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German History 2009 27(4):467-489; doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghp056
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the German History Society. All rights reserved.

Colony as Heimat? The Formation of Colonial Identity in Germany around 1900*

Jens Jaeger

Cologne University

jens.jaeger{at}uni-koeln.de


  Abstract

Hardly anyone living in the Kaiserreich had personally visited the German colonies. Any knowledge that Kaiserreich citizens had of the colonies was gained via the media. Around, and mainly after, the year 1900, there was a noticeable increase in unremarkable photographs of colonial landscapes, architecture and natural phenomena in the media of the time. In these photographs, the aesthetic tone is significant. In schools, both Heimatkunde and the art of photography were taught, and images of the colonies were presented as consumer items that encouraged viewers to acknowledge the colonies as Heimat, or at least as potential Heimat. This representation of the colonies was given emphasis in educational curricula, both the content of the images, and the medium used, which was mainly photography. This process facilitated the promotion of the idea that the colonies were an integral part of the imperial nation, the Kaiserreich.

Keywords: Heimat, nation, German colonialism, German Empire, Heimatkunst, Heimat-photography, education

Translated by Ladislaus Löb


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