Abstract
This chapter examines the genocide the Germans committed in their colony in Africa between 1904 and 1907 and the ways in which this genocide functioned as a precursor to the Holocaust. Colonial discourse was made familiar to citizens of the Fatherland through newspaper accounts, debates in the Reichstag, and self-congratulatory books published by Schutztruppe, the colonial military. Yet scant attention has been given to the discourse about gender in Germany’s colonies and its subsequent impact on aspects of Nazi rule, including the Nuremberg Laws, regulations regarding prostitution, and the prevalence of sexual violence in the Third Reich. This chapter introduces texts by two survivors: Liana Millu, and Nanda Herbermann. The representation of rape, brothels located in lagers, and other forms of sexual violence echo colonial practice and perspectives.
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Baer, E.R. (2020). A Reconsideration of Sexual Violence in German Colonial and Nazi Ideology and Its Representation in Holocaust Texts. In: Aarons, V., Lassner, P. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Holocaust Literature and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33428-4_35
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