author

Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft. Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee

A major force in Germany’s colonial movement, these closely linked organizations pushed colonial expansion through propaganda, publishing, research, and economic projects. Their records now offer a revealing window into how colonial ambitions were promoted and organized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

1 Audiobook

Westafrikanische Kautschuk-Expedition

Westafrikanische Kautschuk-Expedition

by Rudolf Schlechter, Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft. Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee

About the author

The Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft was formed in Berlin on December 19, 1887, through the merger of two earlier colonial groups. It aimed to build public support for German colonies and became one of the best-known civic organizations backing colonial policy in the German Empire and later in the Weimar period.

The Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee was founded in 1896 and worked on the economic side of colonialism. Led for many years by Karl Supf, it promoted transport projects, settlement, raw-material production, trade, and scientific expeditions connected to Germany’s colonies. From 1902, it officially functioned as the economic committee of the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft.

Together, these bodies helped spread colonial propaganda and supported practical projects tied to overseas expansion. After Germany lost its colonies following the First World War, the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft continued to campaign for their return, and by 1936 both organizations had effectively been absorbed into the Nazi-era Reichskolonialbund. Because they were organizations rather than individual authors, no suitable portrait image applies here.