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Deutsch sein und schwarz dazu: Erinnerungen eines Afro-Deutschen
This is the first English translation of an important document in the history of the black presence in Germany and Europe: the autobiography of Theodor Michael. Theodor Michael is among the few surviving members of the first generation of 'Afro-Germans': Born in Germany in 1925 to a Cameroonian father and a German mother, he grew up in Berlin in the last days of the Weimar Republic. As a child and teenager he worked in circuses and films and experienced the tightening knot of racial discrimination under the Nazis in the years before the Second World War. He survived the war as a forced labourer, founding a family and making a career as a journalist and actor in post-war West Germany. Since the 1980s he has become an important spokesman for the black German consciousness movement, acting as a human link between the first black German community of the inter-war period, the pan-Africanism of the 1950s and 1960s, and new generations of Germans of African descent. Theodor Michael's
life story is a classic account of coming to consciousness of a man who understands himself as both black and German; accordingly, it illuminates key aspects of modern German social history as well as of the post-war history of the African diaspora. The text has been translated by Eve Rosenhaft, Professor of German Historical Studies at the University of Liverpool and an internationally acknowledged expert in Black German studies. It is accompanied by a translator's preface, explanatory notes, a chronology of historical events and a guide to further reading, so that the book will be accessible and useful both for general readers and for undergraduate students.
life story is a classic account of coming to consciousness of a man who understands himself as both black and German; accordingly, it illuminates key aspects of modern German social history as well as of the post-war history of the African diaspora. The text has been translated by Eve Rosenhaft, Professor of German Historical Studies at the University of Liverpool and an internationally acknowledged expert in Black German studies. It is accompanied by a translator's preface, explanatory notes, a chronology of historical events and a guide to further reading, so that the book will be accessible and useful both for general readers and for undergraduate students.
199 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 3, 2020
Reread
gerade lese ich die Biographien Schwarzer Deutscher zur NS Zeit erneut und bin immer wieder beeindruckt davon wie wertvoll Theodors Stimme ist, sie klingt selbst durch Buchstaben hindurch.
Für mich einer der empfehlenswertesten startpunkte, für jene, die Wissenslücken zur deutschen Vergangenheit schließen und neue Perspeektiven hören wollen!
gerade lese ich die Biographien Schwarzer Deutscher zur NS Zeit erneut und bin immer wieder beeindruckt davon wie wertvoll Theodors Stimme ist, sie klingt selbst durch Buchstaben hindurch.
Für mich einer der empfehlenswertesten startpunkte, für jene, die Wissenslücken zur deutschen Vergangenheit schließen und neue Perspeektiven hören wollen!
October 29, 2018
"Black German" is the autobiography of Theodor Michael, the son of a Cameroonian Father and German Mother. Born in Germany during the last days of the Weimar Republic, he managed to survive the years of Nazi rule and show that some people of colour were able to evade the worst excesses of the National Socialist regime by keeping under the radar.
Theodor also details his and the experiences of other Germans of African descent since the end of World War two, including the reunification of the country and beyond. He shows that while this group of people have been part of society since at least the beginning of the twentieth century, they are still considered aliens and non-German people the targets of racism and discrimination.
This work is a very comprehensive description of his life experiences, and I would recommend it to others.
Theodor also details his and the experiences of other Germans of African descent since the end of World War two, including the reunification of the country and beyond. He shows that while this group of people have been part of society since at least the beginning of the twentieth century, they are still considered aliens and non-German people the targets of racism and discrimination.
This work is a very comprehensive description of his life experiences, and I would recommend it to others.
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April 8, 2019trigger warning
Born 1925 in Berlin, poc Theodor Michael didn't have an easy life.
That's what this book is about and again, I don't feel comfortable assigning stars to a book in which a person talks about their life.
This was a hard read, due to the amount of bullshit Theodor Michael had to endure his whole life. I liked that he's able to separate what he the people around him knew from what people talked about, and doesn't fall into trap of saying that's what it was like for him so it has to have been the same for everybody. His words feel honest, and he's able to tell you if he's not sure about something - like data that went missing as papers were lost, or simply forgotten.
I feel like I learned more about life in this country from the 1930-ies onward than I did in all the years of school.
Not a fun read, but an important one.
Born 1925 in Berlin, poc Theodor Michael didn't have an easy life.
That's what this book is about and again, I don't feel comfortable assigning stars to a book in which a person talks about their life.
