stuttgart, 1987, vol 231 p38. During his time as an editor, he published many of these works within the periodicals for which he was responsible. * ''Das Buch der Liebe'' (1876, educational work) * ''Geographische Predigten'' (1876, educational work) * ''Der beiden Quitzows letzte Fahrten'' (1877, unfinished) * ''Auf hoher See gefangen'' (''Auf der See gefangen'', parts later revised for ''Old Surehand II'') (1878) * ''Scepter und Hammer'' (1880) * ''Im fernen Westen'' (reworked in ''Old Firehand'' (1875) and later in ''Winnetou II'')(1879) * ''Der Waldläufer'' (reworked in "Le Coureur de Bois", a novel by Gabriel Ferry) * ''Die Juweleninsel'' (1882) The shorter stories of the early work can be grouped as follows, although in some works genres overlap. Some of the shorter stories were later published in anthologies, for example, ''Der Karawanenwürger und andere Erzählungen'' (1894), ''Humoresken und Erzählungen'' (1902) and ''Erzgebirgische Dorfgeschichten'' (1903). *

Adventure fiction Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

and early travel stories (for example, ''Inn-nu-woh, der Indianerhäuptling'', 1875) *

Crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

(for example, ''Wanda'', 1875) * Historical fiction (for example, ''Robert Surcouf'', 1882) * Humorous stories (for example, ''Die Fastnachtsnarren'', 1875) * Series about "the Old Dessauer",

Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (3 July 1676 – 7 April 1747) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1747. He was also a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the Prussian army. Nickname ...

(for example, ''Pandur und Grenadier'', 1883) * Stories of villages in the Ore Mountains (for example, ''Die Rose von Ernstthal'', 1874 or 1875) * Natural history works (for example, ''Schätze und Schatzgräber'', 1875) * Letters and poems (for example, ''Meine einstige Grabinschrift'', 1872).

Colportage novels

May wrote five large (many thousands of pages)

colportage Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters". The term does not necessarily refer to religious book peddling. Etymology From French , where the term is an alterat ...

novels, which he published either anonymously or under pseudonyms between 1882 and 1888. * ''Das Waldröschen'' (1882–1884, a part was later revised for ''Old Surehand II'') * ''Die Liebe des Ulanen'' (1883–1885) * ''Der verlorne Sohn oder Der Fürst des Elends'' (1884–1886) * ''Deutsche Herzen'' (''Deutsche Helden'') (1885–1888) * ''Der Weg zum Glück'' (1886–1888) From 1900 to 1906, Münchmeyer's successor Adalbert Fischer published the first book editions. These were revised by third hand and published under May's real name instead of pseudonyms. This edition was not authorized by May and he tried to stop its publication.

Travel stories

Thirty-three volumes of ''Carl May's Gesammelte Reiseromane'', (''Karl May's Gesammelte Reiseerzählungen'') were published from 1892 to 1910 by Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld. Most had been previously published in ''Deutscher Hausschatz'', but some were new. The best known titles are the ''Orient Cycle'' (volumes 1–6) and the '' Winnetou-Trilogy'' (volumes 7–9). Beyond these shorter cycles, the works are troubled by chronological inconsistencies arising when original articles were revised for book editions. # ''Durch Wüste und Harem'' (1892, since 1895 titled ''Durch die Wüste'') (translated as "In the Desert") # ''Durchs wilde Kurdistan'' (1892) # ''Von Bagdad nach Stambul'' (1892) # ''In den Schluchten des Balkan'' (1892) # ''Durch das Land der Skipetaren'' (1892) # ''Der Schut'' (1892) # ''Winnetou I'' (1893, also titled ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman I'') # ''Winnetou II'' (1893, also titled ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman II'') # ''Winnetou III'' (1893, also titled ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman III'') * ''Orangen und Datteln'' (1893, an anthology) * ''Am Stillen Ocean'' (1894, an anthology) * ''Am Rio de la Plata'' (1894) * ''In den Cordilleren'' (1894) * ''Old Surehand I'' (1894) * ''Old Surehand II'' (1895) * ''Im Lande des Mahdi I'' (1896) * ''Im Lande des Mahdi II'' (1896) * ''Im Lande des Mahdi III'' (1896) * ''Old Surehand III'' (1897) * ''Satan und Ischariot I'' (1896) * ''Satan und Ischariot II'' (1897) * ''Satan und Ischariot III'' (1897) * ''Auf fremden Pfaden'' (1897, an anthology) * ''Weihnacht!'' (1897) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen I'' (1898) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen II'' (1898) * ''Am Jenseits'' (1899) May's ''oeuvre'' includes some shorter travel stories that were not published within this series (for example, ''Eine Befreiung'' in ''Die Rose von Kaïrwan'', 1894). After the founding of the Karl May Press in 1913, works in ''Gesammelte Werke'' were revised (sometimes extensively) and many received new titles. Texts (other than those from Fehsenfeld Press) were also added to the new series.

