Reichskolonialbund
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The Reichskolonialbund (RKB) ( en, Reich Colonial League) was a collective body that absorbed all German colonial organisations during the time of the Third Reich. It was led by
Franz Ritter von Epp Franz Ritter von Epp (born Franz Epp; from 1918 as Ritter von Epp; 16 October 1868 – 31 January 1947)Lilla, Joachim: Epp, Franz Ritter v.'. In: Staatsminister, leitende Verwaltungsbeamte und (NS-)Funktionsträger in Bayern 1918 bis 19 ...
. The Reichskolonialbund was active between 1936 and 1943.


History


Background

The purpose of the Reichskolonialbund was to reclaim the overseas colonies that Germany had lost as a result of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. The first efforts in rallying support for a re-establishment of a German Colonial Empire in Germany can be traced back to 1923. As a result, a number of pro-colonial organisations, supported by both conservative-minded Germans and nationalists, were established in different parts of Germany. Founded in 1925, the foremost outfit was the ''Koloniale Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft'' (KORAG). This organisation, along with other groups, led to the foundation of the preliminary Reichskolonialbund in 1933. The establishment was made in two steps, the second one being its incorporation ''(Gliederung)'' into the Nazi Party structure; as a result many references give two different years for the Nazi Reichskolonialbund foundation, 1933 and 1936.


Establishment

The Reichskolonialbund was established on 13 June 1936 by the former governor of
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 ...
, Heinrich Schnee. Whether the organisations that joined it did so freely, or were forced to do so in the name of ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...
'', is a subject of conjecture. Led by Ritter von Epp, the organisation's alleged purpose was to "keep the population informed about the loss of the German Imperial colonies, to maintain contact with the former colonial territories and to create conditions in opinion favourable to a new German African Empire". The foundation of RKB was marred with difficulties, for only two months after its establishment,
Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
decreed its disbandment. However, after lengthy discussions, the decree was revoked in November of the same year. As part of the Nazi triumphalism for the Third Reich, the Reichskolonialbund was intended to take over the role of the disbanded German Colonial Society, (''Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft'') (DKG). Since Germany had no colonies, the Reichskolonialbund was mainly engaged in mostly virulent political agitation. The agitation was conducted largely in Germany by means of newspapers, magazines, conferences and "Colonial Exhibitions". That was meant to keep open the so-called Colonial Question (Kolonialfrage) and to gather funds for the organisation. The most important weekly publications of the Reichskolonialbund between 1937 and 1943 were ''Kolonie und Heimat'' and the ''Deutsche Kolonialzeitung'', the former mouthpiece of the German Colonial Company. The RKB also printed colourful posters for the advancement of its cause. The Reichskolonialbund had its own youth organization, the Colonial Youth, which was incorporated as a wing of the Hitler Youth. Its members wore the regular Hitler Youth uniform with Reichskolonialbund badges and insignias. The youth regularly staged rallies and collected money for the colonial cause during the events organised by the Reichskolonialbund. Adult members of the Reichskolonialbund also wore uniform during parades and rallies. The design was inspired by the Schutztruppe uniforms of the German Imperial Era. The Reichskolonialbund held two parliamentary sessions, the first in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
in May 1938 and the second in Vienna in May 1939.


Twilight and end

The decline of the Reichskolonialbund began with the onset of World War II, when the Nazi State focused on other priorities, foremost of which was the search for a Lebensraum in the East of Europe. Finally in 1943 the Reichsleiter
Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...
pressed for the dissolution of the Reichskolonialbund on the grounds of ''"kriegsunwichtiger Tätigkeit"'' ("activity irrelevant to the war"). Hence the Reichskolonialbund was swiftly disbanded by a decree of the Führer in 1943. The disbandment of the organisation and its assets was harsh and without ceremony, almost equaling a requisition ''(Beschlagnahmung)''. Most of the Reichskolonialbund's files lie in the archives in
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
, where there are 5,140 documents from the period 1925 to 1943.


See also

*
German colonial empire The German colonial empire (german: Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of the German Empire. Unified in the early 1870s, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-li ...
* NSDAP Office of Colonial Policy * Society for German Colonization * List of former German colonies *
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 ...
* Mittelafrika * Wituland *
Karl Peters Carl Peters (27 September 1856 – 10 September 1918), was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author and a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa (part of the modern republic Tanzania). Life ...
* Hitler Youth


Notes and references


Further reading

* Hanswerner Nachrodt: ''Der Reichskolonialbund''. Schriften der Hochschule für Politik - Der organisatorische Aufbau des Dritten Reiches, Heft 30, Berlin 1939. * H. Jünemann und H. Mietz: ''Der Reichskolonialbund – Wiedergabe der Jünemannschen `Rechtfertigungen''. Im Mitteilungsblatt des Traditionsverbandes ehem. Schutz- und Überseetruppen e.V. Nr.83 (Jubiläumsausgabe, 100 Jahre Traditionsverband) 1998. * Wolfgang Reith: "Die Kaiserlichen Schutztruppen". Glanz & Gloria Verlag, Windhoek 2017, ISBN 978-99916-909-6-4


External links


Examples of the Reichskolonialbund's agitation: Posters, insignias, etc. (de)
* {{Former German colonies Nazi Party organizations 1936 establishments in Germany 1943 disestablishments in Germany German colonial empire Organizations established in 1936 Organizations disestablished in 1943