Anti-colonial monument

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Anti-colonial monument in Bremen

The anti-colonial monument is a memorial in Bremen in the form of an elephant from brick . It is located in Nelson-Mandela-Park in the Schwachhausen district, Bürgerweide-Barkhof district opposite the Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium and near the main train station . It was originally erected as a Reich Colonial Honorary Monument in 1931, inaugurated in July 1932, and from then on was considered a central German colonial monument by the colonial movement. In 1989 it was rededicated as an anti-colonial monument .

For reasons of local history and art, the “Anti-Colonial-Denk-Mal” has been a registered monument since 2008. The maintenance of the monument was given to the non-profit association DerElefant! transferred, which wants to contribute to "diversity, tolerance and creativity through education, art and culture" around the elephant.

precursor

As early as 1908 a colonial war memorial was planned in Berlin, which was to be dedicated to the Germans who fell on non-European soil. The Reich Chancellor Bernhard Fürst von Bülow campaigned for this project, which was approved by a resolution of the Reichstag. In 1913 the competition for this object was announced, which the sculptor Fritz Behn won with the depiction of an African elephant. The draft was criticized and rejected. Kaiser Wilhelm II announced a new competition in June 1914, but this was postponed when the First World War broke out and was no longer realized.

Idea and planning

view from the right

After the First World War , Bremen also found it difficult to come to terms with the loss of the German colonies. After all, the city had benefited greatly from overseas trade during the colonial era. Merchants from Hamburg and Bremen were important initiators of the German colonial movement because they wanted their worldwide trading centers to be secured by the state (“The flag follows trade”). The outstanding person here was the Bremen businessman Adolf Lüderitz , who acquired the first colony of German South West Africa (Namibia).

In the 1920s and 1930s, many of the old trading firms spoke out in favor of regaining the German colonies and returning German trade to Africa. In order to strengthen this idea, to refer to the past and to revive the claim to the colonies, national forces pleaded for the erection of a corresponding memorial.

The "Reichskolonialehrendenkmal", as it was officially called, went back to an application by the Bremen colonial working group in September 1926. After heated debates, the citizens only gave their approval in January 1931, which was confirmed a month later by a resolution of the Senate. After several unsuccessful applications for the official inauguration of the monument (it was feared that this monument should not be a reminder of the fallen but rather serve colonial propaganda), it was only approved by a senate resolution in June of the following year after constant pressure from the German Colonial Society .

execution

Fritz Behn

The ten-meter high, from dark red Oldenburg clinker brick monument in the shape of an elephant in 1932 to a design by the sculptor Fritz Behn by the architect Otto Blendermann built.

The figurative representation of the elephant merges into a twelve- sided base and rests on a further 15 by 11.20 m and 1.50 m high base step. The monument is 10 meters high from the ground with the two bases.

On the long sides of the substructure (crypt) there were three windows each to illuminate the semi-underground vaulted room, which could be entered at the head of the elephant via six steps and a bronze gate. In the crypt there was a book on a stone table in which the 1,490 names of the soldiers who died in the German colonies in the First World War were recorded. In this symbolic representation of the memorial, the honored dead lay under African soil.

Before 1945 one could read the inscription Our Colonies burned in terracotta plaques above the door to the crypt , and the names of the German colonies in Africa ( Cameroon , German East Africa , Togo , German South West Africa ) and the Names of the colonies in the Pacific, German New Guinea and German Samoa , at the time of colonialism . On the back of the base of the monument there were two portrait medallions with portraits of the Bremen merchant Franz Adolf Lüderitz and of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck .

In the course of constant renovations and repairs to the monument, the inscriptions were removed, and when the crypt was used as a storage room, the book of the dead was moved to the Bremen State Archives.

inauguration

On July 6, 1932 including all North German radio station and was attended by Germany transmitter instead of the inauguration.

In view of the large number of onlookers in the very warm summer weather, the police ensured that the fairground was cordoned off.