Stories for young readers

Karl May Der blaurote Methusalem Herrfurth 001

These stories were written from 1887 to 1897 for the magazine ''Der Gute Kamerad''. Most of the stories are set in the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, but Old Shatterhand is just a figure and not the first-person narrator as he is in the travel stories. The best-known volume is ''Der Schatz im Silbersee''. In the broadest sense, the early works ''Im fernen Westen'' and ''Der Waldläufer'' belong in this category. * ''Der Sohn des Bärenjägers'' (1887, since 1890 within ''Die Helden des Westens'') * ''Der Geist des Llano estakata'' (1888, since 1890 correctly titled as ''Der Geist des Llano estakado'' within ''Die Helden des Westens'') * ''Kong-Kheou, das Ehrenwort'' (1888/89, since 1892 titled ''Der blaurote Methusalem'') * ''Die Sklavenkarawane'' (1890) * ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'' (1891) * ''Das Vermächtnis des Inka'' (1892) * ''Der Oelprinz'' (1894, since 1905 titled as ''Der Ölprinz'') * ''Der schwarze Mustang'' (1897) * Replies to letters from readers in ''Der Gute Kamerad''.

Mature work

May's mature work dates to 1900, after his travels to the East.Schmid E. A. ''Gestalt und Idee.'' pp. 367–420 in ''Karl May.'' ICH 39th Edition Verlag, Bamberg, 1995 Many of them were published by Fehsenfeld. * ''Himmelsgedanken'' (1900, poem collection) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen III'' (1902) * ''Erzgebirgische Dorfgeschichten'' (1903, anthology) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen IV'' (1903) * ''Und Friede auf Erden!'' (1904) * ''Babel und Bibel'' (1906, drama) * ''Ardistan und Dschinnistan I'' (1909) * ''Ardistan und Dschinnistan II'' (1909) * ''Winnetou IV'' (1910) * ''Mein Leben und Streben'' (1910, autobiography) * ''Schamah'' (1907) and other short stories. * ''Briefe über Kunst'' (1907) and other articles. * ''"Karl May als Erzieher" und "Die Wahrheit über Karl May" oder Die Gegner Karl Mays in ihrem eigenen Lichte'' (1902) and other legal proceedings.

Other works

May was a member of the "Lyra" choir in about 1864 and composed musical works, including a version of ''

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

'' and ''Vergiss mich nicht'' within ''Ernste Klänge'', 1899.Kühne H. and Lorenz C. F. ''Karl May und die Musik''. Verlag, Bamberg and Radebeul, 1999. During his last years, May lectured on his

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

ideas. * ''Drei Menschheitsfragen: Wer sind wir? Woher kommen wir? Wohin gehen wir?'' ( Lawrence, 1908) * ''Sitara, das Land der Menschheitsseele'' (

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, 1909) * ''Empor ins Reich der Edelmenschen'' (

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1912) Furthermore, there are posthumous publications of fragments of stories and dramas, lyrics, musical compositions, letters and the library catalog.

Reception

Number of copies and translations

According to an encyclopedia dedicated to May, he is the "most read writer of the German tongue". The total number of copies published is about 200 million, half of them in German.Petzel M. and Wehnert J. ''Das neue Lexikon rund um Karl May.'' Lexikon Imprint Verlag, Berlin 2002. May's first translated work is considered to have been the first half of the ''Orient Cycle'' into a French

daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

in 1881.von Thüna U. ''Übersetzungen'' in Ueding G.''Karl-May-Handbuch'' Königshausen & Neumann, 2001 pp. 519–522. . Recently, it was discovered, and confirmed by Hans Dieter Steinmet (Karl May Museum) that

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

ian writer Nikola Tordinac published a translation of May's novel ''Tree carde monte'' in the magazine Sriemski Hrvat in 1880.Glas Slavonije otkrio je prvi, Tordinčev prijevod Karla Maya u svijetu!
''

Glas Slavonije ''Glas Slavonije'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Osijek. In 2000, its average daily circulation was c. 9000, making it the 7th largest daily newspaper in Croatia. History It is considered that ''Glas Slavonije'' is successor ...

