Good point, Richard--and some interesting points, Drucilla. Yes, the interpretations and uses don't necessarily follow, of course. Hope to see all 3 of you in Big Sky.
The German fascination with Indians extends to at least certain reservations, too: intermarriage of Lakota and Blackfeet with Germans was/is common. I mentioned James Welch to a Blackfeet gal in East Glacier a couple of weeks ago. She said, "Welch isn't a Blackfeet name." I said, no, but he was also part Gros Ventre and pretty "visibly Native," adding such intermarriage with Germans--and Irish and French--was also very common with the Lakota. "Interesting," she said, though I'm unsure to this day if she really believed me.
David N. CremeanProfessor, Humanities and EnglishBlack Hills State UniversityPast President, Western Literature Association (2009)Cell: (605) 645-8478
From: Western Literature discussion <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Drucilla Wall <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Read This: "The Cowboy Novels that Inspired Hitler"Hi all,I had been aware of the hitler connection. There is also a continuing fascination on the part of certain Germans in May's depiction of Native Americans. I think this is common knowledge, right?
In a few current totalitarian or totalitarian-ish countries, a consistently popular item is the TV series "Friends". Would Hitler have loved Friends? Another is "Sex in the City". Would Hitler have loved that show? Even though both are set in NYC, I can see some Western plot elements. maybe even some aspects in common with May.
Best,Drucilla
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2016 13:58:04 -0700
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Read This: "The Cowboy Novels that Inspired Hitler"
To: [log in to unmask]
Tom and David--I read the article hurriedly, but there was no mention that May was inspired by James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking novels, especially "The Last of the Mohicans." Actually, he was rather ripping off Cooper. It's been a while since I was interested in thinking about Cooper's politics.Richard Hutson
On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 10:38 AM, Cremean, David <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I should add: A few years ago now, when on the SD Humanities Council, I was in Hill City for its film festival. A woman approached me about her and some others' working on republishing Karl May here in the US. She gave me a free copy of one of the novels. I've read a good bit about May over the years, of course, but none of his writings--including, still, the one she gave me, though I really need to get to it. I was aware of Hitler's love for them and other Western novels, as well as their popular in the totalitarian USSR.
David N. Cremean
Professor, Humanities and English
Black Hills State University
Past President, Western Literature Association (2009)
Cell: (605) 645-8478
________________________________________
From: Western Literature discussion <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Cremean, David
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2016 11:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Read This: "The Cowboy Novels that Inspired Hitler"
Man, this looks interesting--thanks, Tom.
________________________________________
From: Western Literature discussion <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Tom Lynch <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2016 8:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Read This: "The Cowboy Novels that Inspired Hitler"
Read This: "The Cowboy Novels that Inspired Hitler"
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/21/these-wild- west-novels-inspired-hitler.ht ml?via=ios
Tom Lynch
Sent from my iPhone