Everywhere in Tanzania you can find markers attributed to German colonialism
Question (Thomas Fues): Could we first look at the intergovernmental process between Tanzania and Germany regarding colonial legacies and present challenges?
Answer (Dr Valence Silayo): Let me start by asking if colonial history is just a government-to-government issue or if it is rather a task that refers to countries as a whole, meaning people, communities, and civil society. Therefore, the government represents the people and consults before making decisions, which is essential. I wonder how much the German government has consulted with its people on colonial entanglements.
German apologies without debate
At public appearances in Tanzania, Germany’s President Steinmeier and State Minister Katja Keul of the Foreign Office addressed their country’s responsibility for the colonial past and apologized for historical injustices. However, I wonder how much the German public knows what happened and if they feel sorry. From a Tanzanian perspective, German politicians did not provide adequate space to analyze the meaning of their statements. The Tanzanian Government needs to come together — engage all its wings, and consult its people on the best way to approach and engage the German government regarding their complicated past. I believe the Tanzanian government is working hard to find the best way forward to benefit our country.
What would providing such spaces look like in practical terms?
When Germans say they are ready to talk about the past, they may not appreciate the massive scale of colonial violence for which they are responsible historically. Regardless of the brief period of German rule in Tanzania, its brutality cut across the country, and all the communities were deeply affected. Everywhere, you can find markers attributed to German colonialism. In November 2023, President Steinmeier went to Southern Tanzania to honour the heroes and heroines of the Majimaji War who Germans executed. But this is only a tiny example of German violence. Much more extensive knowledge of the past must be considered before discussing the harrowing past.
Wake-up call for Tanzania
I wonder if Germans are aware of the full scale of the violence suffered by the communities in today’s Tanzania. So far, I have not seen a ‚real‘ systematic effort by the German government to reach out to scholars, communities, and civil society in my country to address historical wrongdoings. However, for us in Tanzania, the declared readiness of German leaders to talk about the past is a wake-up call. They should, therefore, give us space to prepare terms of reference for this critical dialogue.
What is the response of the Tanzanian side to the statement of President Steinmeier?
I am not the government’s spokesperson, but I think the Tanzanian government appreciates the German readiness to talk about colonial entanglements. Germany has accepted that something went wrong in the past, and they invited us to discuss this matter. Now, we need time to decide on how we want to proceed. The government has initiated consultations with academics, communities, and civil society.
Framework for dialogue
We need an infrastructure that will guide such discussions and serve as a framework for the dialogues on restitution, reparation, and colonialism in general. Affected communities want spaces to articulate their grievances on the impact of colonialism. There are over 120 ethnic groups in Tanzania. Almost all of them were affected. They can’t approach the German government individually. The Tanzanian government has to represent these communities.
Historical facts about colonial violence
Before this can happen, we need to establish the historical facts about colonial violence. To take but one example: In Kilimanjaro, the Germans badly maltreated the Chagga people. Killed them in hundreds, decapitated some of them, and sent their remains to Germany. They also looted thousands of cultural objects, which are currently held in many institutions in Germany. There are so many examples of this kind in my country. The Majimaji War 1904-08 was a genocidal event. Overall, there are hundreds of human remains and over 100,000 ethnographic objects from Tanzania forcefully translocated to Germany during colonial rule.
We decide on terms of dialogue
What do communities want from Germany regarding restitution and reparation? We demand that Germany takes full responsibility for what happened. Accept that what they did was a crime against humanity; agree to remake what can be remade. When they do that, we, as the people of Tanzania, decide on the terms of dialogue and reparations. We may say, for example, what we want now is the unconditional return of all remains, known and unknown, that are in your depots and storage rooms. And you have to bear the cost of returning all of them, including the cost of reburying them. Our government will then decide in consultation with our people on what to do with unknown ancestral remains. All of the killed ancestors are considered heroes and heroines who shed their blood defending their country. We have a policy of handling and honouring our heroes and heroines. We will sure give them what they deserve.
Germany must repay damage
Secondly, I am saying this as a scholar and Tanzanian: Germany must take responsibility for repaying the damage. This includes returning all ethnographic objects that were forcefully taken from our country. Communities also demand reparations for the burning down of villages and the destruction of their culture. In some cases, it is hard to engage with contemporary communities about the loss of their cultural heritage because they are disconnected from their past and do not realize how they are affected by the dislocation of objects.