'', 20 December 2016. Access date 8 June 2020. Tordinac's translation became a part of the permanent exhibition of the Karl May Museum in 2017. Since that time, May's work has been translated into more than 30 languages, including

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

and

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...

. In the 1960s,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

indicated that May was the most frequently translated German writer. His most popular translations are in Bulgarian,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, Hungarian and Dutch. Seabury Press, New York, began publishing English translations by Michael Shaw in 1977. In 2001, Nemsi Books Publishing Company,

Pierpont, South Dakota Pierpont is a town in northwestern Day County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 129 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1883 and takes its name from a railroad officer. Geography According to the United States Census Bu ...

, was one of the first English publishing houses to produce the unabridged translations of May's ''oeuvre''.

Influence

May had a substantial influence on a number of well-known German-speaking people and on the German population itself."''Ich bin ein Cowboy''"
''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', 24 May 2001. The popularity of his writing, and his (generally German) protagonists, are seen as having filled a lack in the German psyche, which had few popular heroes until the 19th century. His readers longed to escape from an industrialised, capitalist society, an escape which May offered. May "helped shape the collective German dream of feats far beyond middle-class bounds."''Tales Of The Grand Teutons: Karl May Among The Indians.''
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 4 January 1987 and contributed to the

popular image of Native Americans in German-speaking countries Native Americans in German popular culture have, since the 18th century, been a topic of fascination, with imaginary Native Americans influencing German ideas and attitudes towards environmentalism, literature, art, historical reenactment, and ...

, which has been described by many as racist and harmful. The name ''Winnetou'' has an entry in the German dictionary,

Duden The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. The Duden is updated regularly with new editions appearing every four or five years. , ...

. The wider influence on the populace also surprised US occupation troops after World War II, who realised that thanks to May, "Cowboys and Indians" were familiar concepts to local children (though fantastic and removed from reality). Many well-known German-speaking people used May's heroes as models in their childhood.

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

enjoyed May's books and said, "My whole adolescence stood under his sign. Indeed, even today, he has been dear to me in many a desperate hour..."

May as an influence on the Nazis

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

was an admirer, who noted in ''

Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Ge ...

'' that the novels "overwhelmed" him as a boy, going as far as to ensure "a noticeable decline" in his school grades. According to an anonymous friend, Hitler attended the lecture given by May in Vienna in March 1912 and was enthusiastic about the event. Ironically, the lecture was an appeal for peace, also heard by

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

laureate

. May died suddenly only ten days after the lecture, leaving the young Hitler deeply upset. Claus Roxin noted that he doubts the anonymous description, because Hitler had said much about May, but not that he had seen him. Hitler defended May against critics in the men's hostel where he lived in Vienna, as the evidence of May's earlier time in jail had come to light; although it was true, Hitler confessed that May had never visited the sites of his American adventure stories. This made him a greater writer in Hitler's view since it showed the author's powers of imagination. Hitler later recommended the books to his generals and had special editions distributed to soldiers at the front, praising Winnetou as an example of "tactical finesse and circumspection", though some note that the latter claims of using the books as military guidance are not substantiated. However, as told by

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, h ...

, "when faced by seemingly hopeless situations, he itlerwould still reach for these stories," because "they gave him courage like works of philosophy for others or the Bible for elderly people."Grafton A
''Mein Buch''
''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', December 2008. Hitler's admiration for May led the German writer

Klaus Mann Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann, with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship, and Golo ...

to accuse May of having been a form of "mentor" for Hitler. In his admiration, Hitler ignored May's Christian and humanitarian approach and views completely, not mentioning his relatively sympathetic description of Jews and other persons of non-Northern European ancestry. The fate of Native Americans in the United States was used during the world wars for anti-American propaganda. The

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s in particular tried to use May's popularity and his work for their purposes.

