Souvenirs from the Schutztruppe
and German
Colonies Reproduced from the Doppler
Collection by kind permission
Much as holidaymakers of today bring back souvenirs of their time
abroad so German soldiers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
did the same. Soldiers and sailors were very proud of their time spent
in service abroad, especially in an age when the military was
glorified and few people had the chance to travel to places as exotic
as Africa and China.
Some of the items in this
collection are reminiscent of the places their owners had been to and
lived in, others are more reminiscent of the units they served with.
All are fascinating views into the history of the period.
Please respect the owner's
generosity in sharing these photos with us by not reproducing them
without prior permission.
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
A military identification pass wallet from
soldier Hartmann who joined the 1st Company of the 3rd Eisenbahn
Regiment of the German South West African Schutztruppe 1902.
The front of the pass.
The inside of the pass showing service in
Cameroon during 1915 and 1916.
A framed commemorative print from 1900
showing uniforms of the Schutztruppe from the 1890's.
A close up of the same commemorative
print showing officers peacetime home uniforms.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print showing officials peacetime home uniforms.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print showing general officers peacetime home uniforms.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print showing NCOs peacetime home uniforms and uniforms from Cameroon
and Togo.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print showing uniforms from German East Africa.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print showing uniforms from German South West Africa.
A commemorative framed piece of embroidery
to remember the service of a soldier of the East Asian Occupation
Brigade in China 1901-03. Note the display includes the flags of the
international force that defeated the Boxer Rebellion in 1900-01.
A similar commemorative framed piece of
embroidery to remember the service of a sailor from the SMS Tiger who
again served in China between 1901-04.
Another framed commemorative print. This
one is to remember the service of Unteroffizier Hermes of the
Schutztruppe Field Signals Abteilung in German South West Africa
1903-07.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print from German South West Africa.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print from German South West Africa.
Another close up of the same commemorative
print from German South West Africa.
A commemorative lead goblet from German
South West Africa showing members of the Seebatallion sent to assist
in the Herero Rebellion in tropical helmets with the inscription "Errinerung
an Deutsche Süd West Afrika"
The other side of the commemorative same
goblet showing the natives of South West Africa.
A commemorative glass
bottle from Cameroon.
The other side of the
glass bottle.
A commemorative posed
photograph of a soldier of the German South West African Schutztruppe
wearing a cold weather grey cord Litewka unique to South West Africa.
Hundreds of similar pictures were taken of soldiers in studios in
Germany prior to departure for the colonies.
A flask decorated to
commemorate a reservists naval service 1905-08.
The other side of the
flask with an interesting South Pacific theme.
A painted ostrich egg from
German South West Africa.
A painted tobacco pipe from Cameroon.
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here if
you have any items you'd be willing to photograph and show on this website.