The first speaker was Eduard Achelis , Chairman of the Bremen Department of the German Colonial Society:

“The base of the monument bears two portraits, they show the beginning of colonial activity in the first acquirer of German colonial land, Adolf Lüderitz from Bremen , and the last fight for colonial property in General von Lettow-Vorbeck's appearance. […] May the whole German people step up in this solemn hour dedicated to our colonies and, with the same spirit as they are animated, unanimously call out to the world: Away with the events of the past, with lies and slander; we Germans demand our rights. The recognition of necessary living conditions. Immediate return of our own land, honestly acquired and honestly managed property, an expensive legacy left by our fathers: the German colonies. "

The second speaker at the event, Mayor Spitta , made it clear towards the end of his speech on the new colonial memorial about its function:

“May it also be a symbol of Germany's non-statute-barred and non-statute-barred rights to colonial activity on an equal footing in the world.
Above all, may it remind the living and future generations of the sacrificial death of our colonial warriors and urge us to emulate our fallen in our work for Germany's reconstruction in loyalty, willingness to make sacrifices and love for the fatherland. "

- Bremen news

As the third speaker, the Deputy President of the German Colonial Society Lindequist pointed out the size of the German "colonial empire [s] of almost six times the size of Germany": "Too narrow" for a 65 million people after the loss of the colonies was "the economic one." Basis, the living space has become too narrow ”. So he demanded “above all space in our own settlement areas for our German national comrades ”. "Therefore," continues Lindequist's programmatic remarks,

"[...] the German Colonial Society makes it a matter of concern to win the youth over to the colonial idea and has achieved steadily growing success in this area. The colonial interest of the political parties has also been growing considerably recently. This in cohesion with the fact that the German people have been to the time of the great West African revolt was put into passionate excitement for the colonial thing, what in the Reichstag elections of 1907 to a victory of the Friends of the colonial policy and the establishment of Reichskolonialamt exactly 25 years ago gives us the right to hope that even now those who are still hesitant will be carried away by the swelling colonial wave, so that what was once German will become German again. "

- Bremen news

As the fourth speaker, General von Lettow-Vorbeck spoke in the old uniform of the Imperial Protection Force :

“A great people must have colonies to be able to live. A great people does not only pursue colonial politics to spread culture; a great people pursues colonial policy primarily for its own sake. The main thing is not a world mission, there is a national necessity. Without colonies, a thriving people must suffocate. Colonies are the expression of the strength of a nation [...]. "

After the Deutschlandlied , commemorative wreaths were laid in the crypt of the memorial, including from the Senate , the citizenship , the Bremen Chamber of Commerce , the Reichswehr and Reichsmarine , the Navy Officers Association , the North German Lloyd and the colonial and warrior associations .

An honorary company of the Reichswehr and the flag delegations of the colonial warriors, war clubs and associations underlined the official character of the festive event.

A connection between German colonialism, its ruthless colonial wars and Hitler's later extermination campaign in the East is a currently controversial topic in historical studies. The speeches from 1932 on the inauguration of the “Colonial Memorial” in Bremen reflect much of the zeitgeist.

Reclassification as an anti-colonial monument

From the IG Metall Youth plaque made

In a resolution of the Bremen citizenship on September 19, 1989, the European action cities against apartheid started in The Hague was followed . The resolution states: "The city citizenship welcomes [...] the ongoing renovation and rededication of the colonial monument (the elephant on the citizen's pasture) as an anti-colonial monument and the invitation to President Sam Nujoma for the inauguration in spring 1990."

When Namibia celebrated its independence on March 21, 1990, Bremen also celebrated. A short time later, on May 18, 1990, the elephant was renamed as the “Anti-Colonial Memorial” at the Namibia Freedom Festival. Klaus Wedemeier , the then mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen stated: "No continent on earth has been so dismembered, economically and ecologically destroyed and its identity damaged by European colonialism as Africa."

