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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

Unter den Heiden, African natives, in Colonial German, missionary literature

College

Humanities

Department

German and Russian

Abstract

Although the German colonial period only lasted for a relatively brief time, from the late nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth century, this period spawned a large body of fiction written by missionaries. Many missions had serial newsletters, in which were published fictional stories intended to promote interest in conversion efforts and garner financial support. Many of these stories were specifically directed to children. Many of these same stories also contain native characters who are cruel, savage, and, in some instances, satanic. This presents a common contradiction found in missionary literature: how do missionaries promote saving the “lost souls” of the natives whilst simultaneously horrifying audiences by demonizing those they mean to save?

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