A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Broader cultural production in <strong>German</strong>y was similarly inflected by the colonial<br />
experience. In 1908, the composer Walter Kollo wrote Das kleine Niggergirl, a music<br />
hall ballad that dove into the contemporary political debate on racial miscegenation by<br />
revelling in the transgressive sexual proprieties of the colonies. 74 Exhibitions of<br />
paintings of colonial scenes involving punitive raids and meetings between <strong>German</strong> and<br />
African leaders were also in vogue during the colonial period. Pictures such as these<br />
adorned advertisements, postcards, popular journals and syndicated art throughout the<br />
period. 75 Some artists journeyed to Africa to capture the essence of their subjects and<br />
brought an awareness of African artistic styles back to <strong>German</strong>y. In this vein, the work<br />
of Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner had substantial impact upon contemporary art. 76 Similarly,<br />
voyages to Africa by pioneers of <strong>German</strong>y’s budding film industry introduced African<br />
motifs to <strong>German</strong> cinema. 77 Additionally, propaganda by the “colonial academics” such<br />
as Max Weber, Hans Delbrück, Werner Sombart and Gustav von Schmoller did much to<br />
advance the cause of colonial expansion. 78 In literature, popular books by writers like<br />
Ernst von Weber, Karl May, Wilhelm Hübbe-Schleiden, Carl Peters, Hans Grimm,<br />
Friedrich Fabri and Frieda von Bülow popularized and valorized the colonial<br />
experience. 79 As John Short indicates, there was a substantial and diverse readership of<br />
such colonial literature. 80 Through these cultural expressions, a continual portrayal of<br />
alterity was communicated. 81 This art frequently conveyed the image of empty land and<br />
hostile natives in obvious hopes of encouraging the <strong>German</strong> extension of commerce,<br />
Christianity and civilization. 82 Additionally, a developing awareness of African culture<br />
led many African motifs to be incorporated into an Afro-<strong>German</strong> culture. 83 These<br />
cultural efforts marked the establishment of difference and syncretism in <strong>German</strong> culture.<br />
60