University of New South Wales 2005 UNIVERSITY of NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Project Report Sheet
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BÜRGERTUM OHNE RAUM: German Liberalism and Imperialism, 1848-1884, 1918-1943. Matthew P Fitzpatrick A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of New South Wales 2005 UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Project Report Sheet Surname or Family name: Fitzpatrick First name: Matthew Other name/s: Peter Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD. School: History Faculty: Arts Title: Bürgertum Ohne Raum: German Liberalism and Imperialism 1848-1884, 1918-1943. Abstract This thesis situates the emergence of German imperialist theory and praxis during the nineteenth century within the context of the ascendancy of German liberalism. It also contends that imperialism was an integral part of a liberal sense of German national identity. It is divided into an introduction, four parts and a set of conclusions. The introduction is a methodological and theoretical orientation. It offers an historiographical overview and places the thesis within the broader historiographical context. It also discusses the utility of post-colonial theory and various theories of nationalism and nation-building. Part One examines the emergence of expansionism within liberal circles prior to and during the period of 1848/ 49. It examines the consolidation of expansionist theory and political practice, particularly as exemplified in the Frankfurt National Assembly and the works of Friedrich List. Part Two examines the persistence of imperialist theorising and praxis in the post-revolutionary era. It scrutinises the role of liberal associations, civil society, the press and the private sector in maintaining expansionist energies up until the 1884 decision to establish state-protected colonies. Part Three focuses on the cultural transmission of imperialist values through the sciences, media and fiction. In examines in particular the role of geographical journals and societies and of the periodical Die Gartenlaube. Part Four discusses the post World War I era, and examines liberal attempts to revive German imperialism, within the context of a refusal to accept the Versailles settlement. It also delineates points of convergence and divergence between Nazi and liberal imperialisms. This is followed by a summation of the evidence and arguments, in which it is concluded that the liberal narration of German national identity was predicated both on the objectification of colonised lands and attempts to emulate and ultimately rival British imperial power. Declaration relating to disposition of project report/thesis I am fully aware of the policy of the University relating to the retention and use of higher degree project reports and theses, namely that the University retains the copies submitted for examination and is free to allow them to be consulted or borrowed. Subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, the University may issue a project report or thesis in whole or in part, in photostat or microfilm or other copying medium. I also authorise the publication by University Microfilms of a 350 word abstract in Dissertation Abstracts International (applicable to doctorates only). .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing to the Registrar. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances if accompanied by a letter of support from the Supervisor or Head of School. Such requests must be submitted with the thesis/project report. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award Registrar and Deputy Principal THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS “ ... Die germanische Race ist von der Vorsehung bestimmt, die Weltherrschaft zu führen. Sie ist physisch und geistig vor allen andern bevorzugt, und die halbe Erde ist ihr fast unterthan. England, Amerika, Deutschland, das sind die drei Zweige des mächtigen germanischen Baumes, der auf den Hochebenen Asiens gekeimt, im Herzen Europas Wurzel getrieben hat, und unter dessen Schatten einst die ganze Erde ruhen wird.”1 1 Wochen-Blatt des Nationalvereins. (WB). No.23. 7th Sept. 1865.p.183. “Die deutsche Seemannsschule in Hamburg in ihrer Bedeutung für die Zukunfts-Marine Deutschlands.” ii Contents Acknowledgements v List of Abbreviations vi Introduction 1 Part One. A Liberal Empire for a Liberal Nation. 1. National Unification and Overseas Expansion: Germany’s Liberal Imperialists at the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848 – 1849. 41 2. Mythopoesis – The Establishment of Imperialism as a Liberal Discourse of Nationhood and the Reification of the Tropes of Imperialist Discourse. 