In the minds of Europeans in the twentieth century, Africans were viewed as “the Other”. Essentially that they were foreign and inferior to the white race. The idea of “us” vs. “them” was prominent during this time. As the supposedly superior race, whites needed to make sure they were kept completely separate from blacks so as to avoid “contamination” and to be perceived as polar opposites.
The French used black soldiers in their occupation of Germany after World War I as a “subtle kind of psychological warfare”(Campt 32), much to the dismay of the Germans. Allegedly, Africans were especially suited for warfare given their “robustness, endurance…[and] an incomparable power to shock their enemies” (Campt 33). Another fear of black troops in Germany was over their “alleged sexual misconduct” (Campt 36). Interracial marriage and/or mixed race offspring were perceived as huge threats to Europe in the twentieth century.
Studies in areas such as eugenics and phrenology supported the notion that blacks were inferior to whites and that mixing the two races “had an impact on both the intellectual capacity and psychological constitution” and would result “in the ‘pauperization’ of the genetic traits of the ‘superior’ white race (Campt 39). The fears over intermarriage and consequently a mixed race population often led the state to ban whites and blacks marrying each other.
Africans were portrayed as the “racially inferior ‘Black enemy’” (Campt 57) in addition to being supposedly dangerous. Thus laws were put in place to restrict the rights and the entrance of Africans in some Europeans countries. Great Britain enacted legislature such as the Special Restrict of Coloured Alien Seamen Order in 1925; “directed solely against coloured migrants…it was clearly racist (Bush 207).
The threat of mixed race children was thought to be eliminated through the banning of interracial marriage and sex, but such was not the case. Taking the issue even further was the physical implementation of eugenics. A woman accused of being a nymphomaniac would be relieved of her ailments by removing her ovaries or uterus; upon its removal, a man with an enlarged prostate would no longer experience the “uncontrollable sexual desire” to attack young girls (Stone 96). Some of these procedures were forced upon blacks to further lessen the threat of mixed race offspring.
The idea that whites were a superior race was not a short-lived one and, unfortunately, they often went to extremes to prove their point. The ‘otherness’ of black culture was accentuated by the differences, even exaggerated or completely imagined, between blacks and whites. Blacks were considered to be fearful, barbaric, uncivilized,etc. and white Europeans supported the myth with their supposedly scientific research.
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Your mention of warfare and the French use of Black soldiers during the occupation of Germany brought to mind a similar circumstance during the American Civil War. There were at least some generals in the South who realized that the Confederacy lacked the manpower and industry to survive a long term struggle with the North, and there was a push by some to recruit and arm slaves in the South with the idea that this would provide the necessary influx of soldiers to help even the odds, so to speak, or at least make up something of the disadvantage that existed. Racial prejudices and social stereotypes prevailed to such an extent that no attempt at arming those of African descent was ever carried through in the Confederacy, even at their direst hour when those new men in the field could have done the most good. These kinds of preconceptions die hard.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your essay. You brought up and excellent point of the origin of the "us versus them." This thinking is what slavery was essentially counting on to survive. This kind of mentality unfortunately survived well into the twentieth century. In fact, this is what caused the discrimination that was the crux of the civil rights movement here in the United States. The concept of segregation stems from this way of thinking and we can see in the modern era just how toxic this idea of keeping people separated based on their race really was. Excellent lines of thought here. Great essay!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the bulk of your argument in your essay. One of the first points you make is that Europeans isolated themselves from Africans because they did not want to pollute their race. Europeans were very concerned with keeping their race “pure”. Europeans thought that the “mixing” of races would destroy their society’s progression. To the Europeans, Africans were more primitive and they often feared Africans. This is why, as you state in your argument, that the French placed their Algerian troops in the Rhineland following WWI. The Germans despised having Africans occupy them for many reasons including fear and resentment. Like you say, Germans did not want women marrying the African soldiers because they did not want interracial children. You are definitely correct when you state that European scientific studies provided the Europeans with faulty evidence of their superiority. This evidence also provided the basis of the European’s fear of their superiority as you say in your essay. Your example of forced sterilization of the Africans is a strong example of the European’s fear of racial mixing. Europeans were very intimidated by the Europeans and did everything in their power to prevent them from “taking over” their society. All the evidence you site in your essay goes back to your first argument that Europeans saw themselves as superior and the African as the “other”. I thought your essay made some very good points and I enjoyed reading it.
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