''Indianertümelei''

The popularity of May's books sparked a fascination in German popular culture with the Indians of North America that continues to this day. In 1985, the German scholar Hartmut Lutz invented the term ''Deutsche Indianertümelei'' ("German Indian Enthusiasm") for the phenomenon.Watchman, Renne, Lutz, Hartmut & Strzelczyk, Florence ''Indianthusiasm'', Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2020 p. 12 The phrase ''Indianertümelei'' is a reference to the German term ("German Enthusiasm") which mockingly describes the phenomenon of celebrating in an excessively nationalistic and romanticized manner ''Deutschtum'' ("Germanness"). In the English-speaking world, the phenomenon of the German obsession with the First Nations of North America is known as "Indianthusiasm". In a 1999 speech delivered in the United States in English, Lutz declared: As part of the phenomenon of ''Indianertümelei'' a number of Western and Indian theme parks operate in Germany, the most popular of which are the Pullman City theme park outside of Munich and El Dorado theme park outside of Berlin.Watchman, Renne, Lutz, Hartmut & Strzelczyk, Florence ''Indianthusiasm'', Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2020 p. 16 May's books also inspired hobbyist clubs, where Germans pretend to be cowboys or Indians, the first of which was the Cowboy Club founded in Munich in 1913. In 2019, it was estimated that between 40,000 and 100,000 Germans are involved in ''Indianer'' hobbyist clubs at any given moment. Interviewed in 2007, one member of an ''Indianer'' club stated: "Our camp is always in summer, in July for two weeks. During this time, we live in tipis, we wear only Indian clothes. We don't use technology and we try to follow Indian traditions. We have those retending to beLakota, Oglala, Blackfeet, Blood, Siksika, Pawneee...and we go on the warpath against each other day and night, anytime at all. In two weeks, every tribe can fight each other. We don't know when somebody will attack or when they will come to steal our horses. And the battles are always exciting, too. I really enjoy them".

Influence on other authors

The German writer

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

was intrigued by May's Apache chief and named his daughter ''Maria Winnetou''. Max von der Grün said he read May as a young boy. When asked whether reading May's books had given him anything, he answered, "No. It took something away from me. The fear of bulky books, that is." Heinz Werner Höber, the twofold Glauser prize winner, was a follower of May. He said, "When I was about 12 years old I wrote my first novel on Native Americans which was, of course, from the beginning to the end completely stolen from Karl May." He had pleaded with friends to get him to Radebeul "because Radebeul meant Karl May". There, he was deeply impressed by the museum and said, "My great fellow countryman from Hohenstein-Ernstthal and his immortal heroes have never left me ever since."

Legacy

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

15728 Karlmay is named in May's honour.

Adaptations

May's poem ''Ave Maria'' (1896) was set to music in at least 19 versions. Other poems, especially from the collection ''Himmelsgedanken'' were also set to music. Carl Ball wrote ''

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

Clangs'' for the drama ''Babel und Bibel'' for May. The Swiss composer

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number ...

adapted ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'' for opera. May's concepts, such as Winnetou's death, inspired musical works.Kühne H. ''Vertonungen'' in Ueding's ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp 532–535. The first stage adaptation of May's work was ''Winnetou'' (1919) by Hermann Dimmler. Dimmler and

Ludwig Körner Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...

made revised editions of the play. Different novel revisions have been played on outdoor stages since the 1940s. The

Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg The 'Karl May Festival' (german: link=no, Karl-May-Spiele Bad Segeberg,') is a theatre festival in Bad Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Since 1952, Karl May's adventure novels about the Wild West have been put on stage as part of ''Karl Ma ...

has been held every summer since 1952 and in Lennestadt-Elspe since 1958. At some of these festivals,

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, Bri ...

has played Winnetou. Another festival has been conducted on a rock stage in Rathen, in

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sand ...

near Radebeul in 1940 and then since 1984.Hatzig H. ''Dramatisierungen'' in Ueding's ''Karl-May-Handbuch'', pp 523–526. In 1920, May's friend Marie Luise Droop, her husband Adolf Droop and the Karl May Press founded Ustad-Film, a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

. Ustad-Film made three

silent movies 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, whe ...

('' Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses'', '' Die Todeskarawane'' and ''

Die Teufelsanbeter ''The Devil Worshippers'' (german: Die Teufelsanbeter) is a six-chapter 1921 silent German film written by Marie Luise Droop, directed by Muhsin Ertuğrul and featuring Carl de Vogt in the title-role of Kara Ben Nemsi. De Vogt's career as an ...

