The German colonial empire (Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of Imperial Germany. Unified in the early 1870s, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-lived attempts of colonization by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but crucial colonial efforts only began in 1884 with the Scramble for Africa. Claiming much of the left-over uncolonized areas in the Scramble for Africa, Germany managed to build the third largest colonial empire at the time, after the British and French.
Germany lost control of its colonial empire when the First World War began in 1914 and many of its colonies were seized by the Allies during the first weeks of the war. However some colonial military units held out for a while longer: German South West Africa surrendered in 1915, Kamerun in 1916 and German East Africa in 1918. In the case of German East Africa, the defenders under the command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, had engaged a guerrilla war against British colonial and Portuguese forces and did not surrender until after the end of the war.
Germany's colonial empire was officially confiscated with the Treaty of Versailles after Germany's defeat in the war and each colony became a League of Nations mandate under the supervision (but not ownership) of one of the victorious powers. The German colonial empire ceased to exist in 1919. Plans to regain their lost colonial possessions persisted through WW2, with many at the time suspecting that was a goal of the Third Reich all along. Despite having a short in existence compared to other colonial empires, Germany's colonial ventures changed the places and people they came into contact with: Rebellions were summarily suppressed and the Germans orchestrated genocide as a method of collective punishment. More details
Germany lost control of its colonial empire when the First World War began in 1914 and many of its colonies were seized by the Allies during the first weeks of the war. However some colonial military units held out for a while longer: German South West Africa surrendered in 1915, Kamerun in 1916 and German East Africa in 1918. In the case of German East Africa, the defenders under the command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, had engaged a guerrilla war against British colonial and Portuguese forces and did not surrender until after the end of the war.Germany's colonial empire was officially confiscated with the Treaty of Versailles after Germany's defeat in the war and each colony became a League of Nations mandate under the supervision (but not ownership) of one of the victorious powers. The German colonial empire ceased to exist in 1919. Plans to regain their lost colonial possessions persisted through WW2, with many at the time suspecting that was a goal of the Third Reich all along. Despite having a short in existence compared to other colonial empires, Germany's colonial ventures changed the places and people they came into contact with: Rebellions were summarily suppressed and the Germans orchestrated genocide as a method of collective punishment. More details