This was a hard read, due to the amount of bullshit Theodor Michael had to endure his whole life. I liked that he's able to separate what he the people around him knew from what people talked about, and doesn't fall into trap of saying that's what it was like for him so it has to have been the same for everybody. His words feel honest, and he's able to tell you if he's not sure about something - like data that went missing as papers were lost, or simply forgotten.
I feel like I learned more about life in this country from the 1930-ies onward than I did in all the years of school.
Not a fun read, but an important one.
March 23, 2022
spannende und beeindruckende Lebensgeschichte
December 16, 2025
Theodor Michael beschreibt in „Deutsch sein und schwarz dazu“ einen Teil deutscher Geschichte, die mir bisher nicht bekannt war: Das Leben von Afro-Deutschen ab der Weimarer Republik.
Theodor Michaels Vater kam etwa 1903 aus der damaligen Kolonie Kamerun nach Deutschland und gründet dort eine Familie mit einer aus Preussen stammenden Frau. Theodor Michael und seine 3 Geschwister hatten wenig von dieser Familie, die Mutter starb bei seiner Geburt 1925, der Vater etwa 9 Jahre später.
Alleine schon mit 9 Jahren zur Waise zu werden, zeugt von einem schweren Start ins Leben. Um die Familie versorgen zu können, müssen die Kinder an sogenannten „Völkerschauen“ teilnehmen, Bildung wird Theodor im Nationalsozialismus verwährt, seine Geschwister können das Nazideutschland früh genug verlassen. Von seinem Überleben während dieser Zeit, Krankheiten die ihn während des Kriegs geplagt und begleitet haben, den Aufbau einer eigenen Familie und Karriere erzählt Theodor Michael sehr eindrücklich in kurzen aber sehr eindringlichen Sätzen. Ich musste zwischendrin das Buch pausieren, da es zwar gut zu lesen aber schwer zu verdauen ist.
Der Rassismus der damals wie heute für Theodor Michael zu spüren war, macht sich an vielen Dingen fest. Unverständlich sind da beispielsweise, warum schwarz ausgelegte Theaterrollen von weißen Schauspielern, die schwarz geschminkt wurden, gespielt wurden - obwohl es Theodor Michael im Ensemble gab. Rassismus äußerte sich in ständigen Ausgrenzungen, in der Verweigerung von Bildung und Vermietung. Betreten Menschen heute noch selbst ernannte "No-Go-Areas", riskieren sie sogar ihr Leben.
Ich habe in diesem Buch wertvolle Einsichten in einen bisher für mich unbekannten Teil der deutschen Geschichte gewonnen.
Theodor Michaels Vater kam etwa 1903 aus der damaligen Kolonie Kamerun nach Deutschland und gründet dort eine Familie mit einer aus Preussen stammenden Frau. Theodor Michael und seine 3 Geschwister hatten wenig von dieser Familie, die Mutter starb bei seiner Geburt 1925, der Vater etwa 9 Jahre später.
Alleine schon mit 9 Jahren zur Waise zu werden, zeugt von einem schweren Start ins Leben. Um die Familie versorgen zu können, müssen die Kinder an sogenannten „Völkerschauen“ teilnehmen, Bildung wird Theodor im Nationalsozialismus verwährt, seine Geschwister können das Nazideutschland früh genug verlassen. Von seinem Überleben während dieser Zeit, Krankheiten die ihn während des Kriegs geplagt und begleitet haben, den Aufbau einer eigenen Familie und Karriere erzählt Theodor Michael sehr eindrücklich in kurzen aber sehr eindringlichen Sätzen. Ich musste zwischendrin das Buch pausieren, da es zwar gut zu lesen aber schwer zu verdauen ist.
Der Rassismus der damals wie heute für Theodor Michael zu spüren war, macht sich an vielen Dingen fest. Unverständlich sind da beispielsweise, warum schwarz ausgelegte Theaterrollen von weißen Schauspielern, die schwarz geschminkt wurden, gespielt wurden - obwohl es Theodor Michael im Ensemble gab. Rassismus äußerte sich in ständigen Ausgrenzungen, in der Verweigerung von Bildung und Vermietung. Betreten Menschen heute noch selbst ernannte "No-Go-Areas", riskieren sie sogar ihr Leben.
