Kellermann, Bernhard

▪ German writer

born March 4, 1879, Fürth, Ger.

died Oct. 17, 1951, Potsdam, E.Ger.

      German journalist and writer best known for his novel Der Tunnel (1913; The Tunnel, 1915), a sensational technical-utopian work about the construction of a tunnel between Europe and North America.

      Kellermann was a painter before he turned to writing. His early novels, Yester und Li (1904), Ingeborg (1906), and Der Tor (1909; The Fool), were written in the Neo-Romantic Impressionist manner. The renowned Tunnel was followed by Der 9. November (1921; The Ninth of November), inspired by revolutionary activity in Germany in 1918; Das blaue Band (1938; “The Blue Band”), based on the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic; and Totentanz (1948; “Dance of Death”).

      As a foreign correspondent for the Berliner Tageblatt during World War I, Kellermann wrote two journalistic novels, Der Krieg im Westen (1915; “The War in the West”) and Der Krieg im Argonnerwald (1916; “War in the Argonne Forest”), as well as a number of travel books.

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