Hans Germani

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Hans Germani (* 1927 in Trieste , † 1983 in Johannesburg ) was a prominent war journalist . As a correspondent, he reported on the decolonization of Africa . He worked u. a. for Die Welt , the Spiegel and for Peter von Zahn's series as “Reporter of the Wind Rose” .

life and work

Reporters in Hungary and Africa

Germani was born in Trieste to an Italian father and a German mother. Towards the end of the war he was drafted into the Wehrmacht . He studied medicine at the University of Vienna and graduated with a doctorate, but never practiced. Instead, he volunteered for several newspapers. From 1952 he worked as a correspondent for the news magazine Spiegel . In 1956 he reported on the Hungarian uprising in which he was wounded. From 1959 to 1961 he worked as a correspondent in Cairo for the Deutsche Zeitung and Wirtschaftszeitung . From 1961 he reported from Nairobi for Peter von Zahn's series as "Reporter of the Wind Rose" . For the newspaper Die Welt he reported on the independence of the Congo , Moïse Tschombé and the secession of Katanga . In his correspondent activities and his time as a mercenary, his talent for languages ​​came in handy: He spoke seven European languages ​​fluently, he also spoke Swahili and one or two East African dialects

With the mercenaries in the Congo

Germani originally wanted to report on the Simba rebellion in the Congo as a reporter , but in November 1964 accepted the offer of Belgian mercenaries in the 9th Command to accompany them on their campaign in eastern Congo against the Simba rebels as a doctor with the rank of lieutenant . In late November 1964, he joined the English-speaking fifth command of Mike Hoare to that needed a doctor. Germani renounced his non-combatant status . Rather, he saw himself as a normal soldier and was accordingly armed with an assault rifle . Germani not only cared for the wounded mercenaries and local soldiers, but also the liberated European and American hostages who suffered from malnutrition and the consequences of abuse and rape . Hoare later wrote that he no longer knew whether he feared the wound or the doctor: “Hans Germani admitted that he was rusty, he had not practiced for years, but sewing a wound was no problem - only the patient jumped a foot in the air. ”During the operation of the white giant , which cut off the rebels from their supplies from Sudan and Uganda, Germani no longer had any medical duties, but worked as an intelligence officer in the Hoare staff .

In his book White Mercenaries in the Black Land from 1966, Germani wrote about his involvement in punitive expeditions among the native population of the country. The black population, which was not on the side of its clients, viewed Germani as "ogres", "magicians" and "communist rebel gangs". He shared a self-image with the other mercenaries, according to which they were "freedom fighters" because they were fighting a control of "Red China" in Central Africa.

Germani accompanied Franz Josef Strauss on his trip to South Africa in 1966. In May 1977 Germani took the view that humanitarian aid from the Federal Republic of Germany for refugee camps in Botswana would lead to financial support in favor of supposedly communist guerrillas. With this he joined the line of the Witikobund as an argument .

Critic of Decolonization

Germani later lived and worked in South Africa and Namibia . He positioned himself several times as a critic of the decolonization of Africa . For example, he denied the Wiriyamu massacre in the Portuguese colonial war in Mozambique . His books appeared in different languages.

Publications

literature

Mike Hoare: Hans Germani , in: ders., Congo Warriors , Boulder, Colorado. Paladin Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-647-8 , pp. 86f

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mike Hoare: Hans Germani , in: ders., Congo Warriors , Boulder, Colorado. Paladin Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-647-8 , p. 86
  2. ↑ White mercenaries in the black country, Ullstein Verlag , Frankfurt 1966, OLCC 720182604, p. 13
  3. ↑ Rudolf Augstein : Dear mirror reader, in Der Spiegel 47/1956, p. 8.
  4. ↑ Mike Hoare: Hans Germani , in: ders., Congo Warriors , Boulder, Colorado. Paladin Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-647-8 , p. 86f, here p. 86
  5. ↑ Mike Hoare: Congo Mercenary, Paladin Press, Boulder / Colorado 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-639-3 , p. 139
  6. ↑ Mike Hoare: Congo Mercenary, Paladin Press, Boulder / Colorado 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-639-3 , p. 155
  7. ↑ Mike Hoare: Hans Germani , in: ders., Congo Warriors , Boulder, Colorado. Paladin Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-58160-647-8 , pp. 86f
  8. ^ A b Alwin Meyer, Karl-Klaus Rabe: Relevant relations of union politicians . Lamuv Verlag , Bornheim-Merten 1980, pp. 110-111
  9. ↑ "GENSCHER MISSION: Third Dimension" in: Der Spiegel from: October 23, 1978
  10. ↑ Mocambique: Only God knows , in: Der Spiegel 31/1973, p. 58f.
personal data
SURNAME Germani, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian journalist and war correspondent
DATE OF BIRTH 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Trieste , Italy
DATE OF DEATH 1983
Place of death Johannesburg , South Africa