Ich habe in diesem Buch wertvolle Einsichten in einen bisher für mich unbekannten Teil der deutschen Geschichte gewonnen.
December 19, 2014
I would say that this book is a 4.5 stars (hey I am so critical that a 5 star rating is nearly impossible for me).
I would personally recommend to read this book together with Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany by Hans Jürgen Massaquai to see the fates of two men who would be the same to the Nazis but apart from that with life-stories that in many ways could not be more different. But I think this book only came out in Germany and so I don't think any translation is available so far.
This book was pretty interesting and I think Theodor's problems during the Nazi era were made worse because unlike Massaquai he didn't have a system of family and friends that could support him. Nonetheless, what you see of his family and the people he knew would probably be a shock to many people who don't know about this part of Nazi Germany. The amount of people the Nazis considered non-Aryans was much more diverse than many believe and the numbers of survivors is bigger than you might think.
I am sure that this book will have many things you would expect and things you wouldn't, ever.
I don't want to spoil too much here, so lets just say that most people probably wouldn't believe half of the stuff I read here. This book pointed to a few other books I am planning to read who probably will shed even more light on Nazi Germany, the America of the 1940s and the time afterwards. I especially liked it that he pointed out that contrary to public opinion Germany has always been an immigration country, it simply wasn't as big, or accompanied with so much death, as in the Americas and Australia. And don't worry, the author is brutally honest, you won't see some sort of cliché hero tale here. What was also good was the information on the feudal leaders of his father's home and their role in the slave trade.
I wish I could give this book 5 stars but sadly some significant points keep me from giving this book that rating:
1) I am not sure by what definition the author considers himself black or that he looks like his father from Kamerun
2) He speeks about the skin tone of his grandchildren, but considered how light he and his children already are, how "dark" could his grandchildren (whom he states himself have barely any hint of Subsaharan ancestry [technically all humans have that ancestry of course]) be?
3) He considers an incident he had similar to Massaquoi's in Hamburg, although in my eyes the similarities they had were simply that both where suspected to be stranded Allied forces, apart from that it was totally different.
4) Sadly he is wrong about the fact that the concept of "passing as white" doesn't exist here in Germany. It is not the most common opinion, not compared to the USA, but sadly 50 years of US-American influence have left its visible mark (not even the Nazis went that far), especially in the West. And personally I reject this concept outright because it supports the notion of white superiority (you can't say something has to be pure and then expect that people will regard it objectively) and speaks of inheritence in the way that is more akin to the passing on of an incureable disease and thereby only hightens racism and fear of miscegenation. Also, to take this example here: What would make someone black then? Not to mention that it is based on the mainstream American idea of white and I long noticed that the white concept I grew up is much broader.
5) I think sometimes the author thinks too much in terms of race
So despite this, I would say: Read this book if you can!
I would personally recommend to read this book together with Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany by Hans Jürgen Massaquai to see the fates of two men who would be the same to the Nazis but apart from that with life-stories that in many ways could not be more different. But I think this book only came out in Germany and so I don't think any translation is available so far.
This book was pretty interesting and I think Theodor's problems during the Nazi era were made worse because unlike Massaquai he didn't have a system of family and friends that could support him. Nonetheless, what you see of his family and the people he knew would probably be a shock to many people who don't know about this part of Nazi Germany. The amount of people the Nazis considered non-Aryans was much more diverse than many believe and the numbers of survivors is bigger than you might think.
I am sure that this book will have many things you would expect and things you wouldn't, ever.
I don't want to spoil too much here, so lets just say that most people probably wouldn't believe half of the stuff I read here. This book pointed to a few other books I am planning to read who probably will shed even more light on Nazi Germany, the America of the 1940s and the time afterwards. I especially liked it that he pointed out that contrary to public opinion Germany has always been an immigration country, it simply wasn't as big, or accompanied with so much death, as in the Americas and Australia. And don't worry, the author is brutally honest, you won't see some sort of cliché hero tale here. What was also good was the information on the feudal leaders of his father's home and their role in the slave trade.
I wish I could give this book 5 stars but sadly some significant points keep me from giving this book that rating:
1) I am not sure by what definition the author considers himself black or that he looks like his father from Kamerun
2) He speeks about the skin tone of his grandchildren, but considered how light he and his children already are, how "dark" could his grandchildren (whom he states himself have barely any hint of Subsaharan ancestry [technically all humans have that ancestry of course]) be?
