9. German Colonialism

German colonialism:

• Short lived - long lasting, economically not as important, thus not prioritised

• For a longtime neglected in historiography - hidden by bigger moments in history

• Growing interest and extensive scholarship on the topic in recent decades

• "overseas empire was a part of German national identity and popular imagination in imperial Germany" Lora Wildenthal

  • Link to cultural history as how it played a role in cultural settings, what it means to be German, discourse surrounding Gender

 recap:

• Militarism - glorification of the military

• Aspirations towards great power status

• Rapid growth of cities - fascination with modernity

• Critical movements in the arts, impressionism, expressionism - elements of what later came to be known as 'Weimar culture'

• New readerships emerged and contributed to form of mass politics

• Presence of traditional and modern elements and of democratic and anti democratic tendencies

• Debate - was the empire modern? No - riddled with conflict

divisions/tensions: class, religion, region

• Racism shaped relationships within Germany

• Played a role in colonial subjects (RACISM)

Racism and nationalism:

• Late 19th century, there was a culture of racial superiority in Europe and N. American countries

• 1845: French writer argues there are differences between human races, that civilisations decline when races are mixed and that white race is superior

• Publications create theoretical discussions making it more evident (the racist consciousness)

• Darwin theory: hierarchy of races, survival of the fittest. Believed Europeans would dominate other groups. The rules of nature divined by struggle dictate politics

  • Social darwinism resonated in Germany

  • Germany needed to fight for its place within the world

  • Sense of superiority and competiveness with other nations

  • Promoted from above; put in school-books and public speeches

• Germans believed there was a war waging between Jewish and German races, there needs to be a struggle and they need to win their place within the world.

• Emphasis of hard masculinity and aggressiveness

  • Nationalist organisations

  • Society for Germandom Abroad

  • German language association

  • Colonial society

  • Pan-German League - was the most infamous, most aggressive, most members were middle-class, supported racism, anti-semitism,

  • Navy league - lobbied for heavy war fleet, 30k members by 1914, supported by business owners

  • Pressure groups - pushed for Imperialistic policies, oppressive, got funding

• All of these emphasised building a stronger army, navy, specific ideas about masculinity, winning against other nations

• They felt threatened by external enemies so this was needed

• Advocated to overrun Poles

Kaiser Wilhelm II + militarism

• Narcissistic, vain, unpredictable

• "there is only one man in charge of the Reich, and I will not tolerate any other"

• Decisions making power in the hands of the monarch, ministers he personally appointed and a conservative bureaucracy

• Nationalism, imperialism, militarism

• Obsessed with Prussian military + Navy, male dominated culture

•  Enthusiasm for the military, naval building and imperialism

• Tone for the German public

• Army immediate and direct connection to the emperor, protected from external criticism

• The position of military in Germany was insanely different to other nations

Historian - Isabel Hull, Absolute Destruction, 2004

• Other armies checked by intervention from outside (public)

• German military free from control of the public and had a tendency to be extreme

• German warfare argues that military against its enemies went far beyond that which was necessary for achieving political goals

• Sonderweg?

• Was about the violence and supression about the uprising instead of military need

  • Similar to other empires? BRITAIN

Acquisition of colonies

• 850-60 first commercial enterprises in Africa

• Bismarck was not keen on colonies - mainly focused on Europe instead of other nations

• Berlin Conference 1884: scramble for Africa (conquest) redraw the map, height of European colonialism

• 1880-90 - colonised territories in Africa, modern day Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, places in East Asia (China Shandong province)

• Competition + close interaction + collaboration with other European colonies power

  • Progress in communication, technology, ship, machine guns, allowing them to control and occupy such territories

Why did they want to acquire these areas:

• Colonies were seen as necessary as it allowed for external raw materials which evidently would be used to modernise + industrialise and grow their domestic land = economic benefit

• Brought national prestige as you seem like a very hardworking force to other nations

