Africans in the Imperial German Navy and Army.

[Peter H]

Interesting pic here : http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=be46ea0b7 ... opic=36749

Warsaw of all places,poster Deruelle

[Eric Brothers]

The black soldier above being captured by the French may be Kwassi Bruce. In a letter he wrote in the early Nazi years, he mentioned that he served in the German military and was a prisoner of war for two years. I have been unable to locate any photos of Bruce that show him clearly as an adult. I saw one of him as a child sitting at a piano in Berlin. He was in the "Africa Show" in Nazi Germany but I haven't found a photo of him in it. I wrote an article about blacks who served on the German side in World War I. I got the idea for the article from reading the posts on this board. Here's a link http://www.suite101.com/content/black-a ... -i-a324213

Please take a look if you'd like. Thanks!

Eric

[Chris Dale]

Great article and thanks for the information on Kwassi Bruce...

Cheers
Chris

[Eric Brothers]

My pleasure, Chris. I'm always on the lookout for interesting and different stories to write about. The Axis History Forum has been giving me lots of inspiration for articles and I enjoy sharing them with everyone here.

Eric

[Eric Brothers]

I found some new information about Afro-Germans during Nazi Germany and Holocaust. I posted two videos on my blog:

http://propaganda-history.blogspot.com/ ... y-and.html

The first video is an interview with an Afro-German survivor of Buchenwald, but alas it is only in German with no subtitles. I understood barely half of it. The second one is a documentary in German (with English subtitles) that was recorded directly from a TV. Thus it is a bit distorted but fascinating. It is primarily a series of interviews with Afro-Germans whose black father was killed or "taken away." It also discusses the Afrika-Schau, which is difficult to find information about. Please take a look if this interests you. If any of you are teachers or know teachers, this would be a good piece to show students for Black History Month.

[Peter H]

From: http://desert-column.phpbb3now.com/view ... f=8&t=1132

Poster hans vogel

"20th Saxon Hussars Regiment, at Bautzen 1915"

[Chris Dale]

Thanks for posting that one Peter, so it seems there's more African soldiers in the Kaiser's army that we didn't know about out there...

Cheers
Chris

[Mischa]

Hi,
I think I've seen the photo in the Russian tsushima.su forum. It is, if I remember correctly, a Saxon regiment. When I re-embarking there today, I still love the photo, hopefully.
Regards
Mischa

[ErichvN]

I don't think anyone is still watching this post but I should point out that their was no standing Imperial army, each city state (or colony) maintained its own fighting force, some officers were exchanged but that was the limit. The only national force were the navy and the attached marines, it might be worth checking if either of those had African troops.

[Chris Dale]

Hi Erich,

I'm sure there's a few of us still checking this interesting thread!

You are of course right in that Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Wuerttemberg maintained control of their own armies to some extent in peacetime and smaller states had varying limited control. The title Imperial Army is an unofficial broad collective noun that was also used in Imperial times.

I've not seen Africans or Asians in photos of the navy or marines, but some might perhaps turn up one day!

Thanks for your input.

Cheers
Chris

[schutzearsch]

Deutsch-Sũdwestafrika (German South West Africa)
This was a particular case. There was no blacks in the Schutztruppe. All troops were german. This was due to fact that the Germans had many problems with the biggest tribe (Herero people) facing many revolts crushed with great brutality.

I know this post is 13 years old.
But as far as I know the main reason there where (almost) not blacks in the German South West Afrika Schutrtruppe was that the two biggest and most dominant tribes in Namibia the Herero and the Nama were bitter enemies. And it wasn't possible to recruit to recruit large numbers of Askari from one tribe withoit offending the other and vice versa and loyality might be an issue as they couldn't know if ones loyality for his tribe is greater then for the Schutztruppe.
While the Schutztruppe consisted of german officers and NCOs and mostly german troops (though not all were german there were some Austrians and even a few Boers and Afrikaners. The Schutztruppe used large numbers of african auxilaries. In fact the Herero fought along the Germans againt the Nama in the first Nama rebellion and then the Nama fought alongside the Germans against the Herero. It was indeed part of the peace treaty between The German Empire and the Nama after the 1st Nama Rebellion. They also had the so called Baster Kompaniethat company of Rehobot-Basters (the Basters where sons born to (black) Nama women and (white) Boer men). This Baster Kompanie might have been the closed thing to an african regular Schutztruppe Unit (at least until the Cameroon Kompanie) since they where issued standard Schutztruppe clothing and equipment. But it seems to me tha they where an infantry unit and not a mounted unit. Since they wear their trousers over their boots and their rifles (look like Jägerbuchse 71 to me) have straight bolts. (But I'm just gessing here weather they where mounted or not)

Here is a pic from german colonial uniforms

http://s400910952.websitehome.co.uk/ger ... aster2.jpg

However an unwelcome side effect of the use of african auxillaries during 1st Nama and Herero wars where that the africans learned a lot about german weaponry and tactis. So as a results after the Herero rebellion was crushed. All African Units (including the Baster Kompanie) where disbaned.

