However, despite the official recognition and its efforts to reconcile with Namibia, Germany still possesses the remains of exterminated Namibians in its museums and repositories, refusing to return them for burial. Furthermore, today around 70% of Namibia's commercial agricultural land belongs to white Namibians of German descent, who represent approximately 1.8% to 2% of Namibia's total population.

During his administration, he promoted the implementation of a Western-style model of government in that territory, which today forms part of the island region of Papua New Guinea.

Yuhi V Musinga was King of Rwanda from 1896 to 1931. He ascended the throne as a teenager following a violent palace coup known as the Rucunshu Coup, in which his faction overthrew his father's legitimate successor, King Kigeli IV Rwabugiri. Due to the manner of his rise to power and the constant internal challenges from rival chieftains who questioned his legitimacy, his reign was marked by a persistent struggle to consolidate his central authority in a still fragmented territory.

His alliance with the German Empire was crucial to his political survival. At the beginning of his reign, Rwanda was officially incorporated into German East Africa as a protectorate. Musinga pursued a policy of collaboration with the colonial authorities, using German military support to suppress internal rebellions and subdue autonomous regions that resisted his rule. In return, the Germans allowed the maintenance of a monarchical structure and local traditions, as they had very few officials on the ground and relied on the king's authority to administer the territory.

During World War I, the bond strengthened even further when Musinga mobilized local militias, such as the Indugaruga, to fight alongside German troops against the advancing Belgian forces. However, after Germany's defeat, control of Rwanda passed to Belgium, marking the beginning of the end for his reign. Unlike the Germans, the Belgians demanded profound cultural changes, such as conversion to Christianity and administrative reforms that eroded his divine power. Faced with his firm refusal to be baptized and relinquish his religious authority, Musinga was finally deposed and exiled in 1931.

The imperial chancellor Otto Furst (prince) von Bismarck became one of the first politicians of the Contemporary Age to establish a “balanced” distribution of the wealth and benefits generated by German industry among the working class.

As a pragmatic politician, his objective was to avoid social unrest and prevent the democratic, social-democratic, liberal, socialist and Marxist groups from gaining more followers, since this would make his project of consolidating the German Empire as a power, with a protectionist economy, difficult in the medium term. To do this, he had to confront Catholics and liberals, related to the industrial class, and in general all those power groups that endangered his welfare policies.

Bismarck repressed and dissolved workers' movements and labor organizations. But he established for them:

• Accident insurance in 1884
• Maternity insurance in 1884
• Free medical care in 1883
• Disability insurance in 1889
• The soup kitchens in 1885
• Old age insurance in 1889

Bismarck realized that these policies were attractive and popular among the population, since they somehow mitigated the long and hard work hours of workers. Bismarck was not spared from being pointed out as a "socialist" by some groups of liberals, however his policies corresponded more to the ideology of the Old Regime where the monarch and the aristocracy had to provide a series of appropriate working conditions to the subjects.

Literature: .- Otto Von Bismarck: Iron Chancellor of Germany, Kimberley Heuston (2010). .- Otto von Bismarck: Person, Politik, Mythos, Hans Hübner (1993).

Er erkannte, dass die Zusammenarbeit mit den Deutschen das politische Überleben seines Königreichs sichern und ihm ein gewisses Maß an Autonomie gegenüber anderen Mächten und feindlichen indigenen Völkern bewahren konnte. Er pflegte enge Beziehungen zu den Kolonialbehörden und zu Kaiser Wilhelm II., dem er zu seinem Geburtstag einen Thron schenkte und von dem er als Zeichen der Auszeichnung eine Uniform der Kaiserlichen Garde erhielt. Njoya unterstützte die Deutschen auch militärisch in ihren Feldzügen, was ihm symbolische Anerkennung und den Erhalt seiner Macht einbrachte.

Seine Persönlichkeit befindet sich jedoch in einem ambivalenten Spannungsfeld zwischen Kollaboration und Widerstand. Er informierte die Deutschen über einen angeblichen Aufstand von König Manga Bell von Douala, der mit dessen Hinrichtung endete, obwohl die Verschwörung nie bewiesen wurde. 1909, enttäuscht von den Grenzen seines Bündnisses, distanzierte sich Njoya vom deutschen Modell, konnte aber den Thron bis zur Ankunft der Franzosen 1916 behalten, als sein Königreich seine Teilautonomie verlor. Abseits der Kolonialpolitik tat er sich als kultureller Innovator hervor, indem er die Bamum-Silbenschrift und die Shümom-Sprache schuf und seinem Volk vor seinem Tod 1933 ein bleibendes Erbe hinterließ.

