Choice reviews Creating Germans Abroad

J. O. Gump, University of San Diego

Walther's well-written and fascinating study of German settler colonialism in Southwest Africa (Namibia) focuses on the construction of identity in the period of German colonial rule and during the South African mandate era. The author argues that German authorities and colonial enthusiasts set out to construct a staunchly German nationalist and traditional agrarian society in Southwest Africa by advocating the settlement of the educated and propertied classes, organizing an educational system that emphasized order, obedience, and discipline, and recruiting women of "irreproachable" repute.

As the purported custodians of German culture, women were viewed as indispensable in strengthening the family and bolstering racial consciousness. Along with gender, Walther (Wartburg College) explores how German settlers used both race and culture as markets of "superiority," to offset the various challenges to their hegemony, whether that challenge arose from indigenous Africans or from Afrikaner immigrants. In the end, local conditions undermined the project to construct an idvllic version of preindustrial Germany, as many settlers came to see Southwest Africa "as their new homeland and referred to themselves as Sudivester." Summing Up: Recommended. Upper division undergraduates and above.

Choice