Abstract: Throughout its thirty-four years as a colonial power, Germany’s positive colonial self-image was repeatedly shaken by colonial scandals. In the scientific debate about these scandals and their reception, the influential role of caricature has not yet been considered from an art-historical perspective. Seeking to explore this gap, this article examines the satirical reception of the colonial scandals around Heinrich Leist by analyzing two examples from caricature and carnival. It demonstrates how satire functioned not only as a tool for societal criticism but also, through the use of racist imagery, as a means to defuse the scandal’s explosive nature and reinforce the legitimacy of German colonialism even in times of crisis.
Magdalena Tonia Füllenbach (Sun,) studied this question.