• Competition among European powers

• Expectation of creating settler communities

• Such ideas were justified by the idea of 'civilisation' where they would bring education + development to the colony

Bismarck legacy:

• Clash between Willhelm II + Bismarck

• Bismarck resigns as chancellor at Willhelm demand on 19 March 1890

• 'dropping the pilot' Bismarck was seen as the one controlling the empire, leading Germany - but now he has left

• Historians seen he left a troubled state with political and social tensions - hard to determine a social party in the parliament

• 4 chancellors came after Bismarck, not that popular though - Willhelm period

Weltpolitik

• Transforms German empire into a global power

• Emphasis on the expansion of Germanys overseas empire

• Plan to build a powerful navy, propaganda campaign

• Navy enthusiasm widespread

• Naval race between Germany + Great Britain 1898 -1912

  • Germans couldn’t keep up though (hahahahaha) hostile atmosphere, origins of WW1 due to tensions building gradually?

  • Growth of navy is due to a broader shift of attempting to become a global power

• 1897 - Bernhard Von Bulow: "demand our own place in the sun" - AFRICA BECAUSE ITS SUNNY - increase in tension, Germany attempting to prove their place in the world, antagonising other European powers who are starting to feel the wrath of intimidation

Colonial rule:

• Nationalist, racist view that placed the German people as a Kulturvolk (civilised people) in opposition to the colonial 'other'

• Indigenous population were depicted as backward and simpleminded in need of education - forced labour

• Interracial marriage made illegal in Southwest Africa, East Africa, Samoa

  • This was only a German thing (prohibition)

• Used labour contracts to force them to work for their domestic economy and were extremely brutal

• Anthropologists would travel to Africa and come up with new ideas of racism and grew the presence of non white people

• Few germans moved to colonies, only 20k by 1913 whereas 6k was military personnel

• Hardly any internal trade within the colonies

• Few natural resources in the colonies

• Hope for rich financial rewards stayed unfulfilled - very little profits

• Overall colonial project cost the German state: drain on imperial finances, cost of administration and wars

• They wanted to continue keeping it up to prove their legitimacy of being a European power to showcase superiority was to occupy and colonise other people

Herero + Nama Genocide

• German settlers encountered resistance

• 1904 - von Trotha issued orders to kill every male and drive the women and children into the desert

• About 80k indigenous people were killed - 80% of the population estimated

• Prisoners were held into concentration camps and given to German businesses

  • Many died from illness as well

• Extreme violence of colonial wars, genocidal strategies of warfare

• Did this first genocide of the state link to Germanys later genocide (Holocaust?)

• Debate on the question to what extent this genocide was a prelude to the Holocaust

• Genocide of the Herero and Nama and the murder of European Jews - Path from Africa to Auschwitz

• Connections between Nazi violence and military, genocidal violence in colonial settings

• Conceptualisation of Nazism as an imperial project, nazis radicalised ideas, language, and practices that can be found in EU + Germany colonial empires

• Constitutes in sonderweg>?

legacies for colonialism

• Even if colonialism was short lived, it left an imprint on german society evident in politics, anthropology, shaped according to the experiences and impacts on peoples lives, geography etc

• Notions such as Lebensraum and race, linked to colonial context

• Colonialism shaped peoples imagination

• People wanted to see African villages and people in museums - legitimising colonialism

• Numerous debates in contemporary Germany connected to German colonial past

• Claims for reparations launched against GERMANY

• GERMANY acknowledged its genocide - pay 1.1Billion Euros

• Although defeated in ww1, the memories stayed evident and they way it shaped the lives of those in colonies significant

• After 1918, there were still discussions about the colonial past

 

 

 

Sebastian Conrad, 2012 - German colonialism

German colonialism was dismissed as insignificant, but it was actually an integral part of high imperialism and shaped German politics, culture, and ideas about race and empire.

• German empire lasted only about 30 years (1884–1919).

