The Hand that mocked them

[ilkley remembers]

The current vogue for sculptural realignment has an interesting and almost prescient parallel with an event which took place in Dar-es-Salaam at the end of the First World War concerning the memorial to Hermann von Wissmann. A colonialist of the old school, Wissmann’s  death in 1905 prompted the German authorities to memorialize their hero in stone and bronze in a prominent position in the city. Depicted as a soldier the bronze statue of Wissmann stood atop a rocky pinnacle whilst at its base the figure of an Askari symbolically drapes an Imperial German flag over the body of a lion.

 

When the victorious British took control of Dar-es-Salaam they seem to have taken a particular shine to Wissmann and his memorial and quickly crated it and sent it back to home where it was displayed for several years in the Imperial War Museum.

 

During the 1920s as revisionism took hold in Germany concerning its pre-war colonial role, the Weimar Government pleaded for Wissmanns return. A compliant British Government saw fit to grant this wish and the memorial was reassembled in Hamburg near to the University, where it seems to have acted as a particular draw to those who saw a certain value in the exploitation of others.

 

Remarkably, Wissmanns memorial survived WW2 and remained in situ until the 1960s when it became the target of students who vandalized it and attempted to topple what they saw as a glorification of colonial rule. Eventually, the statue was wrenched from its plinth by a desperate Hamburg University authorities and placed into storage.

 

Today Wissmanns memorial lies, literally recumbent, alongside his attendant Askari in the Deutches Historisches Museum in Berlin as part of an exhibition which assesses and challenges Germanys colonial past.

 

Interestingly, the original site of Wissmanns memorial in Dar-es-Salaam is occupied by memorial to the Askari placed by the British authorities in the 1920s.

 

https://www.dhm.de/blog/2017/04/20/memorial-to-hermann-von-wissmann/

[C.TIERNEY.]

Thank you for that. Most interesting.

This Forum never ceases to amaze me. 

As my granddaughter says "every day's a school day". 

 

C.T.

[BullerTurner]

Every day is indeed a school day on here, sometimes with inspiration to do extra prep!

[FROGSMILE]

Very interesting.  Thank you for sharing.

[charlie962]

What an excellent reflection of how historical views change with time.

 

Charlie

[sr97]

As they say, history often repeats itself. Very interesting story, thanks for sharing.