'') after the ''Orientcycle''. The company became bankrupt in 1921 and the films are lost. In 1936 a first sound movie '' Durch die Wüste'' was shown. ' (1958) and its sequel ' (1959) were the first colour movies. From 1962 to 1968, a series of May movies were made.Hatzig H. ''Verfilmungen'' in Ueding's ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp. 527–531. While most of the seventeen movies of this series were

Wild West movie The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

s (beginning with ''Der Schatz im Silbersee''), three were based on the ''Orientcycle'' and two on ''Das Waldröschen''. Most of these movies were made separately by the two competitors

Horst Wendlandt Horst Otto Gregor Wendlandt (15 March 1922 – 30 August 2002) was a German film producer. He produced more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. In the 1960s Horst Wendlandt's production company Rialto Film produced films based on Edgar W ...

and

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

. Several actors were employed, including

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably a ...

(Old Shatterhand, Kara Ben Nemsi, Karl Sternau),

(Winnetou), Gojko Mitić (Winnetou),

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

(Old Surehand),

Milan Srdoč Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

(Old Wabble) and

Ralf Wolter Ralf Wolter (26 November 1926 – 14 October 2022) was a German stage and screen actor. Wolter appeared in nearly 220 films and television series in his over 60 years as a character actor. Life and career Wolter began his long career on the B ...

(Sam Hawkens, Hadschi Halef Omar, André Hasenpfeffer). The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

by Martin Böttcher and the landscape of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

are associated with the movies. Other movies such as ''Die Spur führt zum Silbersee'' (1990) and TV productions such as ''Das Buschgespenst'' (1986) and the television series '' Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi'' (1973) were produced. The productions vary from the original written works. In 2016, German RTL Television premiered three-part television movies based on Winnetou, directed by

Philipp Stölzl Philipp Stölzl (born 1967 in Munich) is a German director. He began to direct music videos in the mid-1990s and directed his first feature film in 2002. Life and career Philipp Stölzl was trained as a set and costume designer at the Münchner ...

. In the part "Winnetou and Old Shatterhand", Gojko Mitić, one of the actors who played Winnetou in the '60s movies, portrayed a character named Intschu Tschuna. May's works (about 300) have been adapted for

s, particularly in the 1960s.Karl May audio drama database
/ref> The first, ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'', was written by Günther Bibo in 1929. There are also Czech and Danish versions of the audio dramas. In 1988, ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'' was read by

Gert Westphal Curt Gerhard Westphal, stage name Gert Westphal, (5 October 1920 – 10 November 2002) was a German-Swiss actor, audiobook narrator, recitator and director, one of the best-known audiobook narrators and speakers in German, described as "König der ...

and published as an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

. ''Wann sehe ich dich wieder, du lieber, lieber Winnetou?'' (1995) is a compendium of Karl May texts read by Hermann Wiedenroth. In the 1950s

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Walter Neugebauer Walter Neugebauer (sometimes Slavicized as Valter Nojgebauer; 28 March 1921 – 31 May 1992) was a Croatian comic book artist and animator. Neugebauer is considered one of the founders of comics in Croatia, along with Andrija Maurović. Biog ...

finished his 1930s comic book adaptation of Karl May's stories.

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

n artist Aleksandar Hecl also drew one. In the 1960s and 1970s, May's works were adapted for German comics including an eight-issue series based on ''Winnetou'' and a further nine-issue series titled ''Karl May'' (1963–1965). The series was drawn by Helmut Nickel and Harry Ehrt and published by Walter Lehning Verlag. Belgian comics artist

Willy Vandersteen Willy Vandersteen (15 February 1913 – 28 August 1990) was a Belgian creator of comic books. In a career spanning 50 years, he created a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series, selling more than 200 million c ...

created a whole series of comics based on May's stories, simply titled ''Karl May'' (1962–1977). Eighty-seven issues of ''Karl May'' were published by

Standaard Uitgeverij Standaard Uitgeverij is a Belgian publisher, and the leading publisher in the Dutch language market of Flanders. History In 1919, the Standaard group was created, mainly consisting of a chain of bookshops ( Standaard Boekhandel), a newspaper (''De ...

from 1962 to 1987. Comics based on May's novels were also produced in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Denmark, France,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, Spain and Sweden.Petzel M. ''Comics und Bildergeschichten'' in Ueding: ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp 539–545. May's life has been the subject of screen works, novels and a stage play, including * ''Freispruch für Old Shatterhand'' (1965, directed by Hans Heinrich) * '' Karl May'' (1974, directed by

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature '' Hitler: A Film from Germany''. Early life Born in Nossendorf, Pomerania, the son of an estate owner, Syberberg lived un ...

