17 minute read
To what extent has Germany addressed its history of imperialism in Africa?” by Ken Hung
C3 Framework Indicators
Staging the Compelling Question
Supporting Question 1
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.
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 2 Supporting Question 3
What impact did German imperialism have on Africa?
Formative Performance Task
How did Germany justify its colonial empire in Africa?
Formative Performance Task
How has Germany attempted to address the injustices of its colonial past?
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.
Featured Sources
Source A: ”Scramble for Africa“ (Wikipedia Maps)
Source B: University of Texas in Austin
Source C: “Letter from Africa: Lingering Cultural Colonialism” (Ohene)
Summative Performance Task
Taking Informed Action
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.
Featured Sources
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
Source A: Educational Technology Clearinghouse (Florida Center for Instructional Technology)
Source B: “IlissAfrica - Welcome” (Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg)
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 G: ”The White Man‘s Burden“ (Rudyard Kipling) 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)
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.
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.
COMPELLING QUESTION
To what extent has Germany addressed its history of imperialism in Africa?
INQUIRY OVERVIEW
2019 is the 100th anniversary of the end of Germany’s colonial empire. 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. Then, students will research significant people and events crucial toward understanding the history of German imperialism in Africa. Finally, students will examine how Germany is grappling with its imperialist history by researching a controversy regarding the renaming of streets in Berlin’s African Quarter and writing an essay arguing how best to resolve the controversy.
TEACHER BACKGROUND
Students will probably lack knowledge about the unification of Germany and how it led Germany to participate in the “scramble for Africa” (1884-1914), a race by many European nations to acquire African colonies for economic gain and prestige. To provide context, students should already have a basic understanding of the definition of imperialism and the causes and effects of European imperialism in the 19th century from the perspectives of both Europeans and colonized peoples. The teacher may also want to spend time focusing on the geography of Africa to identify the location of German colonies and their current status as independent nations. Finally, the teacher may want to explain how many Germans are currently reevaluating how they study and remember other difficult periods in their history, such as World War II and the Holocaust.
SUGGESTED TIME FRAME: 1 week
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
Internet Access (featured articles and maps) Google Tour Builder (optional extension)
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
Project a map that shows how Germany was divided during the Cold War (see link below). Explain to students that Germany became a united country in 1871 but then became divided into East and West Germany at the end of World War II. Give students background on the causes of this division (e.g. division of Germany at the Potsdam Conference, building of the Berlin Wall in 1961). Ask students what impact this might have had on the political, economic, and cultural development of Germany, as well as on the everyday lives of Germans. For context, students may want to watch the set of YouTube videos by The Guardian on the lives of East and West Germans after the building of the Berlin Wall below.
Explain to students that 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the division of Germany. However, as Germany is commemorating this anniversary, there is another 100-year anniversary that is not getting as much attention. 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the German colonial empire.
SOURCES
Maps of Germany during the Cold War: • “Inner German Border.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_German_border#/media/File:
Germany_occupation_zones_with_border.jpg.
Pike, John. “Military.” Germany, Zones of Occupation, 1946, www.globalsecurity.org/military/ library/report/other/us-army_germany_1944-46_map3.htm.
Guardian, The. “Life on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall.” YouTube, 12 Nov. 2009, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nt7AA_JaDeM.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #1
Formative Performance #1: Many students may know of Hitler’s attempt to create an empire during World War II (the Third Reich). Explain that Germany’s attempts to create an empire occurred long before the rise of Hitler. Have students define imperialism. Explain that in the 19th century, Germany was an imperialist power that successfully obtained a colonial empire in Asia and Africa.
Project the maps of Africa in 1790, 1880 and 1913 (first two sources below). Explain that in 1885, Germany organized the Berlin Conference, where European powers met to drew up a plan to divide the continent of Africa. At the time, Germany was a newly formed nation seeking to make its mark on the world stage. Like many industrialized nations, Germany sought colonies as a way to develop its economy and enhance its prestige. Led by Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany, the imperialist powers of Europe drew up a set of agreements that led to the partitioning of Africa. No Africans played a significant role in these agreements.
