Emil von Zelewski was a German officer of Kashubian descent who served as commander of the

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...

for

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

. In the Hehe Revolt he was killed in action during the .

Early years

Emil von Zelewski was born in Bendargau in the Pomeranian district of Neustadt. He joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and served in the 99th Infantry Regiment at Posen in 1881.

Service in the German East Africa Company

In 1886 he retired from the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

and entered the service of the

German East Africa Company The German East Africa Company (german: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft, abbreviated DOAG) was a chartered colonial organization which brought about the establishment of German East Africa, a territory which eventually comprised the areas ...

(GEAC). In August 1888 he was sent to the city of

Pangani Pangani Town is a historic Swahili settlement located on the south eastern shore of Tanga Region, Tanzania. The town lies south of the city of Tanga, at the mouth of the Pangani River. It is the headquarters of the Pangani District. Admini ...

, which belonged to the

Sultanate of Zanzibar The Sultanate of Zanzibar ( sw, Usultani wa Zanzibar, ar, سلطنة زنجبار , translit=Sulṭanat Zanjībār), also known as the Zanzibar Sultanate, was a state controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in place between 1856 and 1964. The Sul ...

, as a representative of the company. During the meeting, Zelewski's imperious behavior became a trigger for the uprising of the East African coastal population against the GEAC. The company had concluded a coastal and customs treaty with the Sultan in 1887. In return for an annual lease, it took over the administration of the mainland strip of Zanzibar and levied customs duties. When the GEAC tried to take over the administration of the coastal towns in August 1888, it met with broad rejection from the population, who saw themselves betrayed by the sultan.

Abushiri Revolt

Zelewski's imperious behavior towards the Sultan's local wali and the disregard for the Sultan's flag when the GEAC flag was raised led to open outrage. The Austrian Consul Rudolf Fuchs in Zanzibar then reported to his Foreign Minister in Vienna, This incident also took place on the

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...

which was one of the most important Islamic holidays. The unrest in Pangani triggered the two-year uprising of the coastal population led by Buschiri bin Salim, in which the rule of the GEAC completely collapsed. The German Empire deployed marine infantry from ships of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and sent

Hermann Wissmann Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wissmann, after 1890 Hermann von Wissmann (4 September 1853 – 15 June 1905), was a German explorer and administrator in Africa. Early life Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Wissmann was enlisted in the Army in 1870 ...

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Germa ...

, who was to put down the insurrection movement with a hastily recruited force of German officers and African mercenaries. The control of the protected area was then transferred from the GEAC to the German Empire. Emil von Zelewski joined Wissmann's troops in 1889, took part in the storming of Buschiri's camp and the capture of Pangani and Saadani. He was eventually appointed head of the Wissmann Troop in Kilwa.

Commander of the Protection Force

On 1 April 1891 he succeeded Wissmann as commander in German East Africa. By Imperial law of 22 March 1891 the

for German East Africa was established as a military force under Imperial control and Wissmann's private group was integrated into it. After conquering the coast, the Germans tried to consolidate their power inland as well. To do this, it was primarily necessary to secure the caravan routes between the coast and

Ujiji Ujiji is a historic town located in Kigoma-Ujiji District of Kigoma Region in Tanzania. The town is the oldest in western Tanzania. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 41,000. The site is a registered National Histo ...

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

. They roughly correspond to the line on which the Mittellandbahn was later built. In this area, the German colonial power encountered the expanding sphere of influence of the

Hehe people The Hehe ( Swahili collective: Wahehe) are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in Iringa Region in south-central Tanzania, speaking the Bantu Hehe language. In 2006, the Hehe population was estimated at 805,000, up from the just over 250,000 ...

, who had brought large parts of the southern highlands under their control under their chiefs Munyigumba Muyinga and

Mkwawa Chief Mkwavinyika Munyigumba Mwamuyinga (1855 – 19 July 1898), more commonly known as Chief Mkwawa or Sultan Mkwawa, was a Hehe tribal leader in German East Africa, based in Kalenga, Iringa region, who opposed the German colonization. The nam ...

since the 1860s. The Hehe trains extended into the area of the caravan route. There were also attacks on tribes that had recognized German supremacy. That is why the decision was made in the new capital Dar es Salaam to undertake a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...

against the Hehe.

Death in Rugaro

The first significant action by Zelewski as commander was also his last. In July 1891 he marched with a battalion of the Schutztruppe (three companies with 13 officers, 320

Askaris An askari (from Somali, Swahili and Arabic , , meaning "soldier" or "military", which also means "police" in the Somali language) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African G ...

, 170 porters as well as machine guns and light field guns) from the East African coast towards Heheland. Zelewski switched to

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...

warfare as he knew it from fighting the coastal insurrection. On 30 July 1891 he noted “a fortified settlement shot at with 20 shells and 850

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

cartridges”, on 5 and 6 August 1891, 25 farms burned down, and on 15 and 16 August 1891 another 50 farms. Thomas Morlang
''You wanted it that way.'' The extermination campaign against the Hehe people in East Africa.
In: '' Die Ziet. '' No. 32/1998, p. 2. Mkwawa and his brother Mpangie had gathered their warriors and were waiting for the Schutztruppe to ambush them. On 17 August 1891 Zelewski, who renounced reconnaissance patrols, marched right into the middle of Mkwawa's army; camouflaged in bush and tall grass. Near Rugaro he was attacked by up to 3,000 Hehe. Zelewski and most of his men were dead within ten minutes. Two German lieutenants and two NCOs managed to escape with two Effendis, 62 Askaris, 74 porters, four donkeys and some of the luggage. A few years later, a small pyramid with a memorial plaque for the German fallen soldiers was erected at the site of the battle.

Family

A nephew of Emil von Zelewski was

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski Erich Julius Eberhard von dem Bach-Zelewski (born Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski; 1 March 1899 – 8 March 1972) was a high-ranking SS commander of Nazi Germany. During World War II, he was in charge of the Nazi security warfare against tho ...

, who, as a SS-Obergruppenführer, was involved in anti-partisan operations and was significantly involved in extermination campaigns in the Soviet Union. In August 1944 he ordered the suppression of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

. His biographer Blood takes the view that the uncle's fate was seen as a family disgrace because he was defeated in a fight against "inferior" Africans. This was one of the driving forces behind the atrocities to which the nephew felt were called for.