Afro-Germans
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
Total population | |
---|---|
1,000,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Hamburg, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Munich, Bremen, Berlin, Cologne, Mainz |
Afro-Germans (German: Afrodeutsche)[1] or Black Germans (German: schwarze Deutsche) are Germans of Sub-Saharan African descent.
Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation forces following World War II and more recent immigration, have substantial Afro-German communities. With modern trade and migration, communities such as Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Cologne have an increasing number of Afro-Germans. As of 2020[update], in a country with a population of 83,000,000 people, there were an estimated 1,000,000 Afro-Germans.[a]
History
African-German interaction from 1600 to late 1800s
During the 1720s,
Africans and German interaction between 1884 and 1945
At the
The Afrikanisches Viertel in Berlin is also a legacy of the colonial period, with a number of streets and squares named after countries and locations tied to the German colonial empire. It is now home to a substantial portion of Berlin's residents of African heritage.
Interracial couples in the colonies were subjected to strong pressure in a campaign against miscegenation, which included invalidation of marriages, declaring the mixed-race children illegitimate, and stripping them of German citizenship.[7] During extermination of the Nama people in 1907 by Germany, the German director for colonial affairs, Bernhard Dernburg, stated that "some native tribes, just like some animals, must be destroyed".[8]
Weimar Republic
In the course of
Africans founded the bilingual periodical that was published in
Nazi Germany
The conditions for Afro-Germans in Germany grew worse during the Nazi period. Naturalized Afro-Germans lost their passports. Working conditions and travel were made extremely difficult for Afro-German musicians, variety, circus or film professionals. Because of Nazi policies, employers were unable to retain or hire Afro-German employees.[10][11]
Afro-Germans in Germany were socially isolated and forbidden to have sexual relations and marriages with Aryans by the Nuremberg Laws.[12][13] In continued discrimination directed at the so-called Rhineland bastards, Nazi officials subjected some 500 Afro-German children in the Rhineland to forced sterilization.[14] Afro-Germans were considered "enemies of the race-based state", along with Jews and Roma.[15] The Nazis originally sought to rid the German state of Jews and Romani by means of deportation (and later extermination), while Afro-Germans were to be segregated and eventually exterminated through compulsory sterilization.[15]
Some Black Germans who lived through this period later wrote about their experiences. In 1999 Hans Massaquoi published Destined to Witness about his life in Germany under Nazi rule, and in 2013 Theodor Wonja Michael, who was also the main witness in the documentary film Pages in the Factory of Dreams, published his autobiography, Deutsch Sein Und Schwarz Dazu.[16][17]
Since 1945
The end of World War II brought Allied occupation forces into Germany. American, British and French forces included numerous soldiers of African American, Afro-Caribbean or African descent, and some of them fathered children with ethnic German women. At the time, these armed forces generally maintained non-fraternization rules and discouraged civilian-soldier marriages. Around 8,000 of these biracial Afro German children were born immediately after the war, making up about 1% of all births in ethnically homogeneous West Germany in 1945. "[18] Most single ethnic German mothers kept their "brown babies", but thousands were adopted by American families and grew up in the United States. Often they did not learn their full ancestry until reaching adulthood.
Until the end of the Cold War, the United States kept more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers stationed on German soil. These men established their lives in Germany. They often brought families with them or founded new ones with ethnic German wives and children. The federal government of West Germany pursued a policy of isolating or removing from Germany those children that it described as "mixed-race negro children".[19]
Audre Lorde, Black American writer and activist, spent the years from 1984 to 1992 teaching at the Free University of Berlin. During her time in Germany, often called "The Berlin Years," she helped push the coining of the term "Afro-German" into a movement that addressed the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation. She encouraged Black German women such as May Ayim and Ika Hügel-Marshall to write and publish poems and autobiographies as a means of gaining visibility. She pursued intersectional global feminism and acted as an advocate for that movement in Germany.
Immigration
Since 1981, Germany has had immigration from African countries, mostly Nigeria and Ghana, who were seeking work. Some of the Ghanaians also came to study in German universities.
Below are the largest (Sub-Saharan) African groups in Germany.