) * ''Karl May'' (1992, directed by. Klaus Überall, a television series in 8 episodes) * ''Swallow, mein wackerer Mustang'' (1980) by Erich Loest * ''Vom Wunsch, Indianer zu werden. Wie

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

Karl May traf und trotzdem nicht in Amerika landete'' (1994) by Peter Henisch * ''Old Shatterhand in Moabit'' (1994) by Walter Püschel * ''Karl May und der Wettermacher'' (2001) by Jürgen Heinzerling * ''Die Taschenuhr des Anderen'' by Willi Olbrich.

Copies, parodies, and sequels

May was copied or

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

during his lifetime. Some wrote similar Wild West stories. Others, such as Franz Treller, published under May's name.Wehnert J. ''Fortsetzungen, Ergänzungen und Bearbeitungen''. in ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp 509–511. Novelizations of May's characters include * ''Hadschi Halef Omar'' (2010) Jörg Kastner describes the first contact of the titular character with Kara Ben Nemsi. * ''In Mekka'' (1923) Franz Kandolf, a sequel to ''Am Jenseits'' (''Karl May's Gesammelte Werke'' volume 50). * "Die Schatten des Schah-in-Schah" (2006)

Heinz Grill Heinz Grill is a German mountaineer, author, and yoga teacher. He has opened many new climbing routes in the Alps and Dolomites. In 1977 he won the Golden Carabiner award from the German Alpine Club. In 2012 he shared the Silla Ghedina prize for ...

, an alternative to ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen III/IV''. * ''Winnetous Testament'' Jutta Laroche and Reinhard Marheinecke, a series of eight volumes as a sequel to ''Winnetou IV''. * ''

Der Schuh des Manitu ''Der Schuh des Manitu'' (eng.: ''The Shoe of Manitou'') is a 2001 German Western (genre), Western Parody film, parody film. Directed by Michael Herbig, it is a film adaptation of the Winnetou sketches from his ProSieben television show ''Bullyp ...

'' (2001)

Michael Herbig Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, a parody on the Karl May films of the 1960s.

Karl May institutions

Karl May Foundation

In his will, May made his second wife, Klara, his sole heiress. He instructed that after her death all of his property and any future earnings from his work should go to a

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

. This foundation should support the education of the gifted poor including writers, journalists, and editors. One year after May's death, on 5 March 1913, Klara May established the "Karl May Foundation" ("Karl-May-Stiftung"). Contributions have been made since 1917. Klara and Karl May's estate went to the foundation. The foundation established the Karl May Museum to maintain the Villa Shatterhand, the estates, the collections and May's tomb.Wagner R. ''Karl-May-Stiftung (Radebeul)'' in Ueding: ''Karl-May-Handbuch'', pp. 549–551. In 1960, the Karl May Foundation received the Karl May Press.

Karl May Press

On 1 July 1913, Klara May, Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld (May's main publisher) and the

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

Euchar Albrecht Schmid established the "Foundation Press Fehsenfeld & Co." ("Stiftungs-Verlag Fehsenfeld & Co.") in Radebeul. In 1915, the name changed to "Karl May Press" ("Karl-May-Verlag" (KMV)). The KMV consolidated the rights to May's works from internal discord and from other publishers.Wehnert, Jürgen. ''Der Karl-May-Verlag'' in Ueding: ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp. 554–558. Third-hand revisions of these texts were added to the series ''Karl May's Gesammelte Reiseerzählungen'', which was renamed to ''Karl May's Gesammelte Werke (und Briefe)''. The existing 33 volumes of the original series were also revised, some extensively. By 1945 there were 65 volumes. The press is exclusive to May's work and subsidiary literature. Besides the ''Gesammelte Werke'' (the classical "green volumes"), which have 91 volumes today, the press has a huge reprint programme. The Karl May Press aims to rehabilitate May from literary criticism and to support the Karl May Foundation. In 1921, Fehsenfeld left and in 1960, the foundation fell to Klara May's estate, and thus the Press is owned by the Schmid family. In 1959, due to censorship in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

, the Press moved to

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

(Germany). In 1963, when copyright ended, the Press began commercialising May's works. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, in 1996, the Press took a second office in Radebeul. The name "Karl May" is a

registered trade mark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

of the "Karl May Verwaltungs- und Vertriebs-GmbH", which belongs to the Karl May Press.

