1800AD's German Colonies

Colonial Possessions and Protectorates of the German Empire, 1883-1920, confirmed by Treaty, International Agreement, or PurchaseGerman colonies throughout history:  German Empire  Colonies of the German Empire  Prussian-Brandenburg colonies  "Little Venice"This is a list of former German colonies and protectorates (German: Schutzgebiete) outside of the European borders of Prussia and the German Empire.

Brandenburg-Prussian coloniesEdit

Main articles: Brandenburg-Prussia and German colonization of the AmericasThese were colonies unsuccessfully settled by Brandenburg-Prussia (part of the Holy Roman Empire realm), since 1701 Kingdom of Prussia, before the foundation of the German Empire in 1871.

Africa

Groß Friedrichsburg (in Ghana), 1683–1717Arguin (in Mauritania), 1685–1721Whydah (in present Bénin), circa 1700 (this Brandenburg 'colony' was just a minor point of support, a few dwellings at a site co-inhabited by British and Dutch)

North America

These territories were held briefly under lease or occupation during the early European colonizations of the New World.Saint Thomas. Leased by Brandenburg from the Danish West India Company, 1685–1720.Island of Crabs (Krabbeninsel in German) (Caribbean, now US), Brandenburg annexation in theDanish West Indies, 1689–1693Tertholen (Caribbean), 1696. Occupation.

Habsburg Monarchy coloniesEdit

Main article: List of former Austrian coloniesThese were colonies of the Habsburg Monarchy (part of the Holy Roman Empire realm), since 1804 Austrian Empire, since 1867 Austria-Hungary.Banquibazar & Cabelon (1719/23–1744/50)[1]Nicobar islands (1778–1783)[2]Tientsin concession (1901-1917)

German imperial coloniesEdit

These are colonies settled by and controlled by the German Empire from 1884 to 1919. Those territories constituted the German Colonial Empire.

Africa

The following were German African protectorates.German colonies in Africa, 1884-1920German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika):Tanganyika. In 1922 became a League of Nations mandate under the United Kingdom. In 1961 became independent and in 1964 joined with former British protectorate of the sultanate of Zanzibar to form present-day TanzaniaRuanda-Urundi (1885–1917) - present-day Rwanda and BurundiWituland (1885–1890) - since 1890 in KenyaKionga Triangle - since 1920 (earlier occupied) in Portuguese MozambiqueGerman South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) - present-day Namibia (except then-British Walvis Bay) and part of Botswana (Südrand des Caprivi-Zipfels)German West Africa (Deutsch-Westafrika) - existed as one unit only for two or three years, then split into two colonies due to distances:Kamerun (1884–1914) - after World War I, separated into a British part, Cameroons, and a French Cameroun, which became present Cameroon. The British part was later split in half, with one part joining Nigeria and the other Cameroon. (Kamerun, Nigeria-Ostteil, Tschad-Südwestteil, Zentralafrikanische Republik-Westteil, Republik Kongo-Nordostteil, Gabun-Nordteil)Togoland (1884–1914) - after World War I it separated into two parts: a British part (Ghana-Westteil), which joined Ghana, and a French one, which became Togo

Pacific

These were German colonies in the Pacific.German colonies in southern Pacific: Kaiserwilhelmsland and the Bismarck Archipelago (Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands)German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) (1884–1914) and Micronesia (later incorporated into the German New Guinea)Kaiser-WilhelmslandBismarck Archipelago (Bismarck-Archipel)German Solomon Islands or Northern Solomon Islands (Salomonen or Nördliche Salomon-Inseln) (1885–1899)Bougainville Island (Bougainville-Insel) (1888–1919)Nauru (1888–1919)Marshall Islands (Marschall-Inseln) (1885–1919)Mariana Islands (Marianen) (1899–1919) - present-day Northern Mariana IslandsCaroline Islands (Karolinen) (1899–1919) - present-day Federated States of Micronesia andPalauGerman Samoa (Deutsch-Samoa) (1899–1914) - present-day Samoa





China

These are German concessions in China leased to it by the Qing Dynasty.Jiaozhou Bay concession (Deutsch-Kiautschou) (1898-1914)Chefoo (190?-1918)