Tanzania loves unity
Tanzania is a country that loves unity. With over 120 ethnic groups, we can live as one country. Therefore, the government will not allow what happened during German or later British colonialism to divide the country. So far, we see a movement for restitution and reparation in four zones of Tanzania: Songea, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, and now Singida. Communities there want to be fully compensated by Germany. However, even within these groups, there are frictions. For example, in Kilimanjaro, we have the famous Mangi Meli debate. He was a fearsome leader then but not the only person hanged by the Germans. Other leaders suffered from the same fate. And their bodies were never seen.
National master plan for restitution
It is also a historical fact that Germans created conflicts within the families by putting in place another leader after the hanging of Mangi Meli and others outside of the royal lineage. If left unattended by the government, all these may lead to internal conflicts fuelled by the differences colonialists crafted and planted among our communities. Therefore, it is paramount that we allow our government to develop a national master plan that will guide issues of restitution in Tanzania that will be centrally controlled but benefit and provide fulfilment and closure to all the affected parties individually and collectively across the country.
In practical terms: How will the government make sure to preserve national unity in the process of collecting information and evidence on German colonialism?
Task of Interministerial Committee
The government is the country’s caretaker. It’s sole responsibility is to ensure peace and unity in the country. Regarding the issue of colonialism and the colonial heritage from all parts of the country, I am aware that the government has created an Interministerial Committee tasked to advise the central government. This group is working on a key document that will guide the government in dealing with the colonial past regarding the internal situation in Tanzania as well as negotiations with Germany. The document will, I hope, specify how the government should engage communities, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders in collecting historical evidence. It should outline what our government should do regarding the dossier containing information about Tanzania’s cultural heritage and human remains held in Germany or any other part of the world. It should also outline or stipulate how the dialogue between Germany and Tanzania will occur.
National strategy on restitution and reparation
I suppose, too, that this document will be signed by our President so that it will be binding and authoritative on the issues of restitution and reparation. Such a national strategy will create unity on issues that could become divisive. It will be an instrument to manage the process of restitution and reparation so that everyone in the country will feel listened to and fully respected. All 120-plus ethnic groups in the country should feel included. That process should not be interfered with by outsiders.
As your country moves forward to find a common position, is there anything that civil society on the German side could do?
Unequal visa requirements
Civil societies and academics from inside and outside Tanzania, specifically from Germany, have created awareness and dialogue. That should continue, as our knowledge of German colonialism is just a drop in the ocean. We need our colleagues in Germany, academics or civil society, and any group that is willing to talk and share relevant information with Tanzanian counterparts. Nearly all information on colonial rule in East Africa is in Germany. As a scholar from Tanzania, I do not have the same privilege as German scholars who visit Tanzania. They (Germans) can catch a flight in the morning, and before we know it, they are in the villages talking to communities in the name of provenance research or other projects. Scholars from Tanzania have to struggle to get a visa, and they could even be rejected because the papers are unclear. Our government should introduce similar regulations for visitors from Germany, or there should be a fairer symmetrical process.
Can you name examples of positive collaboration between Tanzania and Germany?
Fruitful collaboration with Böll Foundation
The Heinrich Böll Foundation has done a great job addressing German colonialism. They have opened up avenues not considered before, such as direct engagement with communities and civil society groups. Before, we talked about these issues at an academic level. Go to the library, do research, write a paper, that was it. Böll Foundation has opened doors by going to the grassroots. We are asking them not to stop. They should continue this collaboration with local experts and the community. We ask them to share what they know regarding restitution and reparation. What was done in Tanzania through the Böll Foundation has had a considerable impact. We plead that this work should continue.
Open doors to scholars from Tanzania
Other partners have also played a critical role in Tanzania. Such groups include Berlin Dekolonial, the Marejesho exhibition by Flinn Works, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. They all have done incredible work highlighting restitution and contested heritage in Tanzania. Germany should open up more scholarship opportunities for Tanzanians to delve into the German world and discover what the German institutions hold concerning colonialism. German museums house thousands and thousands of objects from Tanzania. They should open their doors to scholars from Tanzania.
What does your present work at Linden Museum in Stuttgart look like?
Chagga colonial collection
This research fellowship, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation under the 4 Museums programme, looks into the Linden Museum’s Chagga colonial collection. Linden Museum has approximately 449 ethnographic objects from the Chagga of Northern Tanzania. The research critically assesses the existing material cultures to generate positive impacts for diverse communities and stakeholders. These benefits will include building confidence between the communities of origin and the Linden Museum, revealing multiple co-existing benefits such as community engagement in research and reinterpretation of these materials, enhancing understanding of not only the colonial past but also the contemporary use of such items, and, in so doing, buttressing the German-Tanzania friendship and bilateral collaboration.