3) He considers an incident he had similar to Massaquoi's in Hamburg, although in my eyes the similarities they had were simply that both where suspected to be stranded Allied forces, apart from that it was totally different.
4) Sadly he is wrong about the fact that the concept of "passing as white" doesn't exist here in Germany. It is not the most common opinion, not compared to the USA, but sadly 50 years of US-American influence have left its visible mark (not even the Nazis went that far), especially in the West. And personally I reject this concept outright because it supports the notion of white superiority (you can't say something has to be pure and then expect that people will regard it objectively) and speaks of inheritence in the way that is more akin to the passing on of an incureable disease and thereby only hightens racism and fear of miscegenation. Also, to take this example here: What would make someone black then? Not to mention that it is based on the mainstream American idea of white and I long noticed that the white concept I grew up is much broader.
5) I think sometimes the author thinks too much in terms of race
So despite this, I would say: Read this book if you can!
December 12, 2025
» Im Grund definiert die Mehrheit der deutschen Bevölkerung den Begriff »deutsch« noch immer nach völkischen Gesichtspunkten. «
Die deutsche Geschichte von der Kaiserzeit bis zu Wiedervereinigung - eine Lebensgeschichte eines Deutschen, dessen Vater aus der Kolonie Kamerun nach Berlin gekommen war.
» die Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist kein rassistischer Staat. Viele Betroffene denken so, aber ich glaube das nicht. Das Grundgesetz steht dagegen und die Rechtssicherheit, die es garantiert. Die heutige Staatsform ist die beste, die es in diesem Land je gab. «
Eine Lebensgeschichte, die Einblicke in wirklich alle Aspekte des 20. Jahrhunderts gibt; Informativ, spannend und kurzweilig geschrieben sowie sehr zum Nachdenken anregend - eine klare Empfehlung!
Die deutsche Geschichte von der Kaiserzeit bis zu Wiedervereinigung - eine Lebensgeschichte eines Deutschen, dessen Vater aus der Kolonie Kamerun nach Berlin gekommen war.
» die Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist kein rassistischer Staat. Viele Betroffene denken so, aber ich glaube das nicht. Das Grundgesetz steht dagegen und die Rechtssicherheit, die es garantiert. Die heutige Staatsform ist die beste, die es in diesem Land je gab. «
Eine Lebensgeschichte, die Einblicke in wirklich alle Aspekte des 20. Jahrhunderts gibt; Informativ, spannend und kurzweilig geschrieben sowie sehr zum Nachdenken anregend - eine klare Empfehlung!
October 9, 2020
Ein sehr eindrückliches und interessantes Buch. Es stimmt mich sehr nachdenklich und traurig, wie sehr Deutschland sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten verändern und gleichzeitig in so manchen Köpfen noch so gleich geblieben sein kann.
March 20, 2019
3.5 stars
March 25, 2025
Grundsätzlich wahnsinnig interessant aber leider zu dicht geschrieben. Ich musste mich extrem konzentrieren, nicht über die Zeilen zu rutschen und konnte bei den vielen Namen und Orten kaum den Überblick behalten, daher 4/5 ⭐️. Ein lesenswertes und beeindruckendes Leben, das dankenswerterweise in Form einer Biographie verschriftlicht wurde.
November 6, 2019
Ich bin zutiefst beeindruckt von der großen Figur Theodor Wonja Michael. Biographien zu bewerten ist schwer, sie sind keine Romane, die man auf technische Aspekte oder Glaubwürdigkeit untersuchen kann. Dass Michael gut schrieb, flüssig und einnehmend ist gewiss seiner Profession zuzuschreiben. Die kurzen Kapitel haben das Lesen in Etappen sehr vereinfacht. Die Geschichte als Schwarzes Kind und Jugendlicher im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland stehen zunächst erzählerisch im Mittelpunkt. Die "zweite Hälfte" seines Lebens beschreibt er mit scharfsinnigen und für mich als weiße Person sehr lehrreichen Bezügen zu Politik und Theorie, die vor Augen führen, wie vielschichtig Rassismus ist. In der Ebook-Version finden sich am Ende ebenfalls Fotos des Autors und seiner Familie. Alles in allem ein beeindruckendes Buch, das viele Anknüpfungspunkte bietet, mehr von Schwarzen Autor*innen zu lesen.