Country of birth | Immigrants in Germany (2021 Census) |
---|---|
Nigeria | 83,000 |
Eritrea | 75,000 |
Ghana | 66,000 |
Cameroon | 41,000 |
South Africa | 34,000 |
Somalia | 30,000 |
Ethiopia | 27,000 |
Kenya | 22,000 |
Togo | 20,000 |
Gambia | 16,000 |
Angola | 15,000 |
Guinea | 17,000 |
Senegal | 15,000 |
Congo-Kinshasa | 14,000 |
Congo-Brazzaville | 10,000 |
Uganda | 6,500 |
Ivory Coast | 6,000 |
Sudan | 5,000 |
Rwanda | 5,000 |
Sierra Leone | 4,000 |
Tanzania | 4,100 |
Mali | 4,000 |
Benin | 3,000 |
Liberia | 2,000 |
Burkina Faso | 2,100 |
Mozambique | 2,100 |
Burundi | 1,000 |
Zambia | 1,000 |
Afro-Germans in literature
- Rhineland Bastardwho eventually is taken by the Nazis, while other members of the band are African Americans.
- ISBN 978-0-8070-6314-9. Novel about a faith healer and rock band manager, featuring an Afro-German character, Josef Ehelich von Fremd, an affluent fellow who works in arbitrage and owns fine racehorses.
- Hans J. Massaquoi, born in Hamburg, Germany, to a German mother and a Liberian father of Vai ethnicity, the grandson of Momulu Massaquoi.
- Invisible Woman: Growing up Black in Germany". She details her life experiences growing up as an "occupation baby" and the struggle to find her identity as she grows up. Marshall details how the society she grew up in taught her to hate her complexion and how meeting her father, a black man, instilled a renewed pride in her heritage. The autobiography culminates in the struggle to find information on her father in the United States and finally getting to meet her American family.
- Iljoma Mangold. (2017) Mangold wrote an autobiography "Das deutsche Krokodil", the English translation of which is entitled "The German Crocodile: A literary memoir" (2021), about growing up in Germany in the 1970s.
Afro-German political groups
Initiative of Black People (Initiative Schwarzer Deutscher)
- This initiative created a political community that offers support for black people in Germany. Its main goals are to give people a chance to have their voices heard by each other and by those who do not share the same experiences. In the space provided by ISD gatherings, Afro-Germans are able to connect with people who might be in similar situations and who can offer them support.
- Teachings from the ISD emphasise the role of history in understanding current politics. This is because of the belief that Germany has committed numerous atrocities in the past (notably in South-West Africa), but has no intentions of paying reparations to communities that still suffer today. The ISD notes that the importance of paying these reparations are for the structural changes made to a broken, discriminatory system.
- The ISD combats discrimination in Germany through active support, campaigning through the media, and outreach to the government.
Notable Afro-Germans in modern Germany
Politics and social life
- Joe Chialo (born 1970), Berlin State Minister (Senator) for Culture and Social Cohesion.
- Karamba Diaby (born 1961), Afro-German politician, member of the Bundestag.
- John Ehret (born 1971), Germany's first Afro-German mayor.
- Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (born 1949), The only black MEP to represent Germany following the 2019 European elections.[20]
- Charles M. Huber (born 1956), Afro-German politician and former actor, member of the Bundestag.
- Ika Hügel-Marshall (1947-2022), wrote about growing up in postwar Germany
- Bärbel Kampmann (1946–1999), anti-racist activist and writer
- Hans Massaquoi (1926-2013), journalist, wrote about his childhood in Nazi Germany.
- Aminata Touré (born 1992), Minister of Social Affairs, Youth, Family, Senior Citizens, Integration and Equality of the State of Schleswig-Holstein
- Harald Weyel, politician, member of the Bundestag.
