Emil von Zelewski

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emil von Zelewski (before 1891)

Emil von Zelewski (born March 13, 1854 in Bendargau ; † August 17, 1891 near Lugalo ) was a Prussian officer of Kashubian descent. As commander of the protection force for German East Africa , he led them against the Hehe in their first major defeat in the Iringa highlands of today's Tanzania , in which he was killed.

Life

Emil von Zelewski was born in Bendargau in the West Prussian district of Neustadt . He joined the Prussian Army and served in Infantry Regiment No. 99 in Posen .

Official of the German-East African Society

In 1886 he resigned from the army as a prime lieutenant and entered the service of the German-East African Society (DOAG). In August 1888 he was sent to the city of Pangani , which belonged to the Sultanate of Zanzibar , to represent the company. Here Zelewski's imperious behavior became a trigger for the uprising of the East African coastal population against the DOAG.

The company had concluded a coastal and customs treaty with the Sultan in 1887. In return for an annual lease, it took over the administration of the mainland strip of Zanzibar and levied customs duties. When the DOAG tried to take over the administration of the coastal towns in August 1888, it met with widespread rejection from the population, who saw themselves betrayed by the sultan.

The uprising in Pangani

Zelewski's imperious behavior towards the Sultan's local wali and the disregard for the Sultan's flag when the DOAG flag was raised led to open outrage . The Austrian Consul Fuchs in Zanzibar then reported to his Foreign Minister in Vienna , “... that the official of the German East African Society made the mistake of following the Wali von Pangani in a mosque, which buildings in this country are not allowed to be entered by non-Muslims, where even the unfortunate circumstance occurred that the dogs of the officers ran after him in the mosque - this whole incident is officially denied, although the German side, but was to me by an eyewitness -. ... confirms an Austrian national in trust to be correct " Moreover, was this Incident on the Feast of the Sacrifice , one of the highest Islamic holidays.

The unrest in Pangani triggered the two-year uprising of the coastal population led by Buschiri bin Salim , in which the rule of the DOAG completely collapsed. The German Reich deployed marine infantry from ships of the Imperial Navy in the Indian Ocean and sent Hermann von Wissmann to East Africa as Reich Commissioner, who was to put down the insurrection movement with a hastily recruited force of German officers and African mercenaries. The protected area was then transferred from the DOAG to the German Reich.

Emil von Zelewski joined Wissmann's troops in 1889, took part in the storming of Buschiri's camp and the capture of Pangani and Saadani . He was eventually appointed head of the Wissmann troop in Kilwa .

Commander of the protection force

On April 1, 1891, he succeeded Wissmann as commander in German East Africa. A Reich law of March 1891 established the Schutztruppe for German East Africa as a military force of the Reich and integrated the private Wissmann's group into it.

After conquering the coast, the Germans tried to consolidate their power domestically. To do this, it was primarily necessary to secure the caravan routes between the coast and Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika . They roughly correspond to the line on which the Mittellandbahn was later built.

In this area, the German colonial power encountered the expanding sphere of influence of the Hehe people, who under their chiefs Munyigumba Muyinga and Mkwawa had brought large parts of the southern highlands under their control since the 1860s. The trains of the Hehe extended into the area of ​​the caravan route. There were also attacks on tribes that had recognized German supremacy. That is why the decision was made in the new capital Dar es Salaam to undertake a “ punitive expedition ” against the Hehe.

Death in Lugalo

The Zelewski monument near Lugaro

The first important action by Zelewski as commander was also his last. In July 1891 he marched with a battalion of the Schutztruppe (three companies with 13 officers, 320 Askaris, 170 porters as well as machine guns and light field guns) from the East African coast towards Heheland.

Zelewski switched to scorched earth warfare , as he knew from fighting the coastal insurrection. On July 30, 1891, he noted “a fortified settlement shot at with 20 shells and 850 maxi cartridges”, on August 5 and 6, 1891, 25 farms burned down, and on August 15 and 16, 1891 another 50 farms.

Mkwawa and his brother Mpangie had now gathered their warriors and were waiting for the protection force to ambush them. Zelewski, who renounced reconnaissance patrols, marched on August 17, 1891 near Lugalo (formerly German spelling: Rugaro) in the middle of Mkwawa's army camouflaged in bush and tall grass and was attacked by up to 3,000 Hehe. Zelewski and most of his men were dead within ten minutes. Two German lieutenants and two NCOs managed to escape with two Effendis , 62 Askaris , 74 porters, four donkeys and some of the luggage.

A few years later, a small pyramid with a plaque commemorating the German fallen - the so-called “Zelewski Memorial” - was erected at the site of the battle.

Others

A nephew of Emil von Zelewski was Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski , who, as SS-Obergruppenführer in Russia , was involved in anti- partisan operations and was significantly involved in extermination campaigns in the Soviet Union . In August 1944 he ordered the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising . His biographer Blood takes the view that the uncle's fate was seen as a family disgrace because he was defeated in a fight against "inferior" Africans. This was one of the driving forces behind the atrocities to which the nephew felt called.

literature

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ Barbara Köfler, Walter Sauer: Failure in Usambara . ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Wiener Geschichtsblätter 53 (1998/1) 1–25 - Vienna 1998, at notes 39 and 40 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sadocc.at
  2. ↑ Thomas Morlang: You wanted it that way. the extermination campaign against the people of the Hehe in East Africa. In: The time . No. 32/1998, p. 2.
  3. ↑ In a number of Bantu languages ​​no distinction is made between the sounds "L" and "R", which are common for European ears, which is why the pronunciation and spelling are often not uniform or change.
personal data
SURNAME Zelewski, Emil von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian officer of Kashubian descent
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Bendargau
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1891
Place of death at Lugalo