Have you had any talks on restitution with your colleagues at the Linden Museum?
I have not discussed restitution with Linden Museum so far, but I suppose that Linden Museum is very open to restitution. Their readiness to conduct comprehensive provenance research across its collections is a good signal. It’s like they are saying: Let’s sit down and talk, but as we wait for the official dialogue on restitution and reparation from specific countries like Tanzania: Can we find relevant information for the objects through work on provenance.
Decolonizing the museum
Director Prof Inés de Castro is working hard to ensure the museum faces its difficult past and decolonizes its objects. As part of this process, I would love to see how the communities will be represented within the museum. When I walk into Linden Museum and am told this exhibition is about Chagga culture, I want to see myself adequately represented as Chagga. When I go to the depot, I see my Chagga people locked in there, helpless. I want to see their history and the bigger picture in the museum. Not only the Chagga but all communities from Africa until they have fully decolonized the museum. I know it’s a step. It’s a journey. Prof. de Castro can do it.
Have you been in touch with the owners of Linden Museum, the State Government of Baden Württemberg, and the City of Stuttgart?
Promising efforts
Not very much. I have had the opportunity to interact with some officials from the state only in workshops or conferences. However, these few encounters taught me that the State plays a positive role in addressing the colonial legacy. I know they are doing a great job of addressing restitution and reparation. They are ready to face the past together. I also went to the Tübingen University Museum and Freiburg University, where the state funded some research projects on provenance. Therefore, the efforts are promising.
What do you think of the idea of producing a comprehensive overview of Tanzania’s cultural heritage in Germany, as an academic team for Cameroon has done?
This is an excellent and timely idea. I welcome it wholeheartedly. By the way, I am in contact with Prof. Larissa Förster from the German Lost Art Foundation. We have had some discussion about this topic. We are looking for the best modality for comprehensively researching the Tanzanian colonial collections to generate remarkable output. This output will speak to a broader audience, not only specific groups like academics and museum experts but also the entire community, especially the community of origin, making the research results more accessible, visible, and searchable.
What is your view of the German missionary societies regarding their role under colonial rule?
Historical recordings of Chagga songs
They are doing something, but it could be more. I am personally involved in the work on the books of former missionary Bruno Gutmann. I thank the Federal Foreign Office and the German embassy in Dar es Salaam for their support of this project. Currently, I am working with the Leipzig Missionary Society to digitize the historical recordings of Chagga songs by Elisabeth Seesemann, who worked as a teacher in the Kilimanjaro region during German colonialism. Last August, we had a very productive workshop with over one hundred community members to talk about the colonial past. The Leipzig Mission facilitated the event. They support the documentation of the Seesemann recordings at the Phonographic Archive, part of the Ethnological Museum Berlin. The Archive has agreed to release the records and will provide funds for digitization to make them publicly accessible. They will support research in Kilimanjaro to engage with local communities in order to find out how they can relate to the historical recordings.
Exploring the archives
Missionary societies could be more helpful by exploring their enormous archival material, which could shed light on what had happened. In the Kilimanjaro region, for example, we are trying to find out the names of the 19 chiefs who were hanged in March 1900. We believe that the missionaries were there when Captain Moritz Merker and Captain Kurt Johannes were brutally executing the innocent chiefs; I know they documented it all, share this information, help the local researchers and the communities. The least missionary societies could do is give us information and work with their counterparts in Tanzania. They should say we were complicit in colonialism, and for that, we also apologize. And make all information available. At present, some are withholding information, not only from the Lutheran side but also from the Catholics. They need to release information to local communities and researchers.
What do you expect from the upcoming exhibition on Tanzania at the Humboldt Forum Berlin?
I know too little of the details but I respect the work of colleagues from Germany and Tanzania involved in this project. Perhaps it would have been better to concentrate on the objects from the Majimaji War. Now, they run across the country to make sure the whole country is represented. How will the issue of restitution and reparation be addressed? I wonder what will happen with the objects after the exhibition in Berlin closes. It is supposed to travel to Tanzania, but funding for the transfer has not been secured. And how can the returned objects and the exhibition be fruitful for the country and the communities back home? These are some of the questions I ask myself about this project. So what do I expect? I do not know, so let’s wait and see!!