“To what extent has Germany addressed its history of imperialism in Africa?” by Ken Hung
High School Inquiry Lessons
To what extent has Germany addressed its history of imperialism in Africa? C3 Framework Indicators
D1.2.9-12., D1.5.9-12., D2.Civ.5.9-12., D2.Geo.6.9-12., D2.His.3.9-12., D2.His.7.9-12., D2.His.6.9-12., D2.His.16.9-12., D3.3.9-12., D4.1.9-12., D4.6.9-12.
Staging the Compelling Question
In this unit students will examine the extent to which contemporary Germany has addressed its history of imperialism. Students will first compare the division of East and West Germany with the division of Africa under the Berlin Conference. Next, students will examine images produced by Germans and other Europeans to understand arguments used by Germans to justify imperialism in Africa. Finally, students will research significant people and events crucial toward understanding the history of German imperialism in Africa.
Supporting Question 1 What impact did German imperialism have on Africa?
Supporting Question 2 How did Germany justify its colonial empire in Africa?
Supporting Question 3 How has Germany attempted to address the injustices of its colonial past?
Formative Performance Task
Formative Performance Task
Formative Performance Task
Students will learn about the consequences of the Berlin Conference, they will study colonial maps of Africa, and learn more about the exploitation of Africa to answer the first supporting question.
Students will continue to draw conclusions about the impact colonial boundaries have on the political, economic, and cultural lives of Africans. They will go over the idea of social Darwinism, which was used to justify imperialism, by exploring media images of Africans taken by Germans and other Europeans.
Students will discuss why people choose to memorialize certain types of people in memorials/monuments. They will be making a group timeline of key events in the history of German imperialism in Africa. Students will learn about the debate over how to commemorate the legacy of imperialism is currently playing out in Berlin’s African Quarter.
Featured Sources
Featured Sources
Featured Sources
Source A: ”Scramble for Africa“ (Wikipedia Maps)
Source A: Educational Technology Clearinghouse (Florida Center for Instructional Technology)
Source B: University of Texas in Austin
Source B: “IlissAfrica - Welcome” (Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg)
Source C: “Letter from Africa: Lingering Cultural Colonialism” (Ohene)
Source C: Image (Jeffery Green Historian) Source D: “Image Analysis Worksheet“ (Wisconsin Historical Society) Source E: ”Le Togo et la Photographie Coloniale Allemande“ (Photos Coloniales) Source F: ”Image Database“ (Frobenius Institute for Cultural Archaeology)
Source A: “Statue of Kaiser Wilhelm“ (Wikipedia) Source B: “Avoiding the Pathos“ (Goethe-Institut) Source C: “The Big Hole in Germany‘s Nazi Reckoning? Its Colonial History” (Eligon, J.) Source D: “Germany‘s Other Brutal History: Should Berlin‘s ‚African Quarter‘ Be Renamed?” (Sousa, A.) Source E: Website of Berlin Postkolonial Source F: ”Lern- Und Erinnerungsort Afrikanisches Viertel“ (Office for Further Education and Culture of the District Center of Berlin)
Source G: ”The White Man‘s Burden“ (Rudyard Kipling)
Summative Performance Task
Argument: Students will write a 500-word essay answering the compelling question. Extension: Students will use Google Tour Builder to post their answers on a class Google Maps. The goal is for the class to create their own English-language virtual “tour” of the African Quarter.
Taking Informed Action
Understand: Students could research issues facing German Africans today and contact organizations in Germany such as Berlin Postcolonial that are addressing these issues. Assess: Students could research debates around controversial memorials, statues, and monuments in their neighborhood (e.g. Confederate memorials) and compare and contrast these debates with those concerning German monuments to imperialism. Act: Students could design memorials that address the impact of imperialism on Germans. Students could then write a letter to their newspaper proposing solutions to the debates they have researched.
30 | Top Lessons | Teach Germany
