Why read German Women for Empire, 1884-1945?

Book cover of German Women for Empire, 1884-1945

Book description

When Germany annexed colonies in Africa and the Pacific beginning in the 1880s, many German women were enthusiastic. At the same time, however, they found themselves excluded from what they saw as a great nationalistic endeavor. In German Women for Empire, 1884-1945 Lora Wildenthal untangles the varied strands of racism,…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked German Women for Empire, 1884-1945 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tracey Jean Boisseau

Author

This book teaches us how German imperialism tied itself to the emancipation of women, by focusing on the expansion of the German state into Africa and the Pacific rim. In the generations leading up to the establishment of the Third Reich, German women made themselves indispensable to German imperialism as nurses, wives, missionaries, mothers, sexual partners, and upholders of racial purity. This is simply one of the smartest books I’ve ever read, making clear the granular details of how empires were built and why gender matters in our understanding of them.

From Tracey's list on The best books on the history of feminism and imperialism.