Themes In Relation To Reunification And Afro-Germans

Thus far in the semester, we have touched multiple themes in relation to reunification and Afro-Germans. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of German nationalism came under way focusing entirely on what Germany is now and what it will become in addition to what it means to be German and who is considered German. Unfortunately these conversations lead to certain assumptions about who and what Germany is. As a result, Germany and Germans became recognized as coming from a single “nationality” and generally looked very similar. In reality however, Germany is a multi-national, multi-ethnic country even before both world wars. Sadly, “outside” communities such as Afro-Germans, who are German in many ways are not accepted in this white Germany by other German citizens because of the color of their skin.

Afro-Germans because of racist constructs of identity and nationality in Germany were culturally dislocated due to the dominating strong core culture of Germany. Because the dominant culture is white, Afro-Germans were forced to abide by instilled terms rather than their own. In order to be considered German, one had to be “fully” German, not German and African, for example. The color of Afro-Germans was seen as “impure” resulting in other Germans, specifically white Germans, perceiving them as foreigners. Maya Ayrim’s poem ,“Blues in black and white”, depicts reunifications as celebrated by only ⅓ of the country while the other ⅔ do not join. A celebration “without its immigrants, without its refugees, without ist jewish and black people” but rather “in its intimate circle”. To “outside” communities” reunification only served to build an even bigger wall between white and black Germans. Ultimately a united Germany still separated, completely forgetting about other underrepresented communities present in Germany