Karl May (1842-1912) was one of the best-selling German authors of all time. He wrote cowboy-and-indian stories. Except that Karl May never set foot on US soil, and the movies based on his books were filmed in the former Yugoslavia, which has landscapes with a striking resemblance to the American West. Nevertheless, his stories of the adventures of Old Shatterhand and his faithful Indian friend Winnetou were convincing to generations. Last night I saw Der Schatz im Silbersee (Treasure at Silver Lake) at the Zeughauskino in the German Historical Museum. As Old Shatterhand described his decision to chase down the bad guys (loosely): “I wouldn’t do it for money or for fame, but because it is the right thing to do, in the pursuit of justice.” The Karl May’s work is so popular even today that his stories are performed on outdoor stages all summer long in places like Bad Segeberg, Radebeul and Rathen. If I want to see Der Schatz im Silbersee live in just a couple of weeks, I can do so in Rathen September 12.
Last year I stopped in Radebeul with my May term group, where we visited a wild west town and talked with a real Cree Indian who had been invited to create rock art for the festival. http://www.karl-may-fest.de/Programm/Programm+2007.html
Especially well-known are the open air performances in Bad Segeberg:
http://www.karl-may-spiele.de/frontend/startseite.php
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