Art, culture and music
The cultural life of Afro-Germans has great variety and complexity. With the emergence of
Afro-German musicians include:
- Adé Bantu (born 1971)
- Afrob (born 1977)
- Ayọ(born 1980)
- Bibi Bourelly
- B-Tight (born 1979)
- Carlprit (born 1986)
- Cassandra Steen (born 1980)
- Denyo (born 1977)
- Deso Dogg(born 1975)
- D-Flame (born 1971)
- Francisca Urio (born 1981)
- Haddaway (born 1965)
- Harris (born 1976)
- Jessica Wahls (born 1977)
- Jonesmann (born 1979)
- Joy Denalane (born 1973)
- U-Jean
- Kalusha(born 1963)
- KeyLiza (born 1990)
- Lou Bega (born 1975)
- Luciano (rapper) (born 1994)
- Mamadee (born 1979)
- Mark Medlock (born 1978)
- Meshell Ndegeocello (born 1968)
- Mortel (born 1991)
- Nana (born 1968)
- Nneka (born 1980)
- Nura (born 1988)
- Patrice Bart-Williams (born 1979)
- Ramona Wulf (born 1954)
- Raptile (born 1976)
- Roberto Blanco (born 1937)
- Rob Pilatus (1965-1998)
- Samy Deluxe (born 1977)
- Serious Klein (born 1991)
- Taktloss (born 1975)
- Tarek Ebéné(born 1986)
- Tic Tac Toe (band)
Film and television
The
Afro-Germans in film and television include:
- Adunni Ade (born 1970)
- Mo Asumang (born 1963)
- Zazie Beetz (born 1991)
- Louis Brody (1892–1952)
- Nisma Cherrat (born 1969)
- Carol Campbell (born 1966)
- Elfie Fiegert (born 1946)
- Bayume Mohamed Husen (1904-1944)
- Florence Kasumba (born 1976)
- Günther Kaufmann (1947–2012)
- Boris Kodjoe (born 1973)
- Leila Negra (born 1930)
- Araba Walton (born 1975)
Sport
- Ariel Hukporti
- Ayodele Adetula
- Baboucarr Gaye
- Cebio Soukou
- Jeremy Toljan
- Leon Balogun
- Richard Adjei (1983-2020), member of the German bobsleigh team
- Dennis Aogo (born 1987), footballer
- Samsondin Ouro
- Stephan Ambrosius
- Stephen Arigbabu (born 1972), basketball coach
- Gerald Asamoah (born 1978), footballer
- Gedion Zelalem
- Bienvenue Basala-Mazana (born 1992), footballer
- Collin Benjamin (born 1978), footballer
- Yann Aurel Bisseck (born 2000), footballer
- Jérôme Boateng (born 1988), footballer
- Kevin Prince Boateng(born 1987), footballer
- Isaac Bonga (born 1999), basketball player
- John Brooks (born 1993), footballer
- Francis Bugri (born 1980), footballer
- Cacau (born 1981), footballer
- Timothy Chandler (born 1990), footballer
- Marvin Compper (born 1985), footballer
- Bakary Diakite(born 1980), footballer
- Chinedu Ede, footballer
- Florence Ekpo-Umoh, athlete
- Matthias Fahrig, athlete
- Charles Friedek, athlete
- Kamghe Gaba, athlete
- Robert Garrett, basketball player
- Stefano Garris, basketball player
- Serge Gnabry, footballer
- Julian Green, footballer
- Demond Greene, basketball player
- Leon Guwara, footballer
- Misan Haldin, basketball player
- Elias Harris, basketball player
- Isaiah Hartenstein, basketball player
- Jimmy Hartwig, footballer
- Benjamin Henrichs, footballer
- Raphael Holzdeppe, pole vaulter
- Ismail Jakobs, footballer
- Fabian Johnson, footballer
- Jermaine Jones, footballer
- Steffi Jones, footballer
- Gideon Jung, footballer
- Thilo Kehrer, footballer
- Alex King, basketball player
- Linda Kisabaka, athlete
- Erwin Kostedde, footballer
- Mohammed Lartey, footballer
- Maodo Lô, basketball player
- Streli Mamba, footballer
- Andrej Mangold, basketball player
- Ousman Manneh, footballer
- David McCray, basketball player
- Amewu Mensah, athlete
- Malaika Mihambo, athlete
- Youssoufa Moukoko, footballer
- Jean-Claude Mpassy, footballer
- Malik Müller, basketball player
- Sabrina Mulrain, athlete
- Jamal Musiala, footballer
- David Odonkor, footballer
- Akwasi Oduro, footballer
- Ademola Okulaja, basketball player
- Navina Omilade, footballer
- Patrick Owomoyela, footballer
- Kofi Amoah Prah, athlete
- Antonio Rüdiger, footballer
- Satou Sabally, basketball player
- Joshiko Saibou, basketball player
- Sidney Sam, footballer
- Leroy Sané, footballer
- Célia Šašić, footballer
- Kingsley Schindler, footballer
- Dennis Schröder, basketball player
- Leyti Seck, alpine skier
- Davie Selke, footballer
- Lennard Sowah, footballer
- Richard Sukuta-Pasu, footballer
- Robin Szolkowy, figure skater
- Jonathan Tah, footballer
- Johannes Thiemann, basketball player
- Assimiou Touré, footballer
- Akeem Vargas, basketball player
- Pascal Wehrlein, racing driver
- Reinhold Yabo, footballer
- Joseph Boyamba
- Michael Zimmer, footballer
- Robert Glatzel
- Ansgar Knauff
- Jesaja Herrmann
- Karim Guédé
- Stanley Ratifo
- Tolani Omotola
- Faride Alidou
- Josha Vagnoman
- Louis Samson
- Malick Thiaw
- Malik Tillman
- Marian Sarr
- Sanoussy Ba
- Noah Atubolu
- Timothy Tillman
- Elias Kachunga
- Felix Nmecha
- Lukas Nmecha
- Maduka Okoye
- Marcel Appiah
- Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer
- Jordan Torunarigha
See also
- Demographics of Germany
- Afro-European
Notes
- ^ The German census does not use race as a category.[2] The number of persons "having an extended migrant background" (mit Migrationshintergrund im weiteren Sinn, meaning having at least one grandparent born outside Germany), is given as 529,000.[3] The Initiative Schwarzer Deutscher ("Black German Initiative") estimates the total of Black Germans to be about 1,000,000 persons.[4]
References
- ^ a b Wolf, Joerg (2007-02-23). "Black History Month in Germany". Atlantic Review. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ISBN 1-58046-183-2.
