Erich Schultz-Ewerth
From Kaiserreich
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Erich Bernhard Theodor Schultz-Ewerth (born on March, 8 1870) is a German colonial administrator and ethnologist. A protégé of former Colonial Secretary Wilhelm Solf, he succeeded him as both Governor of German Samoa (later German Northern Marianas) (1912-1923) and Vice-Staathalter of the Freistaat Mittelafrika, a position he holds since 1934.
Biography
Schultz-Ewerth first served from 1898 to 1901 in German East Africa as a district judge, and moved in 1901 to the German Samoa where he became a protégé of then Governor Wilhelm Solf, eventually succeeding him in this position. He was often criticized for his 1912 ban on mixed marriages. In August, 29 1914, he had to deal with the New Zealand (now part of Australasia) invasion of the islands, being held in captivity during the whole Weltkrieg. After the war, he continued his term as Governor until 1923, the year he moved to the Secretary to the Colonies, helping his old friend Solf in the establishment of Mittelafrika. He later served in the administration of the small colony, under the control of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. He described Samoan lifestyle and praised German colonial achievements in various ethnology books.
When Solf decided to retire to the German Samoa, Schultz-Ewerth was of course considered as his most likely successor: he was confirmed as Vice-Staathalter to Hermann Göring by the Reichstag on February, 28 1934. As the charge of Vice-Governor is more honorific than anything else, Schultz-Ewerth has not a great role in Mittelafrika politics, considered as some sort of representative of Berlin's authority in Göring's demesne.
Works
- Memories of Samoa. Berlin, 1926.
- Germany's path to colonial power. Berlin, 1934.
- Customs and customary rights of the natives of the German colonies in Africa and the South Seas. Two volumes, Stuttgart, 1929-1930.