During this solemn act, a large bronze plaque was unveiled to the right at the foot of the monument. The wording of this two-part table:

“The German Colonial Memorial, a work by the Munich sculptor Fritz Behn , was built in 1931 by the German Colonial Society in Bremen and inaugurated on July 6, 1932. The memorial was already controversial in Bremen at the time. He sparked the public debate about the future of the coexistence of peoples in colonial oppression or in equal cooperation. "

“Above a crypt, the stone elephant commemorated the fallen of World War I in the former German colonies of Africa. At the same time, the elephant was an expression of Germany's colonial past as well as the demand of neo-colonial Bremen circles for the return of the former German colonial property. "

“During the Nazi era, the elephant was at the center of efforts by National Socialist Bremen to become the 'City of Colonies' in the 'Third Reich'. Africa’s problems are still closely linked to colonialism, racism and ongoing exploitation. Africa's people have successfully resisted at great sacrifice in liberation struggles. Many people around the world have shown solidarity with them. Our society has started to learn from this development. "

“Africa made new friends in Bremen. This monument is a symbol of the responsibility that we have grown out of history. "

In June 1996, the Namibian President Sam Nujoma visited the Hanseatic city and, together with the Mayor Henning Scherf, unveiled another bronze plaque with the text:

“In memory of the victims of German colonial rule in Namibia, 1884–1914 - HE Dr. Sam Nujoma, President of the Republic of Namibia, Dr. Henning Scherf, President of the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, inaugurated June 21, 1996. "

  • Inscriptions on the anti-colonial monument in Bremen
  • Anti-colonial monument Bremen insignia1.jpg
  • Anti-colonial monument Bremen insignia2.jpg

Cooperation between Bremen and Namibia

The rededication of the elephant was not just a symbolic act, it also marked the beginning of a solidarity with concrete results that continues to this day. In 1990 the Namibia project was founded as a cooperation between the University of Bremen (Center for African Studies) and the UN Institute for Namibia in Lusaka and SWAPO .

The aim of the cooperation was to enable the black population of Namibia to receive training, because the black majority of the population was almost excluded from training opportunities under the South African administration .

First of all, the country's colonial past should be addressed in the classroom. With the help of Dr. Patemann among other things a book on the country's social studies with the title Our Namibia , a history and geography book about Namibia. Another main goal of this project was to support the establishment of a new legal system, for which Prof. Dr. Hinz from the University of Bremen .

Bremen and Namibia founded a joint round table in March 1995, which was opened in the Bremen state representation in Bonn. Namibia's capital, Windhoek, has been a twin city of Bremen since 2001 .

Current development

Omaheke stones in memory of the Herero and Nama victims
Blackboard next to the Omaheke stones

There is an initiative to use the crypt for cultural events in the summer months and to set up summer open-air catering to enliven the small park. The registered association “DerElefant!”, Which is recognized as a non-profit, acts as the sponsor.

In 2009 the crypt was renovated and illuminated, and the monument was cleaned. The monument is illuminated from the outside. Also in 2009 a place of remembrance for the victims of the Nama and Ovaherero during the colonial war in Namibia (1904–1908) was built in direct dialogue with the elephant. Stones from the Omaheke desert in Namibia, where many Herero died of thirst after the Battle of Waterberg , were brought to Bremen to be made into a circular place of remembrance. This initiative was launched by the non-profit association for diversity, tolerance and creativity, DerElefant! as well as founded and supported by local politics, cultural workers and committed neighbors.

