VDA House – Colonial Revisionism in Schöneberg

With the Treaty of Versailles and thus as a result of the defeat in the First World War, formal German colonial rule ended in 1919. From this point on, the Anhänger_innen of colonial revisionism advocated the recovery of the German colonies. The former governor of German East Africa, Heinrich Schnee, wrote a bestseller in 1925 with "The Colonial Lie of Guilt", in which he demanded the return of the colonies. The book cover already came up with symbolic arguments. It showed a bent palm tree, which symbolically stood for the decline of the overseas territories since the handover to other colonial powers, as claimed by the nationalist side.

Numerous associations also demanded the return of the colonies. These included, for example, the Association for Germanness Abroad (VDA). This saw itself as a link between the motherland and the Germans living all over the world, especially those who remained in the former colonies. In addition, the association fought for a revision of the Treaty of Versailles. They underlined their concerns with symbols: their VDA pin, for example, showed a blonde woman with long braids. The woman was stylized as the figurehead of Germanness and illustrated the association's racist image of an all-white nation. Women in particular were portrayed because they were supposed to ensure the continued existence of a so-called 'German ethnicity' through reproduction.

In 1927, the VDA moved into the newly furnished VDA building at Martin-Luther-Str. 97 in Schöneberg. The German Society for Native Studies (DGfE) also rented space in this building. The latter represented the tension between different demands: after the end of the colonial empire, the intention was actually to deport people living in Berlin from the former colonies to their regions of origin. Since this was often not possible due to the lack of entry permits from the subsequent colonial powers, Great Britain and France, the DGfE paid minimal financial support to those affected on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office. This was intended to prevent Migrant_innen from slipping into permanent poverty and thus endangering Germany's reputation as a former colonial power. Wilhelm Munumé and Peter Makembe, both from Schöneberg, also had to make regular visits to the VDA building and the DGfE in order to receive small support payments.

With the increasing political right-wing trend of the late Weimar Republic, efforts to reappropriate the colonies intensified. Other nationalist and colonial revisionist organizations were housed under the same roof of the VDA building. Together, they fought the reconciliation policy of the democratic parties with the former war opponents. The VDA alone had more than two million members during the Weimar Republic.

This text is the revised version of a chapter from the exhibition "Research Workshop: Colonial History in Tempelhof and Schöneberg", which the Schöneberg Museum showed from 19.5. to 29.10.2017.