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A Collection of
Illustrated Postcards with a Colonial Theme
Images © Gary Kadau
Collection
These illustrated postcards
mostly date
from the 1920s and show a variety of military colonial scenes. They were
often printed to raise funds for former colonial soldiers ("Kolonial
Krieger Spende" and "Kolonial Krieger Dank"). They
also no doubt had the aim of raising public awareness of
Germany's lost colonies in the hopes of their future
reclamation. As such they tend to show the heroic and and
beneficial side of the German colonists and the loyalty of their
African soldiers.
East African Schutztruppe Askaris
helping a wounded German comrade
Like all of the paintings
by Fritz
Grotemeyer shown here, the uniforms of the
Schutztruppe in Africa are represented very accurately.
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
East African Schutztruppe Askaris
with a mule team carrying a machine gun being watched over by a
German officer
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
East African Schutztruppe Askaris
pulling an artillery piece into position under the supervision
of two German officers
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
East African Schutztruppe Askaris
and German officers and NCOs fording a river with a telegraph
wire
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
A German Doctor inoculating
Children in East Africa
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
The 7th Camel Mounted Company of
the South West African Schutztruppe Charging
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
A Company of the Cameroon
Schutztruppe on the March
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
Uniforms of the German Colonial
Forces
The uniforms of the Schutztruppe, Polizeitruppe and East
Asian Occupation Brigade appear very accurate and are labelled
in German
Illustration by Richard
Knötel
An Infantryman, Sailor and
Colonial Soldier
shown with Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Iron Cross and Imperial Flags
The uniform of the Colonial soldier appears to be a confused
mixture of Schutztruppe and East Asian issue
Illustration by Willy Stöwer
Another version of the same Theme
Again the artist seems
vague as to the Colonial uniform worn
Illustration by Unknown
Artist based on Willy Stöwer's work
The Defenders of Tsingtao
Again the artist seems vague as to the uniforms worn.
Unknown Artist
General von Lettow-Vorbeck and
his loyal East African Askaris
The illustration of the General mounted shows him with his
Pour-le-Mérite medal
which he only received after the First World War back in
Germany.
Illustration by
Fritz Grotemeyer
An East African Askari
carrying the German national flag
Unknown Artist
The Graves of Schutztruppe
Soldiers in South West Africa
Unknown Artist
Some of these
postcards were painted by three renowned military and naval
artists, Fritz Grotemeyer, Richard Knötel and Willy Stöwer.
Friedrich
'Fritz' Albert
Theresa Grotemeyer
(1864-1947) was
born in Münster and studied
art in Berlin from 1887 under Anton von Werner. He later worked
under the patronage of Adolf von Menzel. During the First World
War he painted on the Western and Ottoman Fronts. Many of his
works still hang in the Café Grotemeyer,
Salzstraße in Münster, still run by his family.
Richard Knötel
(1857–1914) was born in
Glogau (modern Głogów, Poland) and
was taught to draw and paint from a young age by his father,
August Knötel. He was already employed by the newspaper
Illustrierte Zeitung before he attended the Berlin Academy of
Fine Arts from 1880. He is most famous for his prolific military
illustrations especially the massive Uniformenkunde showing the
uniforms of European armies from the 17th century to 1914. After
his death his work was continued by his son Herbert.
Willy Stöwer
(1864–1931) was the son of a Pomeranian sea Captain and
initially trained as a locksmith and later worked as a
technician, illustrator
and draftsman in the engineering offices of various German
shipyards. He became famous for his naval paintings, showing
various German naval vessels and events. Kaiser Wilhelm II
enjoyed Stöwer's work and invited the artist to
accompany him on the Imperial yacht on several occasions.
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