Bernhard Kellermann
Bernhard Kellermann was a German writer born on March 4, 1879, in Fürth, who initially pursued a career as a painter before transitioning to journalism and novel writing. He gained prominence with his first novels, including "Ingeborg" and "Das Meer," which were characterized by a subjective style. Kellermann is best known for his 1913 novel "Der Tunnel," which was later published as "The Transatlantic Tunnel" in England and "The Tunnel" in America. This work is regarded as a significant example of industrial science fiction, portraying the ambitious construction of a tunnel connecting Europe and America under the Atlantic Ocean, and reflecting both technological triumphs and human dedication.
Kellermann's career also included serving as a war correspondent during World War I, which inspired his later works focusing on the war. His political views evolved over time, with a notable novel addressing the German socialist revolution of 1918. Despite his early engagement with political themes, he remained largely silent during the rise of Hitler. After the war, Kellermann supported the East German government and helped establish the League for the Democratic Renewal of Germany. He passed away in Potsdam, East Germany, on October 17, 1951. While his works are less widely read today, "Der Tunnel" encapsulated the era's complex relationship with technology, influencing the development of the science fiction genre.
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Bernhard Kellermann
Author
- Born: March 4, 1879
- Birthplace: Fürth, Germany
- Died: October 17, 1951
- Place of death: Potsdam, East Germany (now in Germany)
Biography
Bernhard Kellermann was born in Fürth, Germany, on March 4, 1879. He started out his career as a painter before turning his attention to writing. He became a journalist and novelist, with his first novels, such as Ingeborg and Das Meer (the sea), being written in what was called a “subjective style.”
However, in 1913 he wrote his most famous novel by far, Der Tunnel, which was published as The Transatlantic Tunnel in England and The Tunnel in America in 1915. Indeed, it became a worldwide best seller. Telling the story of the construction of a tunnel between Europe and America underneath the Atlantic Ocean, it has been called an exemplar of “industrial science fiction,” a subgenre that celebrates the triumphs of technology and the ingenuity and perseverance of humanity as embodied in a strong, heroic figure.
This subgenre’s origins have been traced to the science fiction of Jules Verne, with his obsessive geniuses such as Captain Nemo in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1871) and Robur in Robur the Conqueror (1886) and Master of the World (1904), as well to juvenile pulp fiction starring boy inventor Tom Swift. Later manifestations include Robert Heinlein’s “The Roads Must Roll” (1940) and Arthur C. Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise (1979).
In Verne, single-mindedness and dedication can often turn into grandiosity, but in Der Tunnel, the main character, Mac Allen, is heroic in his devotion to his ideal of completing the tunnel of the title, despite its cost in workers’ lives and the personal cost to himself. Yet the ultimate futility and inutility of such a project is never considered. The novel’s popularity led to a French and German film version (The Tunnel), as well as an English film version (The Transatlantic Tunnel), in 1935.
During World War I, Kellermann was a war correspondent for the Berliner Tageblatt, which led to two novels, Der Kreig im Westen (the war in the West) and Der Krieg im Argonnerwald (the war in the Argonne Forest). His political sympathies can be seen his 1921 novel Der 9. November (the ninth of November), about the abortive German socialist revolution of 1918.
During Hitler’s rise to power, Kellermann remained politically silent; a novel of this period, Das blaue Band (the blue band), is about the Titanic disaster. After the war, Kellermann became a supporter of the East German government, founding the League for the Democratic Renewal of Germany. He died in Potsdam, East Germany, on October 17, 1951. Little read today, Kellermann’s most popular novel encapsulated the hopes and fears concerning technology at the time, and the subgenre of science fiction that it epitomizes remains a strong undercurrent in “hard” science fiction.