Fleck: Woodworking machines – example German New Guinea

The contributions of the Reinickendorf Museum, which are presented on the page "Kolonialismus begegnung", have been carefully curated in the context of the special exhibition "Colonial Traces in Reinickendorf's Industrial History". The contributions have been thoroughly reviewed and revised for digital presentation. We recommend reading the comprehensive introductory text on Reinickendorf's colonial past (link) in advance.

Woodworking machines for German colonies – example German New Guinea

Company: C. L. P. Fleck Söhne
Founded: 1859 by Carl Ludwig Paul Fleck in Berlin
Reinickendorf: production site from 1897
Production: Manufacture of woodworking machinery

The company, which was based in Reinickendorf until the 1980s, was founded in 1859 by Carl Ludwig Paul Fleck in Berlin. In 1897, the company moved its headquarters to Reinickendorf's Flotte Street, where it had a representative building built in the Neo-Renaissance style, which has been preserved to this day. ⁽¹⁾ Also preserved is the Villa Fleck at Drewitzer Straße 10 in Hermsdorf, which Oskar Fleck had built in 1906/07. From 1876 onwards, C. L. P. Fleck Söhne specialised in the manufacture of woodworking machines and developed into a leading specialist company. At the 1896 trade exhibition in Berlin, it received the Prussian Golden State Medal for this. ⁽²⁾ At the end of the 19th century, the majority of the woodworking machines produced by Fleck Söhne were intended for export. From the beginning of the 20th century at the latest, these exports also included deliveries to the German colonies. In 1902, for example, C. L. P. Fleck Söhne was listed in the directory of German export companies of the Deutsche Kolonialzeitung with the supply of woodworking machines. Band saws, planing machines, grinding machines and circular saws C. L. P. Fleck Söhne appeared in the supply source directories of various volumes of the "Colonial Trade Address Book", such as the one from 1914 shown here. This economic commitment went hand in hand with the company's membership in the Charlottenburg section of the German Colonial Society, which is mentioned for the year 1896. C. L. P. Fleck Söhne also advertised in various years of the "Colonial Trade Address Book" with the delivery of "complete equipment for sawmills, carpentry, carpentry, wagons, boxes, wood wool and woodworking products of all kinds." In 1909, such a sawmill of the company existed in German New Guinea, as can be seen from an illustrated advertisement in the "Usambara-Post", a magazine for the then colony of German East Africa. ⁽³⁾ Unfortunately, the exact location of the sawmill is not given. There were sawmills in wood-rich German New Guinea at several locations, on the Warangoi River/St. Georgs Canal and in Erimahafen, near Casalock in New Mecklenburg, in Alexishafen, probably in Vunapope and in Finschhafen. ⁽⁴⁾ In another issue of the "Usambara-Post" of 1910, the quality of the machines of the C. L. P. Fleck Söhne, especially the pendulum circular saw, is also emphasized. ⁽⁵⁾

The colony of German New Guinea

German colony: 1884/85–1914
Area: approx. 240,000 km²
Population: 1912 approx. 500,000, including less than 1,000 Germans
Economy: Cultivation of rubber and cocoa, extraction of copra (dried nutrient tissue of coconuts), timber industry
Military: A small protection force was maintained by the New Guinea Company

The colony of German New Guinea was located in the Pacific Ocean at the level of the equator and included the northeastern coastal region of New Guinea, the Caroline, Mariana and Marshall Islands as well as other smaller islands. It was located in the territory of today's Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Northern Mariana, Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands (northern part). At the time of colonization, around half a million inhabitants lived here, less than 1,000 of whom were Germans. ⁽⁶⁾ The cultivation of rubber, cocoa and coconuts as well as the timber industry were economically interesting. A large plantation company such as the German Trading and Plantation Company paid out high dividends. German colonial activities in the South Seas intensified after 1880 and were driven forward by economic actors. On May 17, 1885, New Guinea was declared a "protected area". The German Reich concluded a "protection treaty" with the New Guinea Company, a company for the acquisition of colonial property in the Pacific, whose shares were in the hands of a few financiers. The companies already located in the reserve were forced to join the newly founded New Guinea Company. ⁽⁷⁾
The contracts that were subsequently concluded by German merchants and company representatives with the local rulers included a land acquisition by the companies as well as a "protection contract" that placed the local rulers and their legal successors under the patronage of the German Empire. From then on, no treaties with other nations could be concluded without the consent of the German Emperor. Administratively and economically overwhelmed, the New Guinea Company gradually handed over the administration to the Empire. In 1898, it finally renounced its sovereign rights in favor of the German Empire. ⁽⁸⁾ From 1910 to 1911, there was an uprising of the Sokeh on the island of Ponape. Around 80 men, who were forced to work in road construction, went on strike on October 18, 1910. The immediate trigger was the flogging of a young worker the day before. In doing so, they threatened the German foremen, who then fled and contacted district magistrate Gustav Boeder. When he confronted the striking workers, they killed him and three of his German companions. Five other companions were also killed in an exchange of fire. This led to a war that lasted several months, forcing the German Reich to take the largest military action in its South Sea colonies. The German officials entrenched themselves on the island of Kolonia with 50 Melanesian police officers and were only able to ask for help with the arrival of the mail steamer "Germania" on November 26, 1910. By January 4, 1911, four German warships with several hundred soldiers and police officers had arrived at the archipelago, serving as an essential hub for the warships in their supplies before leaving for Ponape. Although the German soldiers did not succeed in achieving a clear military victory, they managed to keep the Sokeh away from any food supply. Exhausted and discouraged by the lack of support from other peoples on the neighboring islands, the approximately 450 Sokeh surrendered to the Germans on February 22, 1911. A court-martial imposed 17 death sentences and 12 prison sentences. All other Sokehs were banished by the colonial officials to the island of Palau. ⁽⁹⁾ In addition, in New Guinea and Samoa, up to 4,000 recruited Chinese "coolies" were used as cheap labor, mostly under duress. ⁽¹⁰⁾