Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero of several novels written in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Karl May 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 with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...

(1842–1912), one of the best-selling

writers of all time with about 200 million copies worldwide, including the ''Winnetou'' trilogy. The character made his debut in the novel ''Old Firehand'' (1875).

Stories

According to Karl May's story, first-person narrator

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. He is the main character i ...

encounters the

Apache 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 ...

Winnetou, and after initial dramatic events, a true friendship arises between them; on many occasions, they give proof of great fighting skill, but also of compassion for other human beings. It portrays a belief in an innate "goodness" of mankind, albeit constantly threatened by ill-intentioned enemies. Nondogmatic Christian feelings and values play an important role, and May's heroes are often described as

German Americans German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

. Winnetou became the chief of the tribe of the

Mescalero Apaches Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-ce ...

(and of the Apaches in general, with the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

included) after his father Intschu-tschuna and his sister Nscho-tschi were slain by the white bandit Santer. He rode a horse called Iltschi ("Wind") and had a famous rifle called Silberbüchse (The Silver Gun, a double-barrelled rifle whose stock and butt were decorated with silver studs). Old Shatterhand became the

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 ...

of Winnetou and rode the brother of Iltschi, called Hatatitla (Lightning). In a number of adaptations, Winnetou referred to himself in the third person.

Themes

Karl May's ''Winnetou'' novels symbolize, to some extent, a romantic desire for a simpler life in close contact with nature. The popularity of the series is due in large part to the ability of the stories to tantalize fantasies many Europeans had and have for this more untamed environment. The sequel has become the origin of festivals, and the first regular Karl-May-Spiele were staged 1938 till 1941 in

Rathen Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about southeast of Dresden. The village occupies both banks of the river Elbe and, as of 2020, has 339 inhabitants. Rathen is a popular tourist destination, the main sigh ...

, Saxony.

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 its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

restarted those open-air theater plays in 1984. 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 O ...

, the Karl-May-Festspiele in

Bad Segeberg Bad Segeberg (; Low German: Sebarg) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck. It is famo ...

were started as early as 1950 and then expanded to further places like Lennestadt-Elspe in honor of Karl May's Apache hero, Winnetou. The stories were so popular that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

did not ban them despite the heroic treatment of people of color; instead, the argument was made that the stories demonstrated the fall of the American aboriginal peoples was caused by a lack of racial consciousness. May's heroes drew on

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...

s of Germanic culture and had little to do with actual Native American cultures. "Winnetou is noble because he combines the highest aspects of otherwise 'decadent' Indian cultures with the natural adoption of the romantic and Christian traits of Karl May's own vision of German civilization. As he is dying, the Apache Winnetou asks some settlers to sing an Ave Maria for him, and his death is sanctified by his quiet conversion to Christianity." In the 1960s, French nobleman and actor

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, Brit ...

played Winnetou in several movies coproduced by German–Yugoslav producers. At first, Brice was not very excited about the role beside

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 as ...

, but his very reduced text and stage play brought Winnetou to real life in Germany. Brice not only became a star in Germany, but a significant contributor to German–French reconciliation, as well.

Original German Winnetou stories

Travel stories

*''Old Firehand'' (1875) *''Winnetou'' (1878, titular character ''Inn-nu-wo, der Indianerhäuptling'' (1875) is changed) *''Im fernen Westen'' (1879, revision of ''Old Firehand'', later revised for ''Winnetou II'') *''Deadly Dust'' (1880, later revised for ''Winnetou III) *''Die Both Shatters'' (1882) *''Ein Oelbrand'' (1882/83) *''Im "wilden Westen" Nordamerika's'' (1882/83, later revised for ''Winnetou III'') *''Der Scout'' (1888/89, later revised for ''Winnetou II'') *''Winnetou I'' (1893, temporarily also entitled as ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman I'') *''Winnetou II'' (1893, temporarily also entitled as ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman II'') *''Winnetou III'' (1893, temporarily also entitled as ''Winnetou der Rote Gentleman III'') *''Old Surehand I'' (1894) *''Old Surehand II'' (1895) *''Old Surehand III'' (1896) *''Satan und Ischariot I'' (1896) *''Satan und Ischariot II'' (1897) *''Satan und Ischariot III'' (1897) *''Gott läßt sich nicht spotten'' (within ''Auf fremden Pfaden'', 1897) *''Ein Blizzard'' (within ''Auf fremden Pfaden'', 1897) *''Mutterliebe'' (1897/98) *''Weihnacht!'' (1897) *''Winnetou IV'' (1910)

