Jacobi Eva Anne
Wurzbg Medizinhist Mitt. 2010;29:43-72.
As European colonization spread widely over the African continent the health and physical welfare of the African population gained more and more importance to European colonists who concentrated on capitalizing on African human resources for an improved financial and economic outcome of their colonies. This brought tropical medicine to the top of the European colonial agenda and raised the awareness of the threat of infectious diseases, such as the African Trypanosomiasis or so-called sleeping disease. In 1916 a group of scientists from the pharmaceutical company Bayer AG discovered a substance on the base of dye rather than arsenic. The drug was called Bayer 205 and showed outstanding therapeutic effects. It also reduced adverse reactions in people infected with sleeping disease. As Germany had already lost its colonies, the Bayer company--supported by the German government--negotiated with the English and Belgian governments and was allowed to send an expedition to East Africa. During 1921 and 1923 the new drug was tested in English Rhodesia and Belgian Congo and proved revolutionary, especially in comparison with conventional substances. In due course, the drug Bayer 205 was named Germanin and it was subsequently proposed to use it for political leverage: knowledge and use of the new drug was to be given only in exchange for parts of the former German colonies. However, the reactions of the international media put an end to Germany's neo-colonial-dreams, even before the proposal had reached governmental level. Even so, the incident never disappeared from the mind of those who wished to revive German colonialism. Thus, it is no surprise, that the tale of the discovery and perceived "injustice" of a thwarted scientific success regained an important place in National Socialist propaganda. This article will examine two sources to exemplify the role Germanin attained in National Socialist propaganda: Hellmuth Unger's popular science novel Germanin. Geschichte einer deutschen Grosstat and Max Kimmich's movie Germanin. Geschichte einer kolonialen Tat, a film adaption of Unger's book which mainly treats the expedition Friedrich Karl Kleine, a real-life German professor, once lead into Africa. The film mixes political and ideological propaganda with entertaining adventure, lined by an exotic and--when it came to women--rather erotic presentation of the African population.
随着欧洲殖民统治在非洲大陆广泛蔓延，非洲人口的健康和身体福祉对欧洲殖民者变得越来越重要，这些殖民者专注于利用非洲人力资源，以改善其殖民地的财政和经济状况。这使得热带医学成为欧洲殖民议程的首要任务，并提高了人们对诸如非洲锥虫病或所谓昏睡病等传染病威胁的认识。1916年，制药公司拜耳股份公司的一群科学家发现了一种基于染料而非砷的物质。这种药物被称为拜耳205，显示出卓越的治疗效果。它还减少了感染昏睡病患者的不良反应。由于德国已经失去了其殖民地，拜耳公司在德国政府的支持下，与英国和比利时政府进行谈判，并被允许派遣一支探险队前往东非。在1921年至1923年期间，这种新药在英属罗德西亚和比属刚果进行了测试，并被证明具有革命性，特别是与传统药物相比。随着时间的推移，药物拜耳205被命名为德国宁，随后有人提议将其用于政治杠杆：只有在前德国殖民地的部分地区作为交换条件时，才会提供这种新药的知识和使用方法。然而，甚至在该提议达到政府层面之前，国际媒体的反应就终结了德国的新殖民梦想。即便如此，这一事件从未从那些希望复兴德国殖民主义的人的脑海中消失。因此，毫不奇怪，这一发现以及被视为受挫的科学成功所遭受的 “不公” 的故事，在纳粹宣传中重新占据了重要地位。本文将审视两个来源，以例证德国宁在纳粹宣传中所扮演的角色：赫尔穆特·翁格尔的科普小说《德国宁：一部德国伟绩的历史》以及马克斯·基米奇的电影《德国宁：一次殖民行动的历史》，这部电影改编自翁格尔的书，主要讲述了现实生活中的德国教授弗里德里希·卡尔·克莱纳曾率领进入非洲的探险队。这部电影将政治和意识形态宣传与娱乐冒险相结合，以对非洲人口的异国情调以及 —— 涉及女性时 —— 相当色情的呈现为衬托。
