February 17, 1900

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Martin Antonenko

A Fixture
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
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8,994
Samoa becomes “German”!


On February 17, 1900, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.



... declares the Western Samoa Islands to be a "Schutzgebiet" (= protected area) of the German Reich! Where "Schutzgebiet" is a euphemism for "colony"!

The Eastern Samoa Islands are not affected - they remain with the USA (until today!):



One of the first official acts of the German colonial administration is the construction of a tower with large clocks in the capital (more of a village) Apia - to get the locals used to German punctuality...:



This "clock tower" still stands today!

The building beside, erected as residence for the German governor is also preserved - today it is the seat of the President of Western Samoa...:





With the governor appointed by the Kaiser, a former official of the Imperial Colonial Office named Dr. Wilhelm Solf…



...the Samoans - in contrast to many other colonies - were lucky, by the way!

dr Solf, a very liberal man, first pacified violent conflicts between hostile Samoan clans, then introduced extensive self-government for the Samoans, kept the German military in check, ended an uprising peacefully, abolished the beatings that had been customary up to that point, and built the most modern hospital throughout the South Pacific, campaigned energetically in Berlin for the right to vote for the Samoans - and through his actions laid the foundations for the economic development of the Samona Islands, which continues to this day:

He had banana, fruit and coconut plantations laid out on a large scale, the fruits of which were exported.






From 1904 onwards, the German "protectorate" of Samoa no longer required any subsidies from Berlin and was able to support and feed itself - as the only German colony!
No wonder Governor Solf was far more popular with the Samoans than with the German immigrants, against whose "noisy German bumbling and megalomania" he repeatedly opposed.

In 1914 the German colony was of course over, British and New Zealanders occupied the islands on August 29, 1914...







... and arrested the German governor Erich Schultz-Ewerth (the successor of Dr. Solf)...:





(By the way, the attack of the German East Asian cruiser squadron under Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee on December 8, 1914 on the British Falklands Islands was expressly intended as "retaliation" for Samoa! Spee planned to arrest the governor of the Falklands as well! As is well known, the matter went wrong and the cruiser squadron below.)

In 1995, I was dying to travel as far as this world would allow, and that's how my wife and I ended up in Samoa.

The islands are absolutely the most beautiful piece of earth I have ever seen with my own eyes!





Und angesichts dessen, was mir in der Schule über die „bösen deutschen Kolonialisten“ beigebracht worden war (und die es ohne Zweifel auch gab, wie den berüchtigten Heinrich Peters in Ostafrika oder den mörderischen General von Trotha) war ich geradezu „platt“, wie beliebt die Deutschen 1995 noch in Samoa waren!

Die Währung der Insel hat ihren deutschen Namen behalten und heißt heute noch „Taler“ („Tala“)...



...im Telefonbuch wimmelt es von deutschen Nachnamen, seinerzeit den Samoanern von der Kolonialverwaltung gegeben wurden (oder die von Deutschen abstammen) und die heute noch getragen werden...



...der „Clock Tower“ und Gouverneur Solfs Residenz sind tadellos erhalten und werden offensichtlich sehr gepflegt, wie die Fotos oben zeigen!

Der absolute Ober-Hammer aber war, als meine Frau und ich – fast 20.000 Kilometer von Deutschland entfernt...



...vor dem besten Hotel in der Hauptstadt Apia standen…:





Ich hab mal gegoogelt: Das Hotel gibt's heute noch und der Name ist immer noch der gleiche - und das, obwohl sich nur wenige Deutsche nach Samoa "verirren", weil sie die lange Flugzeit (26 Stunden von Frankfurt!) scheuen...
 
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