• Many historians once considered it marginal compared to British or French empires.

• Conrad argues it still mattered because colonialism shaped German society and politics.

• Colonies only became possible after German unification in 1871 (pressure from colonial groups, business interests, competition between powers)

• Otto von Bismarck initially resisted colonial expansion but supported it from 1884 due to political pressure.

• Berlin Conference (1884–85) divided Africa among European powers.

• Germany gained:

  • Togo, Cameroon, German South West Africa (Namibia), German East Africa, Pacific possessions.

• At its peak, Germany had the 4th-largest colonial empire.

What Made German Colonialism Different

1. Extreme racial policies

   • Germany was the only empire to ban interracial marriage in its colonies legally.

2. Extreme violence

   • Colonial wars included genocidal violence against the Herero and Nama (1904).

3. Scientific racism

   • Colonies became laboratories for racial science.

Conrad explains that historical views of colonialism evolved:

1920s–1950s

• Historians defended colonialism and rejected accusations of brutality.

1960s–1970s

• Decolonisation sparked critical research into colonial violence.

1990s onwards

• Historians began studying:

  • colonial culture

  • identity formation

  • long-term effects of empire.

Hans-Ulrich Wehler – Social Imperialism

German colonial expansion was partly driven by domestic politics, not just economics or imperial competition.

Theory: Social Imperialism

Colonialism helped elites:

• distract attention from social problems

• weaken the growing working class movement

• strengthen the authority of the government.

Evidence

Wehler famously described Bismarck’s priorities with the phrase:

“That is my map of Africa,” pointing to Europe.

Meaning:

European politics mattered more to Germany than African territories themselves.

Genocide and Mass Violence in the Heart of Darkness Dominik J Schaller, 2010 - Colonial Violence

Colonial violence cannot be explained simply by racism or economic motives.
Instead it varied depending on local conditions and colonial administration.

Key Points

• Military administrations were often the most violent.

• Colonial conquest often depended on African collaborators.

• Violence differed across regions.

Example: Herero and Nama Genocide

1904 uprising in German South West Africa (Namibia).

General
Lothar von Trotha

issued an extermination order against the Herero population.

Policies included:

• killing Herero men

• driving women and children into the desert.

Around 80,000 people died.

Schaller emphasises:

• genocide was not economically rational

• colonial violence often exceeded practical goals.

Andrew Zimmerman, 2007 - Race and Colonialism

German racism developed before overseas colonialism, especially in policies toward Poles in eastern Prussia.

Cultural Racism

Early racism was cultural rather than biological.

Germans believed Poles lacked Kultur, meaning:

• discipline

• rationality

• modern values.

Internal Colonisation

German authorities tried to strengthen German control over Polish areas.

Example:

Settlement Commission (1886)

• German settlers were placed in Polish territories.

• Aim: strengthen German identity and weaken Polish influence.

Zimmerman calls this “internal colonisation.”

Connection to Colonial Empire

Ideas used against Poles were later applied to colonised peoples:

• racial hierarchies

• “civilising mission”

• segregation laws.

Racial Science

Anthropologists and scientists attempted to classify human races.

These ideas justified:

• political inequality

• economic exploitation

• colonial rule.

primary sources on colonies

Friedrich Fabri: theologian for Germany imperialism antics

Germany needed colonies to remain economically competitive.

Key Ideas

• Germany was too weak to compete with major powers without colonies.

• Colonies would provide:

  • markets

  • resources

  • global prestige.

Fabri argued Germany should imitate British imperial success.

Willhelm II: Speech 1900

Encouraged extreme violence against Chinese rebels.

Example statement:

“No Chinese will ever again dare to look cross-eyed at a German.”

Shows:

• racial arrogance

• militarism

• belief in civilising mission.

Rosa Luxemburg: critic

Luxemburg argued colonies were economically pointless.

Evidence:

• Most German trade was with Europe and the United States.

• Colonies contributed very little to economic growth.