Das Phantom in der deutschsprachigen Weltliteratur – der Schriftsteller B. Traven

This contribution pays tribute to the German-Mexican author B. Traven, as one of the most read novelists in the German language in the middle of the 20th century. B. Traven became known for his novels and stories, which are adventurous and set in exotic surroundings, though primarily intended to express criticism of capitalism and social conditions. Most of his works were filmed in Mexico, the USA and Germany. The American fictional film based on one of his most famous books “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” won several Academy Awards (Oscars). At the peak of his creative power, a Swedish daily newspaper proposed B. Traven for the Nobel Prize for Literature. B. Traven successfully concealed the identity of his person through the use of numerous pseudonyms. For decades, German linguists and journalists have been looking for the person behind the pseudonym B. Traven. Pursuant to available data it is certain that he worked under the name Ret Marut in Germany as a labor union secretary and left-wing, revolutionary activist before emigrating to Mexico. Because of this, people from the working class, sailors, Native Americans (Indians) and other oppressed members of the society who oppose their exploitation played key roles in his works. In the meantime, several researchers assume that B. Traven was born as Hermann Albert Otto Maximilian Feige in Schwiebus, now Poland. For B. Traven, however, the impact of his works was always more important than his identity.