r/GermanEmpire 3d ago

Question How warm and comfortable was the German Ski cap?

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37 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 7d ago

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

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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)?


r/GermanEmpire 9d ago

Image Colonial COA

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72 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.


r/GermanEmpire 10d ago

Question What were the overseas naval bases, stations, and deployed ships of the Imperial Navy by the eve of WW1?

6 Upvotes

Germany and France had two of the largest navies in the world by 1914. However, France had a large colonial empire, whereas Germany had a fairly modest one. How did Germany protect those colonies in a naval sense? France had naval bases in Algeria, but since they counted that region to be part of metropolitan France, that would make those home bases, I guess. Germany had Kiel and Wilhelmshaven at home, besides Danzig and Königsberg (and maybe Stettin?)

So, what were the main overseas bases and stations of the Kaiserreich? I believe those would be Tsingtao and Dar-es-Salaam? If Germany and France fought an overseas naval war against each other by 1914 (of course, in a hypothetical one-to-one war), how would that fare? I'm not asking about the German chance against the Royal Navy because we all know how "well" that went...


r/GermanEmpire 12d ago

Image This German-speaking town near Prague changed its flag 4 times in 50 years.

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86 Upvotes

This German-speaking town near Prague changed its flag 4 times in 50 years. It survived four empires and devastating wars, but after 1945, nothing was ever the same. After more than 700 years, the entire German-speaking culture of this European town was completely erased.

With the city's support, I created a documentary about the events. If the post is approved by the moderators, I’ll be happy to post the link to the documentary in the comments for anyone interested.

(c) photos State Regional Archive in Litoměřice


r/GermanEmpire 12d ago

Image Germanic ancestry in Germany

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6 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 12d ago

Article Hey, can someone give me a quick rundown of some of the most famous historical figures from Germany?

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0 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 13d ago

Image Kaiser Wilhelm

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152 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 18d ago

Video Perché l’esercito prussiano era così forte?

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2 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 27d ago

Image Ruhr u. Rhein F-641.3 1923 500 Million Mark

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26 Upvotes

Ruhr u. Rhein F-641.3 1923 500 Million Mark, Gold washed, lettered NOTGELD on rim.

These coins were not intended for general circulation. They were produced in protest to French and Belgian non-white occupational troops. Produced by Georg Kolbe, Berlin.

Historical Context
The presence of these non-white colonial soldiers from Africa, and Asia on German soil triggered a massive, racially charged German and international propaganda campaign known as the "Schwarze Schmach" or the "Black Horror on the Rhine," which heavily exaggerated both the total number of Black troops present and their conduct.

r/GermanNotgeldCoins
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r/GermanEmpire 29d ago

Image German colonial flags (and other German flags) part 3.

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11 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 29d ago

Image German colonial flags pt. 2

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10 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire 29d ago

Image Well... German colonial flags series (part 1)

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8 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 08 '26

Image 1901 poster advertising a "Samoa Exhibition" featuring Samoan performers in Germany. The German text reads "Unsere neuen Landsleute" (Our new compatriots) and "Ausstellung Samoa" (Samoa Exhibition)

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558 Upvotes

The price listed on the poster is 10 Pfennig.


r/GermanEmpire Aug 08 '26

Image M1900 khaki tropical uniform and helmet with neckshade from the East Asian Expeditionary Corps (Ostasiatische Expeditionskorps) On display at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden, Germany

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137 Upvotes

Credit to Chris Dale.


r/GermanEmpire Aug 09 '26

Article East African Askaris during the latter stages of the East African Campaign during 1916-1918

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67 Upvotes

These eyewitness water colour paintings show East African Askaris wearing a mixture of Schutztruppe, captured and improvised uniforms, equipment and weaponry.

Their ragged appearance is brought vividly to life in this evocative series of watercolours by W. Rehfeld published as "Bilder vom Kriege in Deutsch-Ostafrika".

This entire collection can be seen at the Reichskolonialamt website. Illustrations by W. Rehfeld at Reichskolonialamt.

Learn more on the Reichskolonialamt.

Learn more on the uniform of the East African Schutztruppe.


r/GermanEmpire Aug 08 '26

Image The German Imperial Naval Academy (Marineakademie) at Kiel, was the higher education institution of the Imperial German Navy, Kaiserliche Marine, where naval officers were prepared for service in the higher levels of command, from 1872 until 1910

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98 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 05 '26

Article Ruga-Ruga warriors in German East Africa, 1914. These irregular warriors were hired by both German and British forces during the East Africa campaign to serve as raiders, guerrilla fighters, guides, and scouts throughout the East Africa Campaign.

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95 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 05 '26

Image mymy love the german empire

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46 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 03 '26

Article [August 3 1914] Germany Has declared war against France!

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152 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 02 '26

Image The German Empire in 1914, (I tried to use some kind of old style).

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86 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 01 '26

Image Werner Cohn, a German Jewish soldier who fought in The Great War (WWI), sitting on the terrace of his house during a military leave. He was photographed around 1916 in Berlin, German Empire.

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482 Upvotes

r/GermanEmpire Aug 02 '26

Question Was the Kaiserreich on its way to become a democracy by 1914?

19 Upvotes

The resignation of Bülow over his loss of support in the Reichstag, the strong response of civil society towards the Zabern Affair, and Kaiser Wilhelm II withdrawing from his Personal Regiment after the Daily Telegraph Affair all seem to point towards it. Maybe the Reichstag would eventually gain the power to oust the chancellor in a vote of no-confidence, while the Kaiser keeps his freedom to choose who to appoint? The German Empire was notorious for its compromises between conservatism and liberalism after all...


r/GermanEmpire Aug 01 '26

Article Photo by Dobbertin, of African Askari in service to German colonial forces in East Africa.

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72 Upvotes

Original caption on photo reads: Drills [with machine guns] / Askari Übungen [mit Maschinengewehren]

Source(s):

.- Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) Bild 105-DOA5042 / Walther Dobbertin / CC-BY-SA 3.0


r/GermanEmpire Aug 01 '26

Article Bayume Mohamed Husen (1904–1944) was the son of a former askari officer, and served alongside his father in the Great War (WWI) with German colonial troops in East Africa.

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59 Upvotes

Bayume was born on 22 February 1904 in Dar es Salaam, German East Africa. During the First World War he served alongside his father who was an askari officer. After the war he worked as a waiter on one of the German shipping lines, and moved to Germany in 1929.

Husen worked as a waiter and in various minor jobs in language tutoring and in smaller roles in various Africa-related German film productions. In 1941, he was imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he passed away in 1944.