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Cold War Rivalry and the Perception of the American West pp 10–33Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Karl May Westerns and the Conquest of the American West

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Transnational History Series ((PMSTH))

Abstract

Less than a century ago, the Far West was still a land which was unknown. It attracted all kinds of men; pioneers, seeking a new home; adventurers seeking excitement and gold. But the West also attracted the outcasts of society; criminals, chased by the forces of law and order; bandits; killers; tramps. And then, there were those who fought for the cause of justice. Such a man was Charles Vaillant, known as Old Shatterhand, a hunter and trapper. His friend and blood brother was Winnetou, chief of the Apaches. We shall follow them through the valleys and drags of the mountains. We shall live with them the adventure of a desperate struggle for the possession of fabulous wealth.1

So starts the first West German Western, The Treasure of Silver Lake, released in 1962. The two main characters, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou, discover the site of the ambush of a stagecoach. Following the trails, they enter a nearby town, where they promise a young man to help avenge the death of his father. It turns out that Engel, the murdered man, had half of the map that was to lead him, his son Fred, his business partner Patterson, and Patterson’s daughter Ellen, to the treasure buried in the Silver Lake area. Led by Winnetou and Old Shatterhand, Engel’s son Fred and two other frontiersmen know they need to leave immediately to find the bandits.

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Notes

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  1. Department of History, University of Texas at Arlington, USA

    Pawel Goral

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Goral, P. (2014). Karl May Westerns and the Conquest of the American West. In: Cold War Rivalry and the Perception of the American West. Palgrave Macmillan Transnational History Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137364302_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137364302_2

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-36430-2

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