Unverzeihlicher Antikonformismus: Die Schriften Hans Paasches in der Ära des deutschen Kolonialismus

Abstract

In an entry of his 1916 journal, Hans Paasche (1881-1920) wrote a long reflection on metánoia, a concept indicating a radical shift in thinking. In fact, the whole life of Hans Paasche itself could be read as such a radical conversion. He was all that follows: officer in the repression of the Maji-Maji riots in the German colonies of Ostafrika, skilled hunter, volunteer in the Great War, and then vigorous pacifist, relentless opponent of alcohol abuse and fervent vegetarian, ironic writer and passionate political reformer. In a context in which attempts at change were seen as traitorous, his life shows that self-acknowledgement may lead to marginalisation and to murder. The absence of forgiveness and understanding in his case still continues and his work and thought have been almost totally removed from any public and literary discourse in Germany. This paper intends to analyze his thought through his works, mainly "Die Forschungsreise des Afrikaners Lukanga Mukara ins innerste Deutschland", highlighting how, in his later years, Paasche felt the need to communicate his traumatic experiences with the intent of avoiding their repetition.