March 7, 2021
So ein wichtiger Zeitzeugenbericht! 🙏🏻
December 31, 2023
I taught a course on German history to students of colors and I thought this book would make German history, well a bit less white. I really enjoyed this book, and my students did too. Theodor Michael's experiences are extraordinary. He wasn't the only German of African heritage to live through the Nazi period, but it is still a different story than other more obvious victims of Nazi racial policies. Even before that though, the loss of his father was clearly a blow the made an already precarious existence more so. What struck me most though was his difficulties finding his way in the postwar era. In some ways the allies were as perplexed by his existence as the Nazis. Denied beyond a 4th grade education because of Nazi citizenship laws, no one saw fit to rectify the situation, until he found a job that included education as part of the benefit package.
Michael rights clearly and directly, and the short chapters keep the story well ordered. The fact that he spent the postwar years in Butzbach, where my American parents lived in 1958-9, was an added bonus, but obviously not one that will apply to many people.
Michael rights clearly and directly, and the short chapters keep the story well ordered. The fact that he spent the postwar years in Butzbach, where my American parents lived in 1958-9, was an added bonus, but obviously not one that will apply to many people.
January 21, 2024
3.5 stars. While I definitely recommend this book as a reference for anyone interested in the struggles of the Afro-German community in the 20th century, the writing left me often wanting for more (and disappointingly having to accept that the author consistently dismisses telling the stories of his descendents and wife at the cost of telling us more about his acting career). The first part of the book which goes into his childhood developing under war and Nazi ridden Germany is very captivating and dramatic, while the second part is riddled in a sentiment of sadness of how the racism of the beginning of the century prevailed and handicapped him until almost the very end. I imagine memoirs are never easy to write (especially without journal entries to back them up) but while I sympathise with the fact that Theodor Michael is not a very versed writer (and he doesn’t have to be), I was still at times disappointed at what he chose to emphasise and what he chose to leave behind.
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July 8, 2022Theodor Michael tells his story of growing up in post WWI Germany, through Hitler Germany and post WWII. This book is a very honest reflection about his life. He seems truthful about his own faults, neither victimizing himself nor accusing others of mistakes. However, he states quite clearly how life has been for him as a person of color throughout his lifetime. His faith in God is not the main topic of this book but still an important part of his life. He contributes to a deeper understanding of people who seem to belong nowhere even though their home is just the same as others’. A great book, easy to read, not brutal but thought provoking.
February 25, 2021
This book is totally fascinating and very moving. With a black father from Kamerun and a white mother from Germany, Theodor Michael managed to survive poverty, hunger, discrimination, illness and the Third Reich, and went from being part of a "Circus of exotics" to becoming a respected journalist, actor and employee of the West German security service. Not a run-of-the-mill life by any means. I am grateful to have got to know this man through his autobiography.
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July 26, 2023Es ist eine Schande, dass die Geschichte der Afro-Deutschen Bevölkerung über hundert Jahre alt ist und trotzdem kaum im deutschen Schulsysten Vertretung findet. Es kann nicht sein, dass die Geschichten dieser Menschen weiterhin ignoriert werden und sich Mitglieder der Afro-Deutschen Bevölkerung ungesehen und marginalisiert fühlen. Dieses Buch sollte Pflichtlektüre auf jeder Schulart sein, inklusive intensiver Aufarbeitung der deutschen Kolonialgeschichte.
June 10, 2020
An astoundingly intimate tale of a Black German's life. The cadence of the writing, ably translated, is very much that of an elderly man 'getting it all down' and that adds a deep level of empathic charm.
February 11, 2019
4,25 / 5 ⭐
April 19, 2020
Very informative and interesting read!
October 1, 2020
Geschichte, die heutzutage muss gelesen werden.
March 11, 2022
This is a very compelling story about a remarkable life.
April 2, 2022
Sehr interessantes und berührendes Buch.
April 10, 2022
Really interesting read, not a perspective that is often told and his life testimony gives great insight into a part of German history that often gets neglected.
October 12, 2023
Absoluter must-read
October 5, 2024
Eine hochinteressante Zeitreise durch das 20. Jahrhundert, die Pflichtlektüre an deutschen Schulen sein sollte.
January 11, 2025
4.25 stars
January 16, 2025
Read this a few years ago and just remembered. One of the most important books of modern German history in my opinion.
October 2, 2021
Lesen! Fakten, Fakten, Fakten!
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