literature

  • Rudolf Bauer, Inge Buck, Michael Weisser : The Elephant! - Pictures, poems, documents and historical sources. sujet Verlag, Bremen 2010, ISBN 978-3-933995-49-0 .
  • Heinz Gustafsson: Namibia, Bremen and Germany. A rocky road to friendship . Aschenbeck and Holstein, Delmenhorst / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932292-40-5 .
  • Jürgen Zimmerer, Joachim Zeller (Ed.): Genocide in German South West Africa: the colonial war (1904–1908) in Namibia and its consequences . Ch. Links, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-86153-303-0 .
  • Gisela Graichen, Horst Founder: German colonies. Dream and trauma . Ullstein, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-548-36940-5 .
  • Joachim Zeller: Colonial Monuments and Awareness of History. An examination of the colonial German culture of remembrance. IKO, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-88939-544-9 . (Also: Dissertation. Technical University, Berlin 1998).
  • From the colonial memorial to the anti-colonial memorial. 3. Edition. Senator for Ports, Interregional Transport and Foreign Trade / State Office for Development Cooperation, Bremen 1996.
  • Hartmut Müller : Lüderitz and the colonial myth. Colonial movements in Bremen. In Namibia: the topicality of the colonial relationship. Discourse. Bremen contributions to science and society 6 . University of Bremen, Bremen 1982, ISBN 3-88722-006-4 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim Zeller: Colonial Monuments and Historical Consciousness. An examination of the colonial German culture of remembrance. IKO, Frankfurt am Main 2000, (Zugl .: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 1998), ISBN 3-88939-544-9 , p. 151.
  2. ^ Monument database of the LfD ; Monument is now a monument. "Elefant" in Gustav-Deetjen-Allee is a listed building. denkmalpflege.bremen.de, accessed on September 21, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Weser Report: Elephant Festival for Diversity. Association The Elephant! announces a big open air at the memorial for June 12th . KPS Verlagsgesellschaft, Bremen May 24, 2009. DerElefant's
    self- image! e. V. see also its internet homepage and the association statutes that can be accessed there.
  4. ↑ Copies of the memorial book on weltkriegsopfer.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.weltkriegsopfer.de  
  5. ↑ a b Bremer Nachrichten : Inauguration of the German colonial memorial . Issue No. 187 of July 7, 1932, Schünemann, Bremen 1932, third sheet (end of article), SuUB microfilm collection .
  6. ↑ The prehistory and the full-page article on the inauguration ceremony, which originally appeared in the Bremer Nachrichten on July 7, 1932, can be found in detail in: Heinz Gustafsson: Namibia, Bremen and Germany. A rocky road to friendship . Aschenbeck & Holstein, Delmenhorst / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932292-40-5 , p. 303 ff and p. 313 ff.
  7. ↑ Bremer Nachrichten : Inauguration of the German colonial memorial . Issue No. 187 of July 7, 1932, Schünemann, Bremen 1932, third sheet (introduction to the article), SuUB microfilm collection .
  8. ↑ Inauguration of the German colonial memorial . Issue No. 187 of July 7, 1932, Schünemann, Bremen 1932, Third Sheet ( Mayor Spitta section ), SuUB microfilm collection .
  9. ↑ Inauguration of the German colonial memorial . Issue No. 187 of July 7, 1932, Schünemann, Bremen 1932, third sheet (section "Excellency von Lindequist,"), SuUB microfilm collection .
  10. ^ Philip Geck, Anton Rühling: freiburg-postkolonial.de Forerunner of the Holocaust? - The debate about the (dis) continuity of colonialism and National Socialism.
  11. ↑ Jürgen Zimmerer, Joachim Zeller (ed.): Genocide in German South West Africa: the colonial war (1904–1908) in Namibia and its consequences . Ch. Links, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-86153-303-0 .
  12. ^ Heinz Gustafsson: Namibia, Bremen and Germany. A rocky road to friendship . Aschenbeck & Holstein, Delmenhorst / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932292-40-5 , p. 443.
  13. ^ Text on the table by Hartmut Müller , Manfred Hinz and Gunther Hilliges. Reprinted in: Heinz Gustafsson: Namibia, Bremen and Germany. A rocky road to friendship . Aschenbeck and Holstein, Delmenhorst / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932292-40-5 , p. 439, also in the Weser-Kurier of November 9, 1989 and in the Bremer Anzeiger of December 30, 1989.
  14. ↑ cf. also: Heinz Gustafsson: Namibia, Bremen and Germany. A rocky road to friendship . Aschenbeck & Holstein, Delmenhorst / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932292-40-5 , p. 522.
  15. ↑ http://www.der-elefant-bremen.de/aktion_10/rede_miedtke.html

Web links

Commons : Antikolonialdenkmal Bremen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 53 ° 5 ′ 2.7 ″  N , 8 ° 49 ′ 3 ″  E