Hermann Kersting

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Hermann Kersting (* January 30 . Jul / 11. February  1863 greg. In Riga ; † 23. August 1937 ) was a German doctor, explorer and colonial administrator .

Life

Kersting was the son of Richard Kersting, a chemist from Riga, and grandson of the painter Georg Friedrich Kersting . He studied medicine, economics and agriculture at the Universities of Königsberg and Dorpat . In 1893 he received his doctorate in medicine.

Africa crossing

In 1893 and 1894 he took part in a trip through Africa with Gustav Adolf von Götzen and Georg von Prittwitz and Gaffron from East Africa to the mouth of the Congo.

With the intention of exploring Central Africa , they set out on December 21, 1893 from Pangani on the German-East African coast and marched through the areas of the Maasai , North Uniamwesi and Usuwi . On May 2, 1894, the expedition members crossed the Kagera and went into Rwanda , which until then had only been touched by Oskar Baumann in 1892 on the eastern edge. They climbed one of the highest peaks of the Kirunga Mountains , the Msumbiro and the still active volcano Kirunga-tscha-gongo . On June 29, Götzen decided to advance west through the jungle of Uregga . After great exertion, they reached the Congo near Kirundu on September 21, and Matadi on November 29, where the great river flows into the Atlantic .

Colonial official

Kersting's property in Bassari , Togo (approx. 1907–1909)

In 1896 he took part in Karl Lauterbach's expedition on behalf of the Foreign Office , the aim of which was to explore the hinterland of New Guinea .

In May 1897 he entered the colonial service and was first head of the Misahöhe station in Togo , then administrator of the Sokode district . There Kersting presented himself as the “master of the country” and had a station “built with the dimensions of a Courland nobility seat”. In the years between 1897 and 1902, Kersting led 16 military operations to subdue the district. Peter Sebald characterized Kersting as a cold-calculating official who thought little of negotiations, but preferred military force. In 1902 and 1903 he toured the southern states of the USA, Brazil and Argentina.

In connection with the colonial scandal of 1905, Kersting was accused of raping several African underage women. The accusation was rejected as defamation by Kersting's superiors and had no consequences for him, although at least one rape was confirmed by the ward assistant Friedrich Wilhelm Martin Schröder.

From 1910 to 1914 he was Vice-Governor of the Caroline Islands , Mariana Islands and Marshall Islands , in 1910 he was district administrator on Yap , and in 1911 in the Ponape district . During this time, in connection with the uprising of the Sokehs, the largest military action by the German colonial power in the Pacific took place. With considerable use of the navy (the ships Emden , Nürnberg , Cormoran and Planet ), Kersting tried to master the approximately 200 insurgents, but did not succeed because the insurgents entrenched themselves or waged a guerrilla war. Eventually he was able to starve to death by using the "scorched earth" tactics and bring them to their knees. Seventeen insurgents were shot, the whole Sokeh people were deported to Babelthuap and the men were forced to work in the phosphate mines of Angaur . After the end of the German colonial empire in the Pacific, the Sokeh were able to return.

In May 1914 Kersting went on a study trip to China and Japan , where he was surprised by the outbreak of the First World War . After a brief captivity, he returned to Germany in 1914. In 1915 he worked for the German Agricultural Society , in 1916 and 1917 for the Turkish War Ministry. From 1917 to 1920 he was a consultant for agriculture and forestry in the Reich Colonial Office .

literature

  • Garzke: The uprising in Ponape and its overthrow by SM ships Emden, Nuremberg, Cormoran, Planet. In: Marine Rundschau. Scientific journal on naval issues. Edited by the news bureau of the Reich Marine Office. 22nd year, 6th issue 1911, pp. 703-738.
  • Karl Baumann, Dieter Klein, Wolfgang Apitzsch: Biographical Handbook German New Guinea: 1882-1922. Brief résumés of former colonists, researchers, missionaries and travelers. 2nd Edition. Baumann, Faßberg 2002.
  • Ralph Erbar: A place in the sun? The administrative and economic history of the German colony Togo 1884–1914. Stuttgart 1991.
  • Thomas Morlang: Cruel robbers that we were. In: The time . No. 39, 23 September 2010, p. 22 ( online ).
  • Thomas Morlang: Rebellion in the South Seas. The uprising on Ponape against the German colonial rulers in 1910/11. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-604-8 .
  • Peter Sebald: Togo 1884–1914. A history of the German “model colony” based on official sources. Berlin 1988.
  • Bettina Zustrassen: “ Creating a piece of German soil.” Colonial officials in Togo 1884–1914. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-593-38638-6 (Under the title The steering and control of the colonial administration and its officials using the example of the "protected area" Togo. Dissertation. University of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich 2005.)
  • German Colonial Atlas with Illustrated Yearbook. Published at the instigation of the German Colonial Society. Edited by P. Sprigade and M. Moisel . Berlin 1912 - Review of the development of the South Seas protected areas in 1911 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erbar: A place in the sun? Stuttgart 1991, p. 50.
  2. ↑ Sebald: Togo 1884-1914. Berlin 1988, pp. 218f.
  3. ↑ Zustrassen: create a piece of German soil. Frankfurt am Main 2008, p. 216f.
personal data
SURNAME Kersting, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor, Africa explorer and colonial official
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga
DATE OF DEATH August 23, 1937