Why did they do this? Explain that one of the major reasons was the exploitation of Africa for its raw materials (e.g. rubber to make tires in industrialized nations). Teachers may want to review the long history of the exploitation of Africa (e.g. the Atlantic slave trade).
Ask students to look at the maps of Africa in 1880 and 1913. Notice that the boundaries created by the Europeans after the Berlin Conference did not reflect the boundaries of African kingdoms in 1790 and 1880. Ask students to brainstorm the impact (similar to the partition of Germany after World War II) that this might have had on the political, economic, and cultural lives of the peoples of Africa. Consider that the maps of Africa in 2019 follow the borders set by the Berlin Conference. What impact might this have today?
Distribute the CNN article: “Letter from Africa: Lingering Cultural Colonialism” by Elizabeth Ohene. Have students read the article and make a list of all the different effects that German, British, and French imperialism have had in Togo and Ghana since the Berlin Conference.
Featured Sources #1: Maps of Africa before and after the Berlin Conference:
“Scramble for Africa.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 June 2019, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Scramble-for-Africa-1880-1913.png.
University of Texas at Austin. “Historical Map of Africa in the 17th and 18th Centuries.” From the Cambridge Modern History Atlas, 1912. http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/africa_17_18_century.htm.
Ohene, Elizabeth. “Letter from Africa: Lingering Cultural Colonialism.” BBC News, BBC, 3 Nov. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41817290.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #2
Formative Performance Task #2:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Show students a map of German Colonies. Explain that Germany’s colonies included German Togoland (now Ghana and Togo), Cameroon, German East Africa (now Rwanda Burundi, Tanzania), and German South-West Africa (now Namibia). The teacher may want to hand out a map of Africa in 2019 and have students trace the boundaries of the German colonies over the existing boundaries of the countries today. If so, they should continue to draw conclusions about the impact these boundaries have on the political, economic, and cultural lives of Africans. Explain that during the 19th and 20th centuries, Germany, like many European imperialist powers, had to justify its colonial empire. One way this was done was through the belief of social Darwinism. Go over social Darwinism—an application of Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theories to groups of humans. Explain that the late 19th century was a time period in European and American history when ideas of nationalism and modernism became even more intertwined with ideas of imperialism, racism and Social Darwinism (students may need more background on this history). This led to ideas that Africans, African Americans, and other people of color were biologically inferior races that needed to be civilized. Social Darwinism was also used to support arguments about what types of people or countries were considered “modern” (i.e. Europeans), which was then used to justify the idea that it was the obligation of European imperialists to civilize the peoples of their colonies. Students may want to read Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” a famous poem that was often used to justify this sentiment. Explain to students that one way the idea of social Darwinism was used to justify imperialism was through media images of Africans taken by Germans and other Europeans. Project Image #1 (a photo of an exchange between a European and an African) taken from the Internet Library of Sub-Saharan Africa, a database of scholarly articles and images on sub-Saharan Africa. Have students analyze the image to determine how it could be used to support ideas of social Darwinism using the Image Analysis Worksheet put together by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Having analyzed the image using the worksheet, ask students to answer the following: a. To what extent does the image seem to support social Darwinism? Explain. b. Overall, how could the image be used by Germans to justify imperialism? To what extent are the ideas of social
Darwinism used specifically for this purpose? Explain. Project the second image taken from the archives of historian Jeffery Green. Ask the students to answer questions in steps #3 and #4 using the Image Analysis Worksheet.
Extension: 6. Divide students into groups of two or three and have them go to one of the image databases listed below and repeat steps #3-5.
Featured Sources #2
Map of German colonies: • Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Educational Technology Clearinghouse, https://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/11700/11761/11761.htm.
Image #1: • “IlissAfrica - Welcome.” DE, Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg,
Frankfurt Am Main, 20 Apr. 2018, www.ilissafrica.de/en/. https://ilissafrica.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/a_0ii_6874.jpg.
