African-German Experience

A collection of critical and theoretical essays that seek to take an in-depth look at the socio-political and historical roots of the African-German presence in today's Germany. The essays examine the African Germans and otherness, with vivid descriptions of personal accounts and observations as well as rich information about Germany's colonial history and about being black in Germany through the pre- and post-World War II era. The volume also provides personal accounts of transitional changes in African-German daily life. German racism is an everyday occurrence in the lives of African Germans, and this volume reveals how they cope with this harsh reality. Perhaps, with the exception of the old Soviet Union, no European nation has undergone the dramatic changes to its political and social landscape as has Germany. Yet few people realize how these changes have impacted on the lives of African Germans, a population of African-descended people who have lived in Germany for at least two centuries. This volume of critical essays on the African German experience seeks to establish the position culturally, politically, and socially, of the African Germans in the larger context of the historic changes that have taken place in German society. Drawing upon the analyses of some of the most significant and outstanding scholars in the field, the collection discovers the hidden history of African Germans. As such it will be of interest to scholars and researchers of modern Germany, race relations, and Black studies.