German Colonial Empire (German Heritage)

The German Colonial Empire (: Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of the. Previous short-lived colonisation attempts were made by various German states in the previous centuries, but true colonial attempts were established after the in 1884. The ”Kolonialreich” lasted for over 110 years, and finally ended after the independence of in 1994.

After being occupied during, the colonies were returned to the German Empire after the. A influx of German immigrants numbering about 300,000 moved to the colonial empire, mainly to German South-West Africa (now Namibia). At the same time, many French and Belgian colonists in Madagascar, Somaliland, Congo and West Africa left the now-German administered colonies to either or back to mainland France. The administration favoured German colonists while causing a less ideal situation for former-allied colonists. The new “Mittelafrikan System” was fragile, partly because of its expansive size, as well as its ethnic stress. In the 1930s, the AF (Armée pour les Français;Army for the French) organisation became influential among the remaining French citizens and campaigned against the German authorities and citizens.