Image #2: • Jeffery Green Historian, 5 July 2019, 7:32 PM, https://jeffreygreen.co.uk/095-a-german-view-of-imperialism-in-africa-1904/.
Image Analysis Worksheet: • ”Wisconsin Historical Society. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/pdfs/ imageanalysisworksheet.pdf. Accessed 07 October 2020.
Databases with imperialist images of Africa: • “LE TOGO ET LA PHOTOGRAPHIE COLONIALE ALLEMANDE.” Photos Coloniales, June 17, 2013, http://kolonialfotografie.com/photos.html.
Frobenius Institute for Cultural Archaeology. “Image Database.” Frobenius, https://www.frobenius-institut.de/en/datenbanken/online-bildarchiv/how-to-use-the-database.
White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling: • Kipling, Rudyard. “The White Man’s Burden.” Bartleby.com, www.bartleby.com/364/169.html.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #3
Formative Performance Task #3:
1.
2.
3.
4. Ask students to think of famous monuments and statues (e.g. Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial). Ask students what it means to “memorialize” a person through a monument or statue. Have students discuss why people choose to memorialize certain types of people (e.g. race, gender, profession) Why? Project the image of the Kaiser Wilhelm II Equestrian statue. Before revealing the name of the person, ask students to use adjectives to describe the man on the statue. What was the sculptor trying to say about the person? Explain that this is a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was the emperor of Germany during the Berlin Conference. He is also remembered as the German leader who foolishly led the country into World War I. Have students go back and look at some of the monuments they brainstormed. What are some characteristics of these statues or monuments and why do so many statues and monuments have them (e.g. someone marching into battle)? From what they know, are these people worthy of being memorialized in this way? Divide students into groups of six and give each group a sheet of newsprint. Explain to students that they will be making a group timeline of key events in the history of German imperialism in Africa. Each student will be responsible for researching one of the following people/events and posting the information on the timeline: a. Who is this person?/What is this event? b. What is the significance of this person/event to the history of German imperialism in Africa? c. Give three specific pieces of evidence that support your answer. Also include any dates that may be relevant to the evidence. d. How is this person/event memorialized in German or European history? To do so, have students do a quick Google
Image search of monuments and memorials that are associated with the person or event. 1. Otto von Bismarck 2. Berlin Conference 3. Herero Wars and Lothar von Trotha 4. Maji Maji Revolution 5. Shark Island Concentration Camp 6. Treaty of Versailles After students conduct their research and post the information on the timeline, have students answer the following: a. Based on your research, what significance did each person/event have in the history of German imperialism?
5. b. Overall, what effects did German imperialism in Africa have on Germans? Africans? c. Based on your research, how is this person/event remembered? To what extent do monuments and memorials fairly depict this person/event and its relation to German imperialism? Ask students to read the article: “Avoiding the Pathos” by the Goethe Institute. a. According to the article, what significance have memorials played historically in Germany? b. How has this changed over time? c. In what ways could this new understanding of the role of memorials be used to commemorate the impact of
German imperialism?
For more background, students may also wish to read the New York Times article: “The Big Hole in Germany’s Nazi Reckoning? Its Colonial History.”
6. Explain to students that the debate over how to commemorate the legacy of imperialism is currently playing out in Berlin’s African Quarter. When the neighborhood was built, streets were named after Germans who colonized Africa. The neighborhood is now home to many migrants from those former African colonies, some of whom find the street names offensive. As a result, there has been a movement to change the names of streets to honor antiimperialist activists.
To understand this, have students read “Germany’s Other Brutal History” (The Guardian, 4/4/17) for homework and identify arguments for/against the renaming of streets in Berlin.
7. After going over the homework, divide students into groups of four and assign cooperative learning roles (e.g. facilitator, note-taker, spokesperson, cheerleader).
