Nationalism and Colonialism in the German Empire
Within these two novels, there lies a common theme which aims to further develop and explore the state of the German mindset within the late 18th to early 19th century. One of these themes is the German belief of their racial superiority over all other existing races. The people of the German Empire believed that their racial purity and specific traits made them of a higher standard than those of any other ethnicity. For example, Rash states that the German belief of purity originated from a work by Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau. Gobineau’s work detailed the idea of mankind being an originally perfect being that was facing continuous degeneration, mostly through the intermingling and mixture …show more content…
Though the beliefs of the German race’s superiority and the non-European races’ savagery contributed greatly to how colonialism was normalized in the German Empire, these beliefs and cultures were largely promoted by the government behind the scenes. Bowersox analyzes the political pressure and support of colonial lessons in the early education system for youth. For instance, following the ‘Hottentot elections”, Germany’s government shifted towards a much more pro-colonial stance, and in return, encouraged for the education system to follow its example. Though the initial integration of colonial based lessons was implemented by a group of geography teachers who supported reformist ideology, the government, later on, spoke out regarding their wholehearted support for Germany’s youth to learn more about colonial matters. “He [Prussia Minister of culture] emphasized the government 's overt support for instruction on the colonies and asked if Germany 's teachers had “warmed to Germany 's colonial efforts” more than in the past. If they had, he requested that the associations evaluate relevant teaching materials; the education ministries of most German states followed with similar requests,” explains Bowersox, in regards to the German government’s response and request towards the academic situation at that time. The government’s blatant support and insistence on dedicating more educational resources towards colonialism reveals the political agenda in how the empire wished to raise their youth. The promotion and education of colonial studies and information guided the youth to believe that colonialism is a good thing, and further reinforces the ideas of the superior German race and savage non-white ethnicities. Contrastingly, Rash’s study
Within these two novels, there lies a common theme which aims to further develop and explore the state of the German mindset within the late 18th to early 19th century. One of these themes is the German belief of their racial superiority over all other existing races. The people of the German Empire believed that their racial purity and specific traits made them of a higher standard than those of any other ethnicity. For example, Rash states that the German belief of purity originated from a work by Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau. Gobineau’s work detailed the idea of mankind being an originally perfect being that was facing continuous degeneration, mostly through the intermingling and mixture …show more content…
Though the beliefs of the German race’s superiority and the non-European races’ savagery contributed greatly to how colonialism was normalized in the German Empire, these beliefs and cultures were largely promoted by the government behind the scenes. Bowersox analyzes the political pressure and support of colonial lessons in the early education system for youth. For instance, following the ‘Hottentot elections”, Germany’s government shifted towards a much more pro-colonial stance, and in return, encouraged for the education system to follow its example. Though the initial integration of colonial based lessons was implemented by a group of geography teachers who supported reformist ideology, the government, later on, spoke out regarding their wholehearted support for Germany’s youth to learn more about colonial matters. “He [Prussia Minister of culture] emphasized the government 's overt support for instruction on the colonies and asked if Germany 's teachers had “warmed to Germany 's colonial efforts” more than in the past. If they had, he requested that the associations evaluate relevant teaching materials; the education ministries of most German states followed with similar requests,” explains Bowersox, in regards to the German government’s response and request towards the academic situation at that time. The government’s blatant support and insistence on dedicating more educational resources towards colonialism reveals the political agenda in how the empire wished to raise their youth. The promotion and education of colonial studies and information guided the youth to believe that colonialism is a good thing, and further reinforces the ideas of the superior German race and savage non-white ethnicities. Contrastingly, Rash’s study