Although German colonial rule in Africa lasted only about a generation (1885–1919), it left its mark on the German consciousness, both in West Germany and in the then German Democratic Republic (GDR). On the one hand, there was a cultivation of colonial tradition and a heroic culture of remembrance in the West until the 1960s; on the other hand, GDR historians (such as Helmut Stoecker, Thea Büttner, Heinrich Loth and Horst Drechsler) castigated the imperialist machinations of European countries in their African colonies. The latter threw new light on European-African relations, which was also noted appreciatively by historians in the West. In the course of the student movements and anti-imperialist solidarity groups, a willingness to critically examine the German legacy in Africa increasingly developed. Parallel to the pioneering studies of Anglo-American colleagues such as John Iliffe and T. O. Ranger—the pioneering historical works of German authors were published: Franz Ansprenger (Auflösung der Kolonialreiche (Dissolution of the Colonial Empires), 1966), Rudolf von Albertini (Dekolonisation (Decolonization), 1966 and europäische Kolonialherrschaft (European Colonial Rule), 1880–1940), Gerhard Grohs (Stufen afrikanischer Emanzipation (Stages of African Emancipation), 1967); by Helmut Bley (German Southwest/Namibia, 1968), Detlef Bald (German East Africa, 1970); Rainer Tetzlaff (German East Africa, 1970), Karin Hausen (Cameroon, 1970), and Albert Wirz (German Colonies in Africa, 1976).