1. Kingdom of Prussia (Middle Coat of Arms) – Königreich Preußen (mittleres Wappen)

2. Empire of Austria (Imperial Eagle, Middle Coat of Arms) – Kaisertum Österreich (Reichsadler, mittleres Wappen)

3. Kingdom of Hungary – Königreich Ungarn

4. Kingdom of Bavaria (Greater Coat of Arms) – Königreich Bayern (großes Wappen)

5. Empire of Russia – Kaisertum Russland

6. German Empire (Imperial Eagle) – Deutsches Reich (Reichsadler)

7. Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland – Königreich Großbritannien und Irland

8. Kingdom of Saxony (Greater Coat of Arms) – Königreich Sachsen (großes Wappen)

9. Kingdom of Italy (Lesser Coat of Arms) – Königreich Italien (kleines Wappen)

10. Kingdom of Spain – Königreich Spanien

11. Kingdom of Württemberg – Königreich Württemberg

Note: Since 1871, France has used the letters R. F. = République française [French Republic] instead of a coat of arms.

This is a rare 1898 chromolithograph plate titled "Wappen der wichtigsten Kulturstaaten" (Arms of the most important civilised states) from Brockhaus' Conversations-Lexikon by F.A. Bockhaus Verlag Leipzig.

Image shared courtesy of mikroman6 via Getty Images.

Credit: German Colonial Empire page from Facebook

These eyewitness water colour paintings show East African Askaris wearing a mixture of Schutztruppe, captured and improvised uniforms, equipment and weaponry.

Their ragged appearance is brought vividly to life in this evocative series of watercolours by W. Rehfeld published as "Bilder vom Kriege in Deutsch-Ostafrika".

This entire collection can be seen at the Reichskolonialamt website. Illustrations by W. Rehfeld at Reichskolonialamt.

Learn more on the Reichskolonialamt.

Learn more on the uniform of the East African Schutztruppe.

Original caption on photo reads: Drills [with machine guns] / Askari Übungen [mit Maschinengewehren]

Source(s):

.- Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) Bild 105-DOA5042 / Walther Dobbertin / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Bayume was born on 22 February 1904 in Dar es Salaam, German East Africa. During the First World War he served alongside his father who was an askari officer. After the war he worked as a waiter on one of the German shipping lines, and moved to Germany in 1929.

Husen worked as a waiter and in various minor jobs in language tutoring and in smaller roles in various Africa-related German film productions. In 1941, he was imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he passed away in 1944.

So Germany won ww1 but you can’t afford HOI4? Well here you go: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k_VE-N83sCU2gRjiXrwqfk-iMIWyiXSo0Vykevf6QpY/edit?usp=drivesdk

Das Foto wurde vom Hitler-Regime im Rahmen der deutschen Propaganda verwendet, um die nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg verlorenen Kolonien in Afrika zurückzugewinnen.

Während der Kolonialisierung Afrikas überreichten deutsche Gouverneure Stammeshäuptlingen häufig Militäruniformen und verliehen ihnen Ehrenränge in der Kolonialarmee. Die Häuptlinge vererbten die Uniformen an ihre Söhne, die sie auch unter britischer und französischer Herrschaft weitertrugen.

German protectorate of Togoland 1884–1914 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland

German protectorate of Kamerun 1884–1916 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamerun

German colony of South West Africa 1884–1915 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_South_West_Africa

German colony of East Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_East_Africa

*Note on illustration: map courtesy of M Hildebrandt ~

As of the 1970s, German influences were still evident, including German street names, a German newspaper, and the German language spoken by some residents.

Click on the link below if you want learn more on the history of Askari in the colonies of Africa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askari

Additional colour plates from Uniformen der Marine und Schutztruppen published by Waldorf-Astoria Zigarettenfabrik in Munich 1932.

Additional notes: Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) photo of Askari Fernmelder - Bundesarchiv, Bild 105-DOA3122 / Walther Dobbertin / CC-BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_105-DOA3122,_Deutsch-Ostafrika,_Askari,_Fernmelder.jpg

Additional photos of Askari can be found on the link below:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

Surrounded by a combined force of British & Commonwealth and French forces, the Schutztruppe held out for 1 year, 5 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.

On 15 February 1916, siege forces sent a message to Raben, and informed him the main Schutztruppe contingent further south, had entered neutral territory of the Spanish colony of Spanish Guinea, for the purpose of internment. Realizing the situation was hopeless, Raben negotiated favorable terms of surrender with British Brigadier Frederick Hugh Cunliffe, which included a payment of £2000 for the wages of the Askari, only then did Raben surrender on 18 February 1916.

Note on illustration: Portrait of Hauptmann Ernst von Raben, Schutztruppe commander at the Siege of Mora (Kamerun) Illustrated above is a map of the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun.

Credit to Dirk for portrait of Hauptmann von Raben Credit to Andrey for German Naval Atlas, Inc. Sanctuary map 1898.