In 1868, a large group of German Templers landed in Haifa. Although they bore the same name as the Crusaders who were based on the Temple Mount hundreds of years earlier, the two groups had nothing in common: the German movement was an evangelical sect, a splinter group that had seceded from the Lutheran Church in 1854. German Templers believed that the Day of Judgment was near, and favored Jewish settlement in the land of Israel.Following the establishment of the movement, Templer leaders Christoff Hoffman and George David Hardegg were persecuted — and excommunicated — in their native southern Germany. Eventually, they decided to gather their followers and settle them in the Holy Land. Not missionaries in any sense, they hoped to establish a spiritual Kingdom of God together with the People of the Book. And they had faith that the ideal society they planned to create would set an example for the local population.Three years after the first wave of German Templers landed in Israel, a second group arrived. Their agricultural settlement of Sharona would later become the site of Israel’s very first official government offices (HaKiriya, in Tel Aviv).Last of all came the Templers, who founded Jerusalem’s quietly elegant German Colony, generally considered the most important of all. Upon arrival in 1873, they settled fairly close to the revered Temple Mount. Perhaps under the impression that they had settled in the biblical Valley of Refaim, mentioned eight times in the Scriptures and the site of two Davidic battles, they named their main street Emek (Valley) Refaim. Use of this name was just one more piece of evidence connecting them to the Holy Books.German Colony yard (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)Houses were of a style hitherto unknown in Jerusalem, for they were at the same time both spacious and modest. The vast majority were one-family homes although a few were built for two-family occupancy. Metal fences generally surrounded the dwellings; inscriptions in Gothic German were often carved above the doors. In Jerusalem, the German design generally found among wooden structures was modified by the use of local materials — stone instead of wood — and by the artistry of local Arab builders. Of particular interest is a light-colored stone edging on many of the corners and windows.Many of the houses still retain their original look, and are shaded by a plethora of tall trees. As a result the whole effect — if you ignore the traffic — is that of a quiet German village. That is, unless you happen to be browsing the goodies at an open-air arts and crafts fair, spending money at one of its quaint little shops, or dining in one of the street’s eateries! My personal favorite: the ultra-healthy Village Green, which just opened a branch along Emek Refaim.Incredibly, the native-born third generation turned into enthusiastic Nazi sympathizers, setting up a branch of the Nazi movement within the Colony!The Templers’ Beit Ha’am (Community House), located on the edge of the Colony closest to the Temple, was opened in 1882 in the presence of Jerusalem’s Turkish governor. Strong believers in simplicity and brotherly love, the Templers worshiped in this unpretentious structure in the colony and used it as a communal meeting place as well. So frugal was their lifestyle that taking cream instead of milk with their coffee was an almost unheard-of phenomenon — and it was unusual enough to mention in a letter.Modest though it is, this house does have a decorative gabled entrance and a belfry. The bell called Templers to worship on Sunday mornings. One of the elders would preach a sermon at the conclusion of the prayer service and an organ accompanied the singing that followed. Today, the building belongs to the Armenian Church.Frank House (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)Also of unusual interest is the Colony’s earliest edifice, erected by Mattheus Frank. Called the Miller’s House, because of the steam-powered mill (and bakery) located on the property, it differed from the later structures in many ways. For not only was it two stories high and built on more than an acre, but it boasted a private swimming pool! The original wooden shutters on the ground floor are still intact.Like so many of the houses, this one is graced with an attractive facade. Above the front door are the words Eben-Ezer (literally translated as “helping stone”). The name apparently comes from the biblical verse “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Even-Ha’Ezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” (1 Samuel 7:12). The date of construction (1873) is located over the entrance.Two houses on the same plot belonged to the extensive Imberger family. Built in 1877, and restored in 2005, the dwelling in front is engraved with the following prophetic words — in German, like other inscriptions in the Colony:  “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” [Isaiah 60:1].  The beautiful entrance is slightly reminiscent of a Greek temple. Located to the rear of the building, the second house went up 49 years later.Theodore Sandel was an architect who was at least partially responsible for all kinds of famous Jerusalem institutions. Among them: the Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital (the 19th century hospital on Jaffa Road, not the modern hospital of today), historic Lamel School, Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, and the Anglican School on HaNevi’im Street. A sculpted lion’s head resting on its paws sits atop the entrance of Sandel’s home; a lion was the symbol of the family’s chain of pharmacies back in Germany.Templer home on Cremieux (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)Several historic Templer structures are located behind Emek Refaim Street.  One was built by Abraham Fast on Cremieux Street, in 1891. Fast was to become famous as the proprietor of a fancy hotel across from Jaffa Gate — today the large and empty Peninat Dan.Prior to the establishment of the Fast Hotel, overnight lodgers stayed in his home — giving him the hotel experience that he would need for the future! He had plenty of business, as 1892 was the year that a French company built the railroad that ran from Jaffa to Jerusalem. French surveyors and engineers needed lodgings and a place to eat, both of which Fast was able to supply.Templer architect Gottlieb Bauerle put up a delightful dwelling on Lloyd George Street. All kinds of novel elements are incorporated into this structure: a covered entrance, several decorative balconies, circular windows in the attic, and designer balcony supports.Bauerle, Lloyd George (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)Bauerle Junior, a second generation Templer, constructed a building in the art-deco style popular in Tel Aviv at the time. Originally called the Orient Cinema, it was later renamed the Semadar and was restored in the early 1990′s. My husband and I often went to the movies at the pre-renovated Semadar, and remember with nostalgia that the antiquated wooden chairs were very simple and fastened together. As a result, when one person sneezed, a whole row of theatergoers would jump!Despite differences in venue, and variations in the characters of their colonies, all of the Templers in Israel came to the same sorry end. The founders had been practically Zionistic in their belief that the Chosen People should live in the Land of Israel, and they vehemently opposed German nationalism. But when Wilhelm II visited the Holy Land in 1898, the second generation flew German flags and sang the German anthem. And, incredibly, the native-born third generation turned into enthusiastic Nazi sympathizers, setting up a branch of the Nazi movement within the Colony!So it is no accident that a few decades ago, a family residing in Jerusalem’s calm and tranquil German Colony found a Nazi cache hidden away in a long-abandoned attic. Probably secreted there in 1939 during a British search for German sympathizers, the Nazi gear included a steel knife inscribed in German with the slogan “Blood and Honor.” A hat and patent leather belt carried the name of one Erich Imberger, a third-generation Templer. No doubt he came to the same sorry end as his fellow Templers: he either left the country before the onset of World War II to serve in the German army, or was deported to Australia by the British during the war. And by the time Israel became a State in 1948, not one of these resourceful German Templers remained.In 1873, after establishing colonies in Haifa and Jaffa, members of the Templer sect fromWürttemberg, Germany, settled on a large tract of land in the Refaim Valley, southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. The land was purchased by one of the colonists, Matthaus Frank, from theArabs of Beit Safafa.[1][2] The Templers were Christians who broke away from the Protestant church and encouraged their members to settle in the Holy Land to prepare for Messianic salvation. They built their homes in the style to which they were accustomed in Germany - farmhouses of one or two stories, with slanting tiled roofs and shuttered windows, but using local materials such as Jerusalem stone instead of wood and bricks.[3] The colonists engaged in agriculture and traditional trades such as carpentry and blacksmithing. Their homes ran along two parallel streets that would become Emek Refaim and Bethlehem Road. The British Mandatory government deported the German Templers during World War II. As Germans, they were considered enemy citizens, all the more so because they made no effort to disguise their Nazi sympathies. Some of them resettled in Australia.

