Colonial traces of Reinickendorf's industrial history

Berlin was both the capital of the Reich and the colonial capital. The traces of the colonial past are not always visible, but they are nevertheless omnipresent. As an important industrial location, companies based in Reinickendorf were part of global trade. The products that were manufactured here found their way into the colonized world. In order to critically examine the history of colonialism and its consequences at the regional level, Reinickendorf has conducted historical research on its previously little-known colonial past. An exhibition presented the first results of this search for traces from 01.12.2023 to 18.02.2024 in the GalerieETAGE of the Reinickendorf Museum. The aim is to examine the institutions, society and the metropolitan region on a broad scale for postcolonial effects. With the exhibition, the Museum Reinickendorf participates in the Berlin research and reappraisal process. The museum is now once again presenting reviewed and updated exhibition content on the website "Kolonialismus begegnung – Dezentrale Perspektiven auf die Berliner Stadtgesellschaft". The online portal offers an insight into the research and projects of colonialism in Berlin's districts. The museums of the Working Group of Berlin's Regional and District Museums offer users the opportunity to engage with Berlin's colonial history and postcolonial traces.
In order to improve the readability of the entire content concept, Museum Reinickendorf offers users the opportunity to read the texts in the following order. The introductory section deals with the German colonies from 1862 to 1918 and their intertwining with industrial companies in Reinickendorf. In other articles, various companies and people from Reinickendorf are presented who have left their traces of the colonial past in the district up to the present:

Borsig: Locomotives for German colonies – example Cameroon

AMAG: Postcards for German Colonies – The Example of Kiautschou

DWM: Weapons and drinking bottles for German colonies – example of German East Africa

C. L. P. Fleck Söhne: Woodworking Machines for German Colonies – Example German New Guinea

Hein, Lehmann & Co. AG: Railway installations for Togo

Industry in Reinickendorf and its business in the German colonies

Reinickendorf was formed in 1920 as the twentieth district in the course of the founding of "Greater Berlin" from the six formerly independent rural communities of Reinickendorf, Heiligensee, Hermsdorf, Lübars, Tegel and Wittenau. Until the 19th century, medieval settlement structures had been preserved in these six places. Industrialization changed these communities considerably. First, numerous mills were built. Around 1800, clay deposits were discovered in Hermsdorf, and brickworks were established in Hermsdorf and Lübars. Since the number of inhabitants in Berlin grew rapidly and a lot of construction was done, the business with clay and cement products initially flourished. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, the brickworks were no longer competitive and had to close.
As early as 1838, Franz Anton Egells, owner of an iron foundry in Chausseestraße in Berlin, had built a hammer mill on Lake Tegel. The Spandau Shipping Canal, which was built between 1848 and 1859, significantly improved the conditions in Tegel. The expansion of the rail network with the Northern Railway in 1877 and the Kremmen Railway in 1892 was also essential for the further industrial development of the communities north of Berlin.
Finally, in 1898, Borsig also moved its locomotive assembly from Moabit to Tegel, followed by the entire plant in 1899. With the decision in favor of Tegel as the location, Borsig began to advocate for local concerns. For example, the horse-drawn tram to Tegel was electrified in 1901. In addition, the Tegel – Friedrichsfelde industrial railway was built and the port of Tegel was completed in 1908. From 1910, the Spandau Shipping Canal was a section of the Berlin-Stettin shipping route. By the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the industrial settlement in today's Reinickendorf district had been largely completed.

German Colonies 1682 to 1918

In 1682, the Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William, had already founded the colony of Groß-Friedrichsburg in West Africa, in today's Ghana, but it was sold to the Dutch West India Company in 1717. The fortress developed into a transshipment point for the European slave trade. ⁽¹⁾ Trading houses in Bremen and Hamburg as well as banks participated in the founding of colonial societies in Africa and Asia. Companies in Reinickendorf also participated in the business with the colonies established by the German Empire since 1884, especially in Africa and New Guinea. In 1884/1885, at the invitation of the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the international "Congo Conference" took place in Berlin, the final document of which formed the basis for the division of Africa into colonies of the European great powers. Representatives of the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway and the USA took part. ⁽²⁾ At this conference, Bismarck represented the interests of the German economy, which was striving for unhindered colonial trade, and was able to assert them on the African continent. ⁽³⁾ With the exception of Morocco, Abyssinia, Liberia, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, which were retained as independent states, the colonial division of the continent progressed decisively in the following decades. Further territorial gains were achieved through military force and political pressure in the form of treaties. In 1914, the partition of Africa was sealed by the major European powers. Egypt was declared a British protectorate.
Even though other major European powers such as Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Spain could look back on a much longer colonial past, from 1884 onwards the German Empire controlled territories that were six times the size of the German Empire and, with about 12 million inhabitants, had just under a fifth of the inhabitants of Germany.
The German Reich exploited the people, mineral resources, flora and fauna. To this end, an infrastructure was built with railway lines, factories, administrative and residential buildings. Companies from Reinickendorf such as Borsig, C.L.P. Fleck Söhne, Albrecht & Meister AG and Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken AG were also involved in this. The colonisation of the territories was expressly not associated with any civil rights for the local population. ⁽⁴⁾ This was accompanied by unequal legal treatment, which initially manifested itself in the fundamental distinction between "citizens" and "natives" and is to be regarded as the basis of colonial rule. ⁽⁵⁾ In order to enforce its illegitimate rule, the German Reich was guilty of brutal suppression of uprisings, including genocide. In the First World War, the German Reich lost its colonies mainly to France and Great Britain. However, the consequences of colonial rule continue to have an effect despite the comparatively short period of direct rule.