Juvenile fiction

*''Im fernen Westen'' (1879, revision of ''Old Firehand'') *''Unter der Windhose'' (1886, later also within ''Old Surehand II'') *''Der Sohn des Bärenjägers'' (1887, within ''Die Helden des Westens'' since 1890) *''Der Geist des Llano estakado'' (1888, within ''Die Helden des Westens'' since 1890) *''Der Schatz im Silbersee'' (1890/91) *''Der Oelprinz'' (1893/94) *''Der schwarze Mustang'' (1896/97)

Other works

*''Auf der See gefangen'' (1878/1879, also entitled as ''Auf hoher See gefangen'')

Comic strip adaptations

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 = , capit ...

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. Biogr ...

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

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n artist Aleksandar Hecl also drew one. 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 co ...

created a whole series of comics based on May's stories, simply titled ''Karl May'' (1962–1977). More notable Winnetou comic strip adaptations were done by Spanish writer and artist

Juan Arranz ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

for the Dutch comic strip weekly

Sjors Sjors is a Dutch version of the given name George. Persons bearing the name include * Sjors van Driem (born George van Driem, 1957), Dutch linguist at Leiden University * Sjors Scheres (born 1975), Dutch scientist * Sjors Verdellen (born 1981), Du ...

between 1963 and 1970. Most of these stories were also published in comic strip albums and were syndicated to other European countries. Two Hungarian authors named Horváth Tibor and Zórád Ernö collaborated on yet another comic version in 1957. In Germany, Helmut Nickel also adapted the source material, published bi-weekly from 1962 to 1966.

Karl May movies with the Winnetou character

In all these movies, Winnetou was played by French actor

, who was usually teamed with

. The music for all Winnetou movies (with its famous title melody played on the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

by Johnny Müller) was composed by German composer

Martin Böttcher Martin Böttcher (17 June 1927 – 20 April 2019) was a German composer, arranger and conductor. The beginning Böttcher (on foreign records and articles often written "Bottcher" or "Boettcher", the latter being the correct transliteration of th ...

, except ''

'', composed by Italian composer

Riz Ortolani Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...

, and '' Winnetou und sein Freund Old Firehand'', composed by German composer Peter Thomas. The films were so successful in Germany, their budgets could be increased almost every time. Principal shooting usually took place in

Paklenica The Paklenica karst river canyon is a national park in Croatia. It is near Starigrad, northern Dalmatia, on the southern slopes of Velebit mountain, not far from Zadar. It contains two canyons, Mala (Small) and Velika (Big) Paklenica. Today the ...

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

river

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

national park,

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 = , capit ...

. The early films preceded the

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

. #

Der Schatz im Silbersee ''The Treasure of the Silver Lake'' (german: Der Schatz im Silbersee) is a 1962 western film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice and Karin Dor. It is very loosely based on Karl May's 1891 novel of the same name. It wa ...