Until 1914 when the great war broke out. Ther Germans again formed a Company of Baster, a mounted half company of Nama and a Company of former Cameroon Schutztruppe Soldiers which had been exiled to South West Africa after a muntiny in 1910 they where promised that in exchange for their service they could return home.
None of these African units however saw front line action they all where second line units which purpuse was to free up german troops for front line duties. All african units where disbaned before the end of the campaign.
However the Germans kinda could keep their promise on the cameroons, they where allowed to return home in 1917.

[Renner aus Schlesien]

Bringing an old thread back to life. I came across a black African from Togo who fought (and died) in Europe - Karl Atiogbe. I found him on the Verlustlisten and then a google search revealed his life in Germany before the war and his letter to the Berliner Tageblatt in 1908 (links below). Sounds like a very interesting man.

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/4590139

https://blackcentraleurope.com/sources/ ... 08-german/

[Lald]

Bringing an old thread back to life. I came across a black African from Togo who fought (and died) in Europe - Karl Atiogbe. I found him on the Verlustlisten and then a google search revealed his life in Germany before the war and his letter to the Berliner Tageblatt in 1908 (links below). Sounds like a very interesting man.

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/4590139

https://blackcentraleurope.com/sources/ ... 08-german/

Hi Renner!

Do you possibly have another link/more info about Mr. Atiobe? The link on the bottom is unfortunately dead. I know your post is from 2018, but still worth a shot to ask

Very interesting thread! Such a shame i only ever discover them long after they've stopped being active

Cheers!

[Tanzania]

Bringing an old thread back to life. I came across a black African from Togo who fought (and died) in Europe - Karl Atiogbe. I found him on the Verlustlisten and then a google search revealed his life in Germany before the war and his letter to the Berliner Tageblatt in 1908 (links below). Sounds like a very interesting man.
http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/4590139
https://blackcentraleurope.com/sources/ ... 08-german/

Hi Renner!
Do you possibly have another link/more info about Mr. Atiobe? The link on the bottom is unfortunately dead. I know your post is from 2018, but still worth a shot to ask
Very interesting thread! Such a shame i only ever discover them long after they've stopped being active
Cheers!

Dear Lald,

both links are still working. Please try try it again.(But I didn´t find further info about Karl Atiogbe) Which former Colony or current Nation?

Regards Holger

[danebrog]

here his bio:
https://deutsche-biographien.de/biographien/b440/

Kuaku Karl Ernst Julius Atiogbe, known as Karl, was born on May 26, 1880 in the village of Kleinpopo in the African country of Togo (now Aného). (...) Karl Atiogbe was born into an influential Togolese family and was sent to Germany as an adolescent in the early 1890s to receive an education there. From 1895, the talented Karl Atiogbe attended the Realgymnasium in Kassel. After graduating, he moved to Dresden, where he worked as a merchant and opened a carpet shop. He finally lived with his wife Margarete Atiogbe, née Schütze, and their three children in an apartment at Borsbergstraße 22 in the Striesen district of Dresden. Karl Atiogbe completed his military service at the turn of the century.

Karl Atiogbe was mobilized at the beginning of the First World War (1914-1918). He was assigned to the replacement horse depot no. 12 as a trainee soldier. Karl Atiogbe took part in the battles on the Western Front with his unit and was deployed to various locations in the European theater of war until 1917. Karl Atiogbe must have contracted an illness by 1916/1917 at the latest. He was treated in Reserve Hospital III in Dresden, but died there on March 31, 1917 as a result of pneumonia. Karl Atiogbe was 36 years old and left behind his wife Margarete Atiogbe, née Schütze, and their three children. One of these was the future artist Dolly Anany. Karl Atiogbe's mortal remains were buried at the Garrison Cemetery in Dresden.