Place in the sun
The word “ Platz an der Sonne ” originated from a statement made by Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929) in a debate on the Reichstag on December 6, 1897, where he stated in connection with German colonial policy:
"In a word: we don't want to overshadow anyone, but we also demand our place in the sun."
At that time von Bülow was State Secretary of the Foreign Office of the German Empire ; from 1900 to 1909 he was Chancellor of the Reich .
The word coinage later became a winged word. It is a vivid metaphor of the German striving for world power in the period before the First World War , when the Bismarck alliance policy was abandoned and the foreign policy of the Wilhelmine Empire favored the naval rivalry with Great Britain.
In the Reichstag, Eugen Richter (1838–1906) mockingly remarked in his condemnation of the " Hun speech " of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 20, 1900:
“The statements made by the Reich Chancellor yesterday pointed out quite sharply that, if the case came up, Germany could also proceed with further land acquisitions. I don't think so; I am of the opinion that the place in the sun is already hot enough for us in Kiautschou that we can feel no inclination at all to expand the territory or the sphere of interest in any direction. "
And similarly in the naval armament debate on December 14, 1899:
“Kiautschou, the famous place 'in the sun' (cheerfulness on the left), costs us dearly, the millions melt there like butter. (Very good! And cheerfulness on the left.) "
The SPD supported this argument in its agitation against German colonialism , in which the term Platz in der Sonne was often sarcastically contrasted with the immense costs that the German colonies caused, especially in the Kiautschou case .