80 Part Two. Reconstituting the Oneiric Empire in the ‘Post-Liberal’ Era. 3. Tending the Flame: The ‘Retreat and Return’ of Liberal Imperialist Praxis 1849-1884. ‘Informal’ Empire and Private Sector Imperialism. 119 4. Tending the Flame: The ‘Retreat and Return’ of Liberal Imperialist Politics 1849-1884. Bürgerlich Agency and the World of the Verein. 160 5. Bismarck and the Socio-Political Context of the Colonial ‘Umschwung.’ 184 Part Three. Embourgeoisement and the Texts of Imperialism – The Consolidation of Cultural Hegemony and Liberal Expansionism 1849 – 1884. 6. Scientific Discourse as Imperialist Discourse. The Political and Geographic Sciences and Liberal Imperialism. 214 iii 7. Popular Culture and the Transmission of Imperialist Values – Die Gartenlaube and Colonial Fiction. 277 Part Four. Reviving Lost Dreams: Liberal Imperialism Between the Wars. 8. Hans Grimm and the Liberal Sense of National Exile. 321 9. The Broader Post 1918 Imperialist Movement – Heinrich Schnee and the Kolonialgesellschaft. 347 Conclusion 373 Bibliography 388 iv Acknowledgements There are numerous people who have assisted me throughout this project and who deserve my heartfelt thanks: To begin with, thank you to my postgraduate colleagues, Nevenko Bartulin, Susie Protschky, Sally Cove, Ed McMahon, Peter Dean and Sacha Davis for their help in creating a scholarly critical mass. Thanks are also due to my supervisor Günter Minnerup, who has spent a great deal of time ensuring that my ideas did not go unchallenged. Thanks as well to Andrew Bonnell, Dirk A Moses, John Milfull, Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann, Horst Gründer and Pamela Katsch, who have read and commented upon parts or the whole of this work in its various stages. The errors, inconsistencies and flaws that remain are of course my own. The financial support offered by the School of History at the University of New South Wales in the form of an Australian Postgraduate Award, as well as the generous support of the German Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst have contributed materially to my ability to complete any research whatsoever, whilst the pleasant and helpful staff at the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz and Berlin, das Geheime Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, the Staatsarchiv Hamburg, the Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv in Wolfenbüttel and the Institut für Zeitungsforschung in Dortmund have ensured that I have had something novel to write about. This work is dedicated to Natasha Grundy, and Ethan, Peter and Elaine Fitzpatrick, for their love and support. v List of Abbreviations BA Bundesarchiv CEH Central European History DDP Deutsche Demokratische Partei DG Die Gartenlaube DKG Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft DKZ Deutsche Kolonialzeitung DNVP Deutschnationale Volkspartei DVP Deutsche Volkspartei GstA PK Geheimes Staatsarchiv, Preußischer Kulturbesitz IMT International Military Tribunal JMH Journal of Modern History Korag Koloniale Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft Mittheilungen Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes’ geographischer Anstalt über wichtige neue Erforschungen auf dem Gesammtgebiete der Geographie NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei NsSA Niedersachsisches Staatsarchiv RKB Reichskolonialbund StA Hamburg Staatsarchiv Hamburg SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands WB Wochen-Blatt des Nationalvereins WS Wochenschrift des Nationalvereins vi Introduction Midway through the second volume of his magisterial study of German history, Thomas Nipperdey embarked upon his explanation of German colonial history. Somewhat apologetically, he announced “Hier muß nun kurz von den Kolonien die Rede sein.”1 What followed was a three and a quarter page sketch of the nature of German rule in the African colonies, the sole theme of which was that Germany’s colonial history was a short-lived, largely unimportant era in the history of the German nation. Neither particularly successful nor unsuccessful when seen against the background of the experience of other, more dynamic, colonial powers such as Britain and France, for Nipperdey, Germany’s colonies lay well outside of the main narrative of German history, as an insignificant social experiment devoid of social or historical origins or effects. In 1975, Wolfgang J Mommsen described imperialism as a late nineteenth century phenomenon that marked the “Sündenfall des Liberalismus.” German liberals, he claimed, had allowed “die Verfremdung der liberalen Idee durch die imperialistische Ideologie…” during the 1880s.2 According to Mommsen, apart 1 T Nipperdey. Deutsche Geschichte 1866-1918. 2. Band: Machtstaat vor der Demokratie. Verlag C.H. Beck, München, 1992.p.286ff. 2 WJ Mommsen. “Wandlungen der