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Der Tunnel is a novel by Bernhard Kellermann published in April 1913. The novel sold 100,000 copies in the six months after its publication, and it became one of the most successful books of the first half of the 20th century. By 1939 its circulation had reached millions. The main theme of the novel is social progress, particularly with respect to modern technology.
Allan, an idealistic engineer, wants to build a tunnel at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean connecting North America with Europe within a few years. The idealist's scheme is thwarted for financial reasons, and the tunnel construction (in particular a segment dug under a mountain) experiences several disasters. A fiasco seems inevitable, the army of workers revolt, and Allan becomes a figure of universal hatred throughout the world. After 26 years of construction, the tunnel is finally completed; however, the engineering masterpiece is outdated as soon as it opens, as aeroplanes now cross the Atlantic in a few hours.
The reception of the book and its sentiments was extremely positive, and was on its publication a success for Kellermann. The story anticipated important social events as the Great Depression, and had the charm of a parallel world history of a 1920s and 1930s in which the First World War never occurred. It also made the critical observation that technology always becomes outdated with its application.[ citation needed ]
A controversial aspect of the book was its thinly-veiled racist overtones in the character of S. Woolf, Allan's nemesis. Woolf is a financial magnate who emigrated from Eastern Europe, and was portrayed as immoral and perverted. These were common Jewish stereotypes at the time Kellermann wrote.[ citation needed ]
Rudolf Olden, in his book Hitler the Pawn, says that Adolph Hitler while living in Vienna viewed Der Tunnel, a German movie adaptation based on this book. Olden says Hitler talked about it for days and was mesmerized by the lead character “who rouses the working masses by his speeches.” The author points out that that was ten years before “he himself put the power of spoken word to the proof.” [1]
Four films have been based on the book. The first was The Tunnel in 1915, a silent film directed by William Wauer. Three films were released in 1933 and 1935, one version each in German ( Der Tunnel ), [2] French ( Le Tunnel ) and English ( The Tunnel , renamed Transatlantic Tunnel in the US). The French and German versions were directed by Curtis Bernhardt and the English by Maurice Elvey. At the time it was not unusual to release a film in separate versions in different languages, each using different actors or directors, but utilising the same sets and locations.
Paul Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized versions of German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Arthur Schopenhauer.
Hans Fallada was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include Little Man, What Now? (1932) and Every Man Dies Alone (1947). His works belong predominantly to the New Objectivity literary style, a style associated with an emotionless reportage approach, with precision of detail, and a veneration for 'the fact'. Fallada's pseudonym derives from a combination of characters found in the Grimm's Fairy Tales: The titular protagonist of Hans in Luck, and Falada the magical talking horse in The Goose Girl.
Lion Feuchtwanger was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht.
Gustaf Gründgens, born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. His career continued unimpeded through the years of the Nazi regime; the extent to which this can be considered as deliberate collaboration with the Nazis is hotly disputed.
Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, has been represented in popular culture ever since he became a well-known politician in Germany. His distinctive image was often parodied by his opponents. Parodies became much more prominent outside Germany during his period in power. Since the end of World War II representations of Hitler, both serious and satirical, have continued to be prominent in popular culture, sometimes generating significant controversy. In many periodicals, books, and movies, Hitler and Nazism fulfill the role of archetypal evil. This treatment is not confined to fiction but is widespread amongst nonfiction writers who have discussed him in this vein. Hitler has retained a fascination from other perspectives; among many comparable examples is an exhibition at the German Historical Museum which was widely attended.
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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, also called The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse, is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and features many cast and crew members from Lang's previous films. Dr. Mabuse is in an insane asylum where he is found frantically writing his crime plans. When Mabuse's criminal plans begin to be implemented, Inspector Lohmann tries to find the solution with clues from gangster Thomas Kent, the institutionalized Hofmeister and Professor Baum who becomes obsessed with Dr. Mabuse.
