Reinvigorating the Reich: African slaves,German saviours and imperial identity in the Deutsche Kolonialzeitung,1888—1889

Abstract

The Deutsche Kolonialzeitung , the preeminent colonialist publication in the German Empire, was at the forefront of the German anti-slavery movement in the late 1880s.This pan-European movement, with its origins in the Roman Catholic Church, was quickly co-opted by the Kolonialzeitung to advance public enthusiasm for German colonialism. This article examines how the newspaper used the anti-slavery movement as a tool for building German national consciousness in 1888—9, at the height of the movement. To do this, the Kolonialzeitung drew upon historical examples to portray a German leadership role as preordained. By using nationalized religious language and criticizing European partners, the newspaper sought to unite Germans, who were still divided by religion as a result of Bismarck’s anti-Catholic politics. This article further seeks to address the relative lack of attention to the colonial press in examinations of German imperialism.