Christian Arab settlement

As the neighborhood expanded south along the valley, many of the lots were purchased by well-to-do Christian Arab families attracted by its location between the road to Bethlehem and the developing neighborhoods of Katamon, Talbiya, and Baka, which were populated by some of Jerusalem's wealthiest Arabs.

State of Israel

The Arab residents of Katamon fled in 1948, in the wake of fierce battles for control of the area during the Arab–Israeli War. The abandoned homes in the German Colony and other parts of Katamon were used to house new immigrants. Since the end of the 20th century, the neighborhood has undergone a process of gentrification. Efforts are being made to restore old landmark buildings and incorporate some of their architectural features, such as arched windows and tiled roofs, in new construction. Numerous cafes, bars, restaurants, and boutiques have opened in the neighborhood, and many affluent families have moved there, pushing up the price of real estate. The German Colony has a large English-speaking population,[4] with the English speaking community comprising both families and singles, permanent immigrants and visitors. The neighborhood is home to the Smadar Theater, Jerusalem's arthouse cinema and a perennial gathering place for the artisterati.[4]During the Second Intifada, in September, 2003, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a cafe on Emek Refaim Street, killing seven people. In February 2004, another suicide bombing took place on bus #14a as it was leaving the neighborhood northwards. Eight were killed. A small stone monument was erected on top of the fence of the old train station, facing the location of the attack. It is visible from the main northern entrance to the German Colony, across from Liberty Bell Park.