A transatlantic tunnel is a theoretical tunnel that would span the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe possibly for such purposes as mass transit. Some proposals envision technologically advanced trains reaching speeds of 500 to 8,000 kilometres per hour. Most conceptions of the tunnel envision it between the United States and the United Kingdom ‒ or more specifically between New York City and London.
A tunnel is an underground passage such as:
Tunnel Through the Deeps is a 1972 alternate history/science fiction novel by American writer Harry Harrison. It was serialized in Analog magazine beginning in the April 1972 issue.
F.P.1 is a 1932 German film directed by Karl Hartl. The film was based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Kurt Siodmak. The plot concerned a permanent air station in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The film was developed as a multilingual version, with one film each in German, French, and English. The film was shot in 1932 and premiered in Berlin late that year with English and French-language versions premiering the next year.
The Tunnel, also known as Transatlantic Tunnel in the United States, is a 1935 British science fiction film directed by Maurice Elvey and stars Richard Dix, Leslie Banks, Madge Evans, Helen Vinson, C. Aubrey Smith and Basil Sydney. It is based on the 1913 novel Der Tunnel by Bernhard Kellermann, about the building of a transatlantic tunnel between New York and London. The script was written by Curt Siodmak, L. du Garde Peach and Clemence Dane. The film, produced at a time when the threat of war loomed in Europe, emphasized international cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Rudolf Olden was a German lawyer and journalist. In the Weimar period he was a well-known voice in the political debate, a vocal opponent of the Nazis, a fierce advocate of human rights and one of the first to alert the world to the treatment of Jews by the Nazis in 1934. He is the author of Hitler der Eroberer. Entlarvung einer Legende which is considered part of the German exile literature. The book was promptly banned by the Nazis. Shortly after its publication by Querido in Amsterdam, Olden's citizenship was revoked and he emigrated, together with his wife, first to the United Kingdom and then, in 1940, to the United States. On September 18 both died in the U-boat attack on the SS City of Benares in the Atlantic.
He was a German Liberal of the best sort, rather more pugnacious than the average British Liberal, because he had more to fight against.
Hitlerjunge Quex, in English Hitler Youth Quex, is a 1933 German film directed by Hans Steinhoff, based on the similarly named 1932 novel Der Hitlerjunge Quex by Karl Aloys Schenzinger. The film was shown in the US under the title Our Flag Leads Us Forward.
Maria Matray was a German screenwriter and film actress. Matray became a star of late Weimar cinema.
Look Who's Back is a bestselling German satirical novel about Adolf Hitler by Timur Vermes, published in 2012 by Eichborn Verlag. The novel was adapted into a German movie of the same name, which was released in 2015.
The Tunnel is a 1915 German silent drama film directed by William Wauer and starring Friedrich Kayssler, Fritzi Massary and Hermann Vallentin. It is the first of several film adaptations of Bernhard Kellermann's 1913 novel Der Tunnel about the construction of a vast tunnel under the Atlantic Ocean connecting Europe and America. The film was made by Paul Davidson's PAGU production company, with sets designed by art director Hermann Warm.
The Tunnel is a 1933 French-German science fiction film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Paul Hartmann, Attila Hörbiger and Olly von Flint. The film was made by Bavaria Film, and shot at the company's Emelka Studios in Munich. It is an adaptation of Bernhard Kellermann's 1913 novel Der Tunnel about the construction of a vast tunnel under the Atlantic Ocean connecting Europe and America. It premiered at the Capitol Theatre in November 1933.
The Tunnel is a 1933 French-German science fiction film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Jean Gabin, Madeleine Renaud and Robert Le Vigan. It was the French language version of the German film The Tunnel, with a different cast and some changes to the plot. Both were followed in 1935 by an English version. Such Multiple-language versions were common in the years immediately following the introduction of sound, before the practice of dubbing had come to dominate international releases. Germany and France made a significant number of films together at this time.