(1962) — ''Treasure of Silver Lake'' (1965) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou 1. Teil (1963) — ''Apache Gold'' (1965) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) #

(1964) — ''Apaches' Last Battle'' (1964) (UK) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou – 2. Teil (1964) — ''Last of the Renegades'' (1966) (UK) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Unter Geiern (1964) — ''Frontier Hellcat'' (1966) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Der Ölprinz (1965) — ''Rampage at Apache Wells'' (1965) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou – 3. Teil (1965) — Winnetou: ''The Desperado Trail'' (1965) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Old Surehand 1. Teil (1965) — ''Flaming Frontier'' (1969) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou und das Halbblut Apanatschi (1966) — ''Winnetou and the Crossbreed'' (1973) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou und sein Freund Old Firehand (1966) — ''Winnetou and Old Firehand'' ''Thunder at the Border'' (1966) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) # Winnetou und Shatterhand im Tal der Toten (1968) — ''The Valley of Death'' (1968) (Germany) (Yugoslavia) All of the Winnetou movies are available on VHS tape in

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

format – some also dubbed in English under the above-mentioned English titles. ''Winnetou I–III'', ''Der Schatz im Silbersee'', ''Old Shatterhand'', and ''Winnetou und Shatterhand im Tal der Toten'' are also available on DVD (region-code 2), but all in German only. In 2004–2005, the missing movies were also to reappear on DVD. In 2016 a bluray box with all Winnetou movies was released, they also were made available as part of the Karl May bluray box. In April 2009, DVDs of the cleared

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed movies were issued in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, selling as an add-on to the Metro newspaper for 50 Czech crowns. All movies are dubbed into

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, ...

and

, with subtitles in Czech and Slovak.

Television miniseries

Also in these television series, Winnetou was played by Brice. *''

Mein Freund Winnetou ''Mein Freund Winnetou'' is a 1980 German television miniseries, starring Pierre Brice in the titular role and directed by Marcel Camus. A Western, it is part of an extended series of films and television series in which Brice played the fictio ...

'' (1980) — ''My friend Winnetou'' — ''Winnetou le Mescalero'', 7 episodes at 52 min. *''Winnetous Rückkehr'' ("The Return of Winnetou") (1998), 2 parts, 171 min. in total *''CBC Documentary https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/episodes/searching-for-winnetou In 2016,

Winnetou (2016 film) ''Winnetou'' (full German title: ''Winnetou – Der Mythos lebt'') is a German television miniseries directed by Philipp Stölzl and starring Nik Xhelilaj and Wotan Wilke Möhring. It is based on three adventure novels by Karl May. It has been b ...

was published, a modernized version of the classic movies in three parts 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 ...

. starring

Nik Xhelilaj Kreshnik Xhelilaj (born 5 March 1983) known professionally as Nik Xhelilaj, is an Albanian actor. He began his international career with the movie The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider, directed by Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani and was the leading actor ...

as Winnetou.
MMC Studios, The Myth Lives on!, Announcement 2016]

In popular culture

* The artwork for Gang of Four (band), Gang of Four's album ''

Entertainment! ''Entertainment!'' is the debut album by English post-punk band Gang of Four. It was released in September 1979 through EMI Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in North America. Stylistically, it draws heavily on punk rock but also ...

'' features a heavily processed image from a Winnetou film. * The song "Mein Bester Freund" ("My Best Friend") on the 1991

Die Prinzen Die Prinzen ("The Princes") is a German band, that is made up of former members of the Thomanerchor (the choir of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach was music director for many years) and a former member of the Dr ...

album ''Das Leben ist grausam'' refers to Winnetou in a short list of heroes, alongside

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

and

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

. * In 2001, a parody of the Winnetou films, ''

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

'', was directed by

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 ...

. This movie is based on various sketches of Herbigs TV show ''

Bullyparade ''Bullyparade'' is a German late night comedy sketch show which aired from 1997 to 2002 on German channel ProSieben. Michael Herbig, Rick Kavanian and Christian Tramitz were the main cast of the show. Herbig also directed, produced and mainly dev ...

''. In ''

Bullyparade – Der Film ''Bullyparade: The Movie'' (german: Bullyparade – Der Film) is a 2017 German parody movie. Directed by Michael Herbig, it is a film adaptation of his ProSieben television show ''Bullyparade'' and features parodies of popular films and televisio ...

'', which was also directed by Herbig, Winnetou is one of the main characters of the episode ''Winnetou in Love''. * Director

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

mentioned Winnetou in his 2009 film ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an alter ...

''.