Constructing a German Diaspora: The "Greater German Empire", 1871-1914

377 Pages·2014·2.387 MB·English

by  Stefan Manz

Constructing a German Diaspora
This book takes on a global perspective to unravel the complex relation-
ship between Imperial Germany and its diaspora. Around 1900, German-
speakers living abroad were tied into global power-political aspirations.
They were represented as outposts of a “Greater German Empire” whose
ethnic links had to be preserved for their own and the fatherland’s benefi ts.
Did these ideas fall on fertile ground abroad? In the light of extreme social,
political, and religious heterogeneity, diaspora construction did not redeem
the all-encompassing fantasies of its engineers. But it certainly was at work,
as nationalism “went global” in many German ethnic communities. Three
thematic areas are taken as examples to illustrate the emergence of globally
operating organizations and communication fl ows: Politics and the navy
issue, Protestantism, and German schools abroad as “bulwarks of language
preservation.” The public negotiation of these issues is explored for locali-
ties as diverse as Shanghai, Cape Town, Blumenau in Brazil, Melbourne,
Glasgow, the Upper Midwest in the United States, and the Volga Basin in
Russia. The mobilisation of ethno-national diasporas is also a feature of
modern-day globalization. The theoretical ramifi cations analysed in the
book are as poignant today as they were for the nineteenth century.
Stefan Manz is Senior Lecturer in German at Aston University, Birming-
ham, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Routledge Studies in Modern European History
1 Facing Fascism 9 The Russian Revolution of 1905
The Conservative Party and the Centenary Perspectives
European dictators 1935–1940 Edited by Anthony Heywood and
Nick Crowson Jonathan D. Smele
2 French Foreign and Defence 10 Weimar Cities
Policy, 1918–1940 The Challenge of Urban
The Decline and Fall of a Great Modernity in Germany
Power John Bingham
Edited by Robert Boyce
11 The Nazi Party and the German
3 Britain and the Problem of Foreign Offi ce
International Disarmament Hans-Adolf Jacobsen and
1919–1934 Arthur L. Smith, Jr.
Carolyn Kitching
12 The Politics of Culture in
4 British Foreign Policy 1874–1914 Liberal Italy
The Role of India From Unifi cation to Fascism
Sneh Mahajan Axel Körner
5 Racial Theories in Fascist Italy 13 German Colonialism, Visual
Aaron Gilette Culture and Modern Memory
Edited by Volker M. Langbehn
6 Stormtroopers and Crisis in the
Nazi Movement 14 German Colonialism and
Activism, Ideology and National Identity
Dissolution Edited by Michael Perraudin and
Thomas D. Grant Jürgen Zimmerer
7 Trials of Irish History 15 Landscapes of the Western
Genesis and Evolution of a Front
Reappraisal 1938–2000 Materiality during the Great War
Evi Gkotzaridis Ross J. Wilson
8 From Slave Trade to Empire 16 West Germans and the
European Colonisation of Black Nazi Legacy
Africa 1780s–1880s Caroline Sharples
Edited by Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau
17 Alan S. Milward and a Century
of European Change
Edited by Fernando Guirao,
Frances M. B. Lynch, and
Sigfrido M. Ramírez Pérez
18 War, Agriculture, and Food
Rural Europe from the 1930s to
the 1950s
Edited by Paul Brassley,
Yves Segers and Leen Van Molle
19 Totalitarian Dictatorship
New Histories
Edited by Daniela Baratieri,
Mark Edele and Giuseppe Finaldi
20 Nurses and Midwives in Nazi
Germany
The “Euthanasia Programs”
Edited by Susan Benedict and
Linda Shields
21 European Border Regions in
Comparison
Overcoming Nationalistic Aspects
or Re-Nationalization?
Edited by Katarzyna Stokłosa and
Gerhard Besier
22 The Red Brigades and the
Discourse of Violence
Revolution and Restoration
Marco Briziarelli
23 History, Memory, and
Trans-European Identity
Unifying Divisions
Aline Sierp
24 Constructing a German
Diaspora
The “Greater German Empire”,
1871–1914
Stefan Manz
This page intentionally left blank
Constructing a
German Diaspora
The “Greater German Empire”,
1871–1914
Stefan Manz
NEW YORK LONDON
First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of Stefan Manz to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Manz, Stefan.
Constructing a German diaspora : the “Greater German Empire,”
1871–1914 / by Stefan Manz.
pages cm. — (Routledge studies in modern European history ; 24)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Germans—Foreign countries—History—19th century. 2. Germans—
Foreign countries—History—20th century. 3. Group identity—Germany—
History. 4. National characteristics, German—History. I. Title.
DD68.M36 2014
909'.0971243081—dc23
2014001953
ISBN13: 978-0-415-89226-1 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-1-315-76570-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by IBT Global.
To Laura, Daniel, and Nicholas
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Figures and Tables xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
1 Patterns of Migration and Settlement 19
2 Metropolitan Diaspora Constructions 50
3 Politics: Navy and Auslandsdeutschtum 98
4 North America and Russia 133
5 Religion: Protestantism and Auslandsdeutschtum 176
6 Language: German Schools Abroad 227
Outlook and Conclusion 261
Appendix I: Local Navy Clubs in Sample Years 267
Appendix II: German Protestant Congregations Abroad, 1904 277
Appendix III: German Schools Abroad, 1912 305
Bibliography 327
Index 351