Assign each group a street in the African Quarter. Students will be assigned to research either the historical figure the street was originally named after or an anti-imperialist activist that supporters of renaming want to honor instead.
OLD NAME
Luderitzstrasse 1. Adolf Luderitz
Nachtigalplatz 3. Gustav Nachtigal
Petersallee 5. Karl Peters PROPOSED NAME
2. Cornell Fredericks
4. King Rudolf Magna Bell
6. Anna Mungunda, Maji-Maji-Allee
Students will research the historical figure and write three reasons why the street should be named after the historical figure and three reasons why it shouldn’t. Students may conduct research by using the website of Berlin Postcolonial, which includes articles on the history of the African Quarter and German imperialism.
Additional groups can research the origins of other streets in the African Quarter such as Zanzibar Street and Congo Street, as well as the history of Carl Hagenback, who built the neighborhood with the intention of including a zoo honoring German imperialism.
To enhance their research, students may wish to visit the website of the project “Lern- und Erinnerungsort Afrikanisches Viertel” sponsored by the Office for Further Education and Culture of the district center of Berlin. The website includes an interactive tour of significant sites in the African Quarter. Unfortunately, the website is in German; students can translate it by cutting and pasting blocks of text into Google Translate.
8. Conduct a solution (e.g. Socratic Seminar, debate) where students answer the question: To what extent should Berlin’s African Quarter rename its streets? In doing so, they should consider: who should name a street (e.g. residents of the community, people of a certain racial or ethnic group, city leaders) and what impact naming a street has on understanding the history of a neighborhood.
Featured Sources #3: Statue of Kaiser Wilhelm: • “Wilhelm II Statue.” Image. Wikimedia Commons, 18 Mar. 2019, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/e/e6/Wilhelm_II._-_Statue_an_der_Hohenzollernbrücke_Köln_(2007).jpg.
Relevant articles: • Eligon, John. “The Big Hole in Germany’s Nazi Reckoning? Its Colonial History.” The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/world/europe/germany-colonial-history-africa-nazi.html.
Jaeger, Falk. “Avoiding the Pathos.” Goethe Institut, @GI_weltweit, October 2017, www.goethe.de/en/kul/arc/20979492.html.
Sousa, Ana Naomi de. “Germany’s Other Brutal History: Should Berlin’s ‘African Quarter’ Be Renamed?” The Guardian, 4 Apr. 2017, www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/apr/04/germanys-other-brutal-history- should-berlins-african-quarter-be-renamed.
Website of Berlin Postkolonial: • http://www.berlin-postkolonial.de/.
Interactive tour of African Quarter (In German only.): • “Lern- Und Erinnerungsort Afrikanisches Viertel.“ Office for Further Education and Culture of the
District Center of Berlin, 5 July 2019, 8:13 PM, www.3plusx.de/leo-site/.
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK
Students will write a 500-word essay answering the question: To what extent has Germany addressed its history of imperialism in Africa? In doing so, students may wish to incorporate the research they have conducted in Performance Task #3.
EXTENSION (OPTIONAL) TASK
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. Students will be able to explore each street using Google Street View while reading arguments supporting/opposing the renaming of each street. The site will also include background on the historical figure each street is named after and the anti-imperialist activist some want to honor instead.
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. In doing so, students could research the positions that German Africans have regarding German monuments to imperialism.
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.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIFFERENTIATION
Teachers of students who are English language learners may want to have their students just focus on understanding the topic by reading the New York Times article: “The Big Hole in Germany’s Nazi Reckoning? Its Colonial History.” The teacher should break the article into paragraphs and assign pairs of students a paragraph each in order to understand the main idea. The teacher should take care to break down important vocabulary words such as “reparations,” “reckoning” and “legacy.”
MODIFICATIONS FOR ONLINE LEARNING
Students may present the results of their group work using Google Slides or Padlet. Any individual work could be turned in electronically using Google Docs or as entries in a Reflective Journal.
Ken Hung is a high school social studies teacher at Central High School in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
