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Living in the African Quarter Berlin Germany

African Quarter In Berlin Germany


Berlin's Afrikanisches Viertel or African quarter carries the names of a number of cruel German colonial rulers, military personnel and German colonies during the scramble for Africa. 

Africans fought Germany over their homeland and this led to several violent colonial wars. The Herero-Nama war of 1904 in German Southwest Africa and the Maji-Maji war in German East Africa were the most devastating for Native Africans. The German-Herero war led to the first genocide of the 20th century.
Germany in Africa

Germany in Africa


Germany seized four protectorates, in Africa: Togo and Cameroon in the west, German Southwest Africa (today’s Namibia), and German East Africa (today’s Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi) in the east. Parts of modern day Chad, Gabon, Ghana (the gold coast), Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo were also under the control of German Africa at various points during German rule.

Africans fought Germany over their homeland and this led to several violent colonial wars. The Herero-Nama war of 1904 in German Southwest Africa and the Maji-Maji war in German East Africa were the most devastating for Native Africans. The German-Herero war led to the first genocide of the 20th century.

The Herero tribe, made up of mostly cattle herders resisted the German army in South-West Africa. German military commander ordered his troops to kill the entire Herero tribe.


African Quarter Berlin Germany


Estimates vary with around 300,000 to 800,000 people of African origin call Germany home. Since April 2011, citizens who live in the African Quarter Germany are petitioning city leaders to balance historical heritage in the city and the streets, including street and place names.

Lüderitzstraße, named after Adolf Lüderitz nicknamed "Lügenfritz" or lie buddy who “bought” land from native Africans until he claimed to own the entire coastal strip from South Africa to Angola, 220,000 sq miles.
Adolf Lüderitz nicknamed "Lügenfritz" or lie buddy

Tanzanian born Mnyaka Sururu Mboro lives on Petersallee Street says "Carl Peters was so brutal.”I cannot understand that some people are proud to have a street named after him in this quarter." Carl Peters  was the driving force behind the foundation of the German colonies and earned a reputation for brutality and torturing native Africans. 

Lüderitzstraße, named after Adolf Lüderitz nicknamed "Lügenfritz" or lie buddy who “bought” land from native Africans until he claimed to own the entire coastal strip from South Africa to Angola, 220,000 sq miles.

"Even many people living here often do not know what the names are all about," Christian Kopp, a historian with "Berlin Postkolonial". Besides renaming the three streets, Kopp also wants to raise awareness about the historical connotation of other streets. "We have thousands of streets in Berlin, but we do not know any street in Berlin honoring a person from Africa. That needs to change," said Christian.


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