Sociocultural role of Catholic schools in German Togo (1892-1914)

Darius J. Piwowarczyk

Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule (Sankt Augustin, Germany)


Abstrakt

This article concerns the social and cultural role of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in German Togo ‒ the Catholic missionary order that commenced its work in the colony in 1892 ‒ and specifically the importance of its schools for the German colonial project in that part of Africa. I seek to substantiate the thesis that Christian missions were in fact vital for modern colonial states as holders ‒ mainly through their educational effort ‒ of cultural/symbolic capital that is imperative for a proper functioning of any polity. The SVD mission made a considerable impact on social life of the colony through a network of competitive schools that it established, and for which it also secured a large part of financial resources provided by the colonial government. The importance of mission schools for the colonial project, on the one hand, and their reliance on the government funding, on the other were also important factors in the settling of a protracted conflict about social justice between the order and the government (1903-1907). One essential component of the educational success of the SVD missionaries in Togo was a genuine interest of indigenous elites in the acquisition of Western-style education, especially in the south of the colony that had been exposed to direct European influences for centuries.


Instytucje finansujące

"Weryfikacja artykułu - finansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Edukacji i Nauki na podstawie umowy nr RCN/SP/0292/2021/1 z dnia 1.11.2022 r.; kwota środków finansowych stanowiących pomoc przyznaną w ramach programu „Rozwój czasopism naukowych” 19 610 zł."


Adick Christel, 1981, Bildung und Kolonialismus in Togo, Belz Verlag, Weinheim.   Google Scholar

Adick Christel, 1992, Die Universalisierung der modernen Schule, Schöningh, Paderborn.   Google Scholar

Adja Jules K., 2009, Evangélisation et colonisation au Togo: conflits et compromissions, Editions L’Harmattan, Paris.   Google Scholar

Adja Jules K., 2021, “Kulturkampf au Togo(?): Une analyse des conflits entre l’Eglise catholique et l’Administration colonial á l’exemple des “événements d’Atakpame” (1902-1907), EUE, Saarbrücken.   Google Scholar

Anonymous, 1914, Schematismus Societatis Verbi Divini, Typographia Domus Missionum ad S. Michaelem. Steyl.   Google Scholar

Anonymous, n.d.a, Zehn Jahre Missionsarbeit im Togoland, Presse Togo, p. 136; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Anonymous, n.d.b, Eine Tauffeier in Lome, Presse Togo, p. 41a; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Bourdieu Pierre & Wacquant Loïc, 1992, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.   Google Scholar

Bourdieu Pierre, 1977, Outline of a Theory of Praxis, Cambridge UP, Cambridge.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Bourdieu Pierre, 1993, The Field of Cultural Production. Essays on Art and Literature. Columbia UP, New York [ed. R. Johnson].   Google Scholar

Bücking, Hermann, 1901, Stand der Togomission vom Jahre 1901, Presse Togo, p. 54, SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Coser Lewis A., 1974, Greedy Institutions. Patterns of Undivided Commitment. The Free Press, New York.   Google Scholar

Gründer Horst, 1982, Christliche Mission und deutscher Imperialismus. Eine politische Geschichte ihrer Beziehungen während der deutschen Kolonialzeit (1884-1914) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Afrikas und Chinas, Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn.   Google Scholar

Habermas Rebekka, 2016, Skandal in Togo. Ein Kapitel deutscher Kolonialherrschaft. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt a. Main.   Google Scholar

Knoll Arthur J., 1978, Togo under Imperial Germany, 1884-1914. Hoover IP, Stanford.   Google Scholar

Kost Theodor, 1901, Ein Brief an die Zöglinge des Missionshauses von P. Kost, der Missionar in Lome (Togo), Presse Togo, p. 25; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Kost Theodor, 1902, Togo, Presse Togo, p. 61; SVD-Gen. 45.536; Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Lauer Ferdinand, 1901, Ein Besuch auf den Außenstationen von Porto Seguro, Presse Togo, p. 30; SVD-Gen. 45.536; Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Lembke Sandra., 2020, Scheuersand und Schnürkorsett, Steffen Verlag GmbH, Berlin.   Google Scholar

Müller Karl, 1958, Geschichte der katholischen Kirche in Togo, Steyler Verlagsbuchhandlung, Kaldenkirchen.   Google Scholar

Piwowarczyk Darius J., 2008, Coming Out of the ‟Iron Cage.” The Indigenists of the of the Divine Word in Paraguay, 1910-2000. Academic Press, Fribourg Switzerland.   Google Scholar

Piwowarczyk Darius J., 2017, Transforming Africans into Cogwheels of the Imperial Machine. Ideology of Progress, Nationalism, and Ultramontane Catholicism in Service of the German Colonial Project in Togo, 1892-1914. Academic Press, Fribourg Switzerland.   Google Scholar

Rivinius Karl J., 1979, Akten zur katholischen Togo-Mission. Auseinandersetzung zwischen Mitgliedern der Steyler Missionsgesellschaft und deutschen Kolonialbeamten in den Jahren 1903 bis 1907, Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft, No. 35/3, pp. 58-191.   Google Scholar

Schönig Nikolaus, n.d.a, Aus Adjido, Presse Togo,ˮ p. 96; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Schönig Nikolaus, n.d.b, Togo, Presse Togo, p. 140; SVD-Gen. 45.536. Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Sebald Peter, 1988, Togo 1884-1914. Eine Geschichte der deutschen „Musterkolonie“ auf der Grundlage amtlicher Quellen. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin.
Crossref   Google Scholar

Stangier Karl, 1901, Fortschritte der Mission in Lome. Aus einem Jahresbericht des Missionars P. Stangier an den hochw. P. Generalsuperior, Presse Togo, p. 93; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Thauren Johannes, 1931, Die Mission in der ehemaligen deutschen Kolonie Togo, Missionsdruckerei Steyl, Kaldenkirchen.   Google Scholar

Verteilung der Schulbeihülfen an Missionsschulen. Amtsblatt für das Schutzgebiet Togo 1 (10): 1906, p. 3; Bundesarchiv (Federal Archive), Berlin, Germany, R 1001/4260, Berlin, Germany.   Google Scholar

Witte Anton, n.d., Awoku’s Tod und Begräbnis, Presse Togo, p. 77; SVD-Gen. 45.536, Rome, Italy.   Google Scholar

Zurstrassen Bettina, 2008, ‟Ein Stück deutscher Erde schaffen.” Koloniale Beamte in Togo, 1884-1914, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt a. Main.   Google Scholar


Opublikowane
2022-11-25 — zaktualizowane 2022-11-25

Cited By /
Share

Piwowarczyk, D. J. (2022). Sociocultural role of Catholic schools in German Togo (1892-1914). Forum Teologiczne, 23, 81–92. https://doi.org/10.31648/ft.8010

Darius J. Piwowarczyk 
Philosophisch-Theologischen Hochschule (Sankt Augustin, Germany)