Museums

Radebeul

The Karl May Museum is in the Villa Shatterhand in Radebeul and contains artifacts from May's life as well as from life on the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

and Native American life of that era. It was founded in 1928 by May's widow and an eccentric Austrian named Ernst Tobis. When the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

took over Germany, they appropriated the museum and the image of May, and were especially focused on swastikas that appeared in some of the Native American artwork. Hitler Youth were encouraged to visit the museum and hear stories from Tobis. After World War II, the original museum remained in

and a replica was built in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. From 1956 to 1984, the museum in Radebeul was called the "Indianer Museum", because May's books were suppressed by the East German government; its original name was restored in 1986. Around 2010, controversy arose over scalps, some of them from Native Americans, that were in the museum's collection.

Hohenstein-Ernstthal

The "Karl May House" ("Karl-May-Haus") is the three-centuries-old weaver house where May was born. Since 12 March 1985, it has been a memorial and museum. It shows an original weaving room and non-German book editions. The garden has been arranged according to May's description in his memoirs. Opposite the house is the International Karl May Heritage Center ("Karl-May-Begegnungsstätte"), which is used for events and special exhibitions. In

Hohenstein-Ernstthal Hohenstein-Ernstthal () is a town in the Zwickau rural district, Saxony, Germany. The towns of Hohenstein and Ernstthal were united in 1898, and the town is either known by its hyphenated form, or simply called Hohenstein. The town grew in the ...

, called "Karl May Home Town" since 1992, every May-related place has a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

. These places are connected by a "Karl May Path" ("Karl-May-Wanderweg"). Outside the city lies the "Karl May Cave" ("Karl-May-Höhle"), where May found shelter during his criminal times.Neubert A. ''Karl-May-Haus (Hohenstein-Ernstthal)'' in ''Karl-May-Handbuch'' pp. 546–547.

Societies

In the 1890s, there were Karl May clubs. Today, various entities focus on research about the author.Heinemann E. ''Organe und Perspektiven der Karl-May-Forschung''. In: Ueding: ''Karl-May-Handbuch'', pp 559–564. These organisations exist in German-speaking regions, the Netherlands, Australia and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. While such societies are responsible for the release of most May-related periodicals, for example, ''Der Beobachter an der Elbe'', ''Karl-May-Haus Information'', ''Wiener Karl-May-Brief'', and ''Karl May in Leipzig'', the magazine ''Karl May & Co.'' is published independently. The "Karl May Society" (KMG), founded on 22 March 1969, is the largest organisation, with approximately 1800 members. The KMG publishes ''Jahrbuch'', ''Mitteilungen'', ''Sonderhefte der Karl-May-Gesellschaft'', and ''KMG-Nachrichten'' and reprints. Since 2008 and in cooperation with the Karl May Foundation and the Karl May Press, the KMG has published the critiqued edition of "Karl Mays Werke". This project was initiated by

Hans Wollschläger 150px, Signature, 1988 Hans Wollschläger (17 March 1935, in Minden – 19 May 2007, in Bamberg) was a German writer, translator, historian, and editor of German literature. Biography Wollschläger is widely known as the translator of '' Ulysses ...

and Hermann Wiedenroth in 1987.Wehnert J. ''Der Text''. In Ueding: ''Karl-May-Handbuch'', pp. 116–130.Edition plannings.
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References

In German

* Wiedenroth H. and Wollschlager H. ''Karl Mays Werke: historisch-kritische Ausgabe'' (''Karl May's Works, an historical critique.'') various publishers. * May K. ''Mein Leben und Streben'' (''My Life and Aspirations.'') (1910) Karl May, 2014. .

Karl May company English version website. * Michalak M. ''My Life and My Mission'' Nemsi Books 2007. and . * Plaul H. ''Illustrierte Karl-May-Bibliographie.'' Unter Mitwirkung von Gerhard Klußmeier. Saur, Munich, London, New York, Paris 1989, (in German). * Sudhoff D. and Steinmetz H. ''Karl-May-Chronik (5 volumes and companion book).'' Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg and Radebeul 2005–2006, (in German). * Ueding G. (Ed.) ''Karl-May-Handbuch.'' Second enlarged and revised edition. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2001, (in German). * Wohlgschaft H

Bücherhaus, Bargfeld 2005, (in German). * Wollschläger H. ''Karl May. Grundriß eines gebrochenen Lebens'' (1965) Wallstein, Göttingen 2004 (in German). * Schiedt H. ''Karl May oder Die Macht der Phantasie''. Beck Verlag, München 2011 (in German)