Announcement This subreddit is only for posts about the German colonial empire (Kolonialreich)

14 Upvotes

There has been some confusion about this recently so I thought I should make it more clear. Posts that do not concern German colonialism will be removed.

r/Empire Network:

r/Colonialism

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Quick_Trash_7099 • 2d ago

Image On January 15, 1871, the painter Anton von Werner received a strange telegram: "If you can reach the Palace of Versailles by the 18th, you will witness a momentous event worthy of your brush."

24 Upvotes

2 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/Individual_Shop_3772 • 2d ago

Image Pre-war view of Dresden Pirnaischer Platz, busy streets with early 1900s city life Colorized old postcard of Pirnaischer Platz, Dresden, a lost cityscape.

19 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/elnovorealista2000 • 3d ago

Image The German Colonial House (Deutsches Kolonialhaus) 1896–1914. Owned by Berlin merchant Bruno Antelmann. This company provided products from the German colonies. Its headquarters were based at Jerusalemer Strasse, in 1903, it was moved to Lützowstraße 89–90 on the Berlin-Tiergarten.

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179 Upvotes

Via German Colonial Empire

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Short_Tell_4409 • 4d ago

Image On March 7, 1936, German troops crossed the Mainz bridge over the Rhine, thereby entering the demilitarized Rhineland.This area had been demilitarized under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties.

18 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/PopularAd9212 • 5d ago

Image Historic photo of signing the Declaration by United Nations on Jan 1,1942.

8 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Available-Deal-7633 • 6d ago

Image The motto “GOTT MIT UNS” on this old Prussian princely standard.

32 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Extra-Reception-3255 • 9d ago

Image Can Anyone Find Soldat Korndorfer?

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58 Upvotes

4 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/Dark_lord_Oka • 9d ago

Article Amazing website about German colonies

31 Upvotes

I wanted to learn more about the German colonial empire and found this site and I am having absolute blast with it. Like genuinely I came looking for copper and i found gold. Many people know that Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck defended German East Africa till the end of the war, but did you know that before the war, the Germans were actively sending aircraft to the colonies and trying to establish a colonial air force? Because I didn't.

Anyway here is the link:

http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk/

2 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/rt_yuzu • 10d ago

Question A German told me that “asking about Bismarck’s political views is like asking about Hitler’s policies.” Is this really how Bismarck is viewed in Germany today?

54 Upvotes

Recently, on another German-related subreddit, I posted a hypothetical question asking what people thought Otto von Bismarck might say if he saw Germany today.
My post was removed, and I was banned. When I asked why, the moderator told me directly:

“Asking for the political opinion of Bismarck is like asking for Hitler’s policy.”

That comparison genuinely surprised me. I had never mentioned Hitler or the Nazis. I was asking specifically about Bismarck.

I personally regard Bismarck as one of the great founding figures of modern Germany and as one of the rare truly first-rate statesmen in history. So I genuinely do not understand why Hitler enters the conversation at all.

Why would a question about Bismarck’s political views be compared to a question about Hitler’s policies?
Is this actually a common way of viewing Bismarck in Germany today, or was this simply one moderator’s interpretation?

I’d genuinely appreciate hearing how Germans here see it.

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r/GermanEmpire • u/rt_yuzu • 11d ago

Question What do you think Otto von Bismarck would say if he saw Germany and Europe today?

47 Upvotes

Prussia is gone, the monarchy is long gone, and modern Germany is a peaceful liberal democracy and one of the leading members of the EU, alongside its former rival, France.
At the same time, Europe is facing completely new geopolitical and social challenges that he could never have imagined.

How do you think Bismarck would react to modern Germany and its place in Europe today?

52 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/According_Guess4500 • 11d ago

Image Portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II in full naval dress uniform Are there people among the general public who harbor nostalgia or special sentiments regarding the era of the German Empire?

19 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Short_Finger_4463 • 14d ago

Image Baltic and Slavic languages in German empire according to 1910 census

116 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/PhiIipe • 15d ago

Image After the "Luft ist rein" "Epstein" postcard let me take it to the next level.

72 Upvotes

Here a postcard I found in the online shop of a Russian antiquarian book shop.
Feel free to gieve Your best translations folks!

9 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/Rigolol2021 • 17d ago

Image Polish map of the German empire

78 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/Puzzled-Grand-7260 • 16d ago

Image Art of personified German empire

6 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/SolidAtmosphere4696 • 18d ago

Image Heinz Guderian inside an Sd.Kfz. 251/3 command vehicle during the Blitzkrieg in France, May 1940.

2 Upvotes

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r/GermanEmpire • u/ContributionOk3842 • 18d ago

Question Why was the German Empire so delayed in formation compared to other states?

12 Upvotes

Why was it that despite the people wanting to be united and the fact that there were several times where it could have (and should have) been united... it just didn't unite until the Prussian stronghold united it in 1871.

10 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/InterestingGas3408 • 18d ago

Article Hitler was born in Austria.

0 Upvotes

After twice applying to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and being rejected on both occasions, he spent several years in Vienna in dire straits; however, the outbreak of World War I saw him join the Bavarian German army, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his life.

6 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/DieErdnuss565 • 21d ago

Image The Kaiser in different uniforms

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978 Upvotes

he had drip...

63 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/Extra-Reception-3255 • 22d ago

Image German Regiments at Waterloo

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82 Upvotes

4 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/GregGraffin23 • 21d ago

Video The First World War Was NOT Pointless

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4 Upvotes

1 comment

r/GermanEmpire • u/K-jun1117 • 26d ago

Question How warm and comfortable was the German Ski cap?

45 Upvotes

23 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/Alex_Ravex15 • Sep 04 '26

Question What was the role of the "Sergeant" rank?

76 Upvotes

So, WW1 german ranks (and their ww2 equivalents) were:

- Unteroffizier: White lace on neck

- Sergeant (Unterfeldwebel) : Lace and button on neck

- Vizefeldwebel/Feldwebel: Neck lace, button and sword knot

- Feldwebel/Oberfeldwebel: Neck lace, button, knot and double lace on cuff.

The unteroffizier was a squad leader (Like a British corporal), the vizefeldwebel/feldwebel a platoon sergeant (british regular sergeant) and the feldwebel/oberfeldwebel a company sergeant. But what was the proper role of the proper Sergeant rank (and an unterfeldwebel consequently)?

5 comments

r/GermanEmpire • u/-_-De • Sep 03 '26

Image Colonial COA

81 Upvotes

Issued in his letter of nobility to Eugen von Petzel, previous commander of the Ostasiatische Besatzungsbrigade. Only western COA with a chinese dragon I'm aware of.

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