Mohamed Husen
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Bayume Mohamed Husen (born Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed; 22 February 1904 – 24 November 1944) was an Afro-German soldier, actor and victim of
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
persecution. Husen, the son of a former
askari An askari or ascari (from Somali, Swahili, and Arabic , , meaning 'soldier' or 'military', also 'police' in Somali) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes, ...
officer, served together with his father in World War I with German colonial troops in
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
. Later, he worked as a waiter on a German shipping line and was able to move to Germany in 1929. He married and started a family in January 1933. Husen supported the German neo-colonialist movement and contributed to the
Deutsche Afrika-Schau Deutsche Afrika-Schau ("German Africa Show") was an exhibition touted as an ethnographic depiction of African people and customs that toured Germany in the 1937 to 1940. It was a continuation of earlier Völkerschauen ("people shows"), a human zoo ...
, a former human zoo used by Nazi political propagandists. Husen worked as a waiter and in various minor jobs in language tutoring and in smaller roles in various Africa-related German film productions. In 1941, he was imprisoned in the KZ Sachsenhausen, where he died in 1944. His life was the subject of a 2007 biography and a 2014 documentary film.


Background

Husen was born in
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
, then part of
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...
, as the son of an
askari An askari or ascari (from Somali, Swahili, and Arabic , , meaning 'soldier' or 'military', also 'police' in Somali) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes, ...
who held the rank of
Effendi Effendi or effendy ( ; ; originally from ) is a title of nobility meaning '' sir'', ''lord'' or '' master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title itself and its other forms are originally derived from Medieval Gree ...
. Prior to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he had already learned German and worked as a clerk at a textile factory in
Lindi Lindi is a historic coastal town in southern Tanzania and the administrative center of the Lindi Region, the least populated region in the country. Situated at the head of Lindi Bay along the Indian Ocean, the town is located approximately 10 ...
. When war broke out in 1914, both he and his father joined the
Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned a ...
and participated in the East African campaign against Allied forces. Husen was wounded in the Battle of Mahiwa in October 1917 and held as a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
by British forces. After the War, Husen worked as a "boy(servant)" on various cruise ships and worked as a waiter with a
Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie (''German East Africa Line'', or DOAL) was a shipping line, established in 1890 as an alternative to the existing shipping services to East Africa, including German East Africa (1891–1919), then dominated by United Ki ...
ship in 1925. In 1929, he travelled to Berlin to collect outstanding military pay for himself and his father, but his claims were rejected by the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
as too late. Husen stayed in Berlin and worked as a waiter. He used his
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
in language courses for officials and security personnel and as a low paid tutor in university classes, e.g. for the famous scholar, Diedrich Westermann.Bechhaus-Gerst (2007), p. 139 He married a
Sudeten German German Bohemians ( ; ), later known as Sudeten Germans ( ; ), were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part of Czechoslovakia. Before 1945, over three million German Bohemians constitu ...
woman, Maria Schwandner, on January 27, 1933, three days before Hitler came to power. The couple had a son, Ahmed Adam Mohamed Husen (1933–1938), and a daughter, Annemarie (1936–1939). Husen had another son, Heinz Bodo Husen (1933–1945), from another relationship with a German woman named Lotta Holzkamp – this child was adopted by Schwandner and raised with his half-siblings.


Role in the German neo-colonialist movement

In 1934, Husen applied without success for the "Frontkämpfer-Abzeichen", the front-line veterans' Honour Cross. The German authorities were not willing to bestow the order upon "coloureds" in general, and
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), popularly known as the Lion of Africa (), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force ...
appeared to have explicitly ruled out the case of Husen in a letter to the foreign office. Husen nevertheless wore the badge and an askari uniform which he probably bought from a military supplies dealer during his participation in rallies of the , which sought to reclaim Germany's lost colonies.Bechhaus-Gerst (2007), p. 96ff. Whether he had received or lost German citizenship at all is not clear. It was common practice in Weimar Germany to provide migrants from the former German colonies with a passport carrying an endorsement "Deutscher Schutzbefohlener“ (German Protegee) which didn't give them full citizenship. After Hitler's rise to power, black Germans from the former colonies were often deemed to be nationals of the state that had succeeded Germany as the relevant colonial power under the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
.


Various assignments in Nazi Germany

In 1934, Husen briefly returned to Tanganyika during the production of the film '' Die Reiter von Deutsch-Ostafrika'', in which he had a minor role. Thereafter, Husen lost his main income as a waiter in the
Haus Vaterland Haus Vaterland (Fatherland House) was a pleasure palace on the south-east side of Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin. Preceded by Haus Potsdam, a multi-use building including a large cinema and a huge café, from 1928 to 1943 it was a large, famous ...
pleasure palace in 1935 after being dismissed due to racialist complaints by two co-workers. He allegedly also had ongoing conflicts with the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin, where he had helped to teach Swahili to police officers being readied for service in the regained German colonies after the anticipated war would end in German victory, or even in the event of an unlikely reversal of the colonial clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1936, Husen joined the
Deutsche Afrika-Schau Deutsche Afrika-Schau ("German Africa Show") was an exhibition touted as an ethnographic depiction of African people and customs that toured Germany in the 1937 to 1940. It was a continuation of earlier Völkerschauen ("people shows"), a human zoo ...
, a sort of
human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were a colonial practice of publicly displaying people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays of ...
created by the German Foreign Office as part of a campaign for the return of the former German colonies. The Foreign Office wanted to use the
Afro-Germans Afro-Germans () or Black Germans () are German Citizens of Sub-Saharan African descent. Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation forces following World War II and more recent immigration, have substantial ...
to argue against foreign claims that doubted Nazi Germany's ability to administer colonies. Other parts of the Nazi regime tried to use foreign colonial troops during the
Occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland placed the region of Germany west of the Rhine river and four bridgeheads to its east under the control of the victorious Allies of World War I from 1December 1918 until 30June 1930. The occupation was imposed a ...
and the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
as a propaganda tool. In 1940, the show was stopped due to the war. After the British and French declaration of war against Germany in 1939, Husen asked to be accepted in the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
but his admission was denied. From 1939 to 1941, Husen appeared in at least 23 German films, generally as an extra or in minor speaking roles. His last and most prominent role was that of Ramasan, the native guide of German colonial leader
Carl Peters Carl Peters (27 September 1856 – 10 September 1918) was a German explorer and colonial administrator. He was a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa (part of today’s Tanzania) and one of the founders of ...
in the 1941 film of the same name. He stopped working for the university in April 1941, allegedly after being mistreated by Prof , an Africanist and linguistic expert. While on set, he engaged in an affair with a German woman and was reported to the authorities. Husen was arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
on a charge of racial defilement and detained without trial in the
Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...
where he died in 1944.


Legacy

A 2007 biography by made Husen's life known to a wider German public, and the artist
Gunter Demnig Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''Stolperstein'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution, including Jews, homosexuals, Romani people, Romani and the disabled. The project ...
installed a
stolperstein A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...
memorial stone for Husen in front of his former apartment in Berlin. His life is the subject of the 2014 documentary film, '' Majubs Reise'' by
Eva Knopf Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), in the ''Devil May Cry'' video game series * ...
.


Filmography


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Husen, Bayume Mohamed 1904 births People from Dar es Salaam 1944 deaths People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp 20th-century German male actors German male film actors Tanzanian male film actors German prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom German people in German East Africa Tanzanian soldiers Restaurant staff Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German Africanists 20th-century German linguists Linguists of Bantu languages Tanzanian emigrants to Germany Lists of stolpersteine in Germany Schutztruppe personnel Tanzanian actors