- ^ "Bevölkerung in Privathaushalten nach Migrationshintergrund im weiteren Sinn nach Geburtsstaat in Staatengruppen". Statistisches Bundesamt.
- ^ "Zu Besuch in Neger und Mohrenkirch: Können Ortsnamen rassistisch sein?". 2020-12-30.
Rund eine Million schwarzer Menschen leben laut ISD hierzulande.
- ^ Lewis, Dwight (8 February 2018). "Anton Wilhelm Amo: The African Philosopher in 18th Europe". Blog of the APA. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ Prem Poddar, Rajeev Patke and Lars Jensen, Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures--Continental Europe and Its Colonies, Edinburgh University Press, 2008, page 257
- ^ Not So Plain as Black and White: Afro-German Culture and History, 1890–2000, Patricia M. Mazón, Reinhild Steingröver, p. 18.
- ^ Ben Kiernan, Blood and Soil: Modern Genocide 1500–2000, p. 417.
- S2CID 144721513
- ^ Rosenhaft, Eve (January 28, 2016). "What happened to black Germans under the Nazis". The Independent.
- ^ Swift, Jaimee A. (April 18, 2017). "The Erasure of People of African Descent in Nazi Germany". AAIHS.
- ^ "The Nuremberg Race Laws". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on 2010-01-27.
- ISBN 9780691086842.
- ISBN 1-59420-074-2.
- ^ a b Simone Gigliotti, Berel Lang. The Holocaust: a reader. Malden, Massachusetts, USA; Oxford, England, UK; Carlton, Victoria, Australia: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Pp. 14.
- ISBN 978-3-423-26005-3.
- ^ "Book Review: Memories of Theodor Wonja Michael". The African Courier. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora!. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
- ISSN 0021-5996.
- ^ Women in German Yearbook 2005: Feminist Studies in German Literature & Culture, Marjorie Gelus, Helga W. Kraft page 69
- ^ Singh, Rajnish (13 November 2020). "Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana: Standing up for justice". The Parliament Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Über uns" (in German). Retrieved 2022-09-17.
Further reading
- May Ayim, Katharina Oguntoye, and Dagmar Schultz. Showing Our Colors: Afro-German Women Speak Out (1986). Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1992.
- Campt, Tina. Other Germans Black Germans and the Politics of Race, Gender, and Memory in the Third Reich. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2004.
- El-Tayeb, Fatima. European Others: Queering Ethnicity in Postnational Europe. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2011.
- Hine, Darlene Clark, Trica Danielle Keaton, and Stephen Small, eds. Black Europe and the African Diaspora. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
- American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. Who Is a German?: Historical and Modern Perspectives on Africans in Germany. Ed. Leroy Hopkins. Washington, D.C: American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, the Johns Hopkins University, 1999.
- Lemke Muniz de Faria, Yara-Colette. "'Germany's "Brown Babies" Must Be Helped! Will You?': U.S. Adoption Plans for Afro-German Children, 1950–1955." Callaloo 26.2 (2003): 342–362.
- Mazón, Patricia M., and Reinhild Steingröver, eds. Not so Plain as Black and White: Afro-German Culture and History, 1890–2000. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2005.
- Weheliye, Alexander G. Phonographies: Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity. Duke University Press, 2005.
External links
- Black German Heritage and Research Association
- Black German Cultural Society Inc
- African Union Diaspora Committee Deutschland Zentralrat der Afrikanischen Diaspora Deutschland mit Mandat der Afrikanischen Union
- May Ayim Award - The 1st Black German International Literature Award
- Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland
- African Diaspora in Germany (in German)
- cyberNomads - The Black German Databank Network and Media Channel Our Knowledge Resource on the Net
- SFD – Schwarze Filmschaffende in Deutschland Archived 2010-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Bibliography
- Pocast in which Fatima El-Tayeb (Director of the Critical Gender Studies programme at the University of California, San Diego) talks about the need to reassess Europe’s internalist narrative and the discourse of integration.