The Germans I didn’t know and the lessons we can learn from them
Last November, by the kind courtesy of the German PEN (Poets, Essayists and Novelists) Centre, I was a guest of the German Federal Foreign Ministry in my capacity as the President of the Ghanaian PEN Centre and Secretary-General of the PEN African Network (PAN).
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PEN is the first worldwide association of writers, made up of poets, editors, novelists, and others, and founded by the British poet, playwright, and peace activist, Catherine Amy Dawson-Scott, in 1921 in London. Its headquarters is in London and it now has 145 centres, including Ghana’s, which was formed in 1994.
PEN was one of the world’s first non-governmental organisations advocating human rights, and the first to stress that freedom of expression and literature were inseparable, and it continues to champion that cause.
City of Leipzig
My one-week stay in Germany took me to the eastern city of Leipzig, Hamburg, and finally Berlin, where the Federal Foreign Office Directorate-General for Culture and Communication hosted me and some other African PEN members to lunch. Among the high-level officials present were Ms Irmgard Maria Fellner, Head of Cultural and Media Relations, and her deputy, Ms Petra Sabine Kochendoerfer.
Most parts of Germany were destroyed during the two world wars. The Allied Forces, which destroyed Germany as punishment for the evils of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party – the National Social German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistisch Deutsche Aibeiterpartei (NSDAP), was selective in destroying key cities and towns. Among such cities was Leipzig, which was bombed on December 4, 1943, claiming 1,800 lives and destroying most parts of the city.
Leipzig was important because of the Erla Maschinenwerk aircraft factory that produced fighter planes and other equipment crucial for warfare.
The city was also a centre for publishing and an important German railway intersection. Therefore, the destruction of this city was to weaken the German fighting machinery.
The transformation of Leipzig currently could make one doubt whether the city was indeed destroyed. The imposing buildings of Leipzig University, right in the centre of the city, and other significant infrastructures tell a completely new story. The city hosts one of Europe’s annual trade and book fairs at the modern Leipzig Trade Fair Centre, which also hosts the book fairs usually attended by authors and publishers from around the world.
Nazis and Africans
Under the Nazis, Africans in Germany suffered humiliation and deprivation.
They were socially isolated and there were racial laws barring them from having sexual relations and being married to Indo-Iranian people (Aryans).
Today, the anti-immigrant and particularly anti-African mentality of Germans has given way to open-arm reception.
In most cities, the number of immigrants keeps increasing. In Hamburg, for instance, statistics indicate that Ghanaians form the majority of immigrants there, and it didn’t take me any time at all to confirm this as within about 30 minutes, one or two Ghanaians were among every 100 or so people I met on the street.
Transformation
Germany has gradually moved from the ashes of the 1944-45 bombardment and destruction to become one of the leading industrial states of the world. The country, according to the International Monetary Fund, is the fastest growing country in Europe, growing at 1.6 per cent in 2014 as against one per cent on average for the euro area.
My observation of the German people through discussions revealed the secret to the fast reconstruction of their destroyed country, which is the people’s determination to put their past behind them and build a new nation. This determination is aided by the people’s excellent preservation of their history and the promotion of literature.
The preservation of history and extensive promotion of German literature has enabled the people to quickly learn from their past and avoid the mistakes of their forefathers. Many Germans today hate war and, thus, have adopted an anti-war mentality, becoming so much peace-oriented that the country is showing its abhorrence at war by supporting peace initiatives around the world.
In February 2011, Germany supported the African Union with €26.5 million for the building of offices for its Peace and Security Department.
One of the areas Germany has advanced in is the production of energy. Germany produces almost the same quantity of the 629 TWh of the energy that the entire African continent produces. The country has adopted a far-reaching strategy to diversify its energy combination, from nuclear to more renewable substitutes, hoping to produce 60 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2050.
It was not surprising, therefore, that during President John Mahama’s visit to Germany this week, seeking German help in ending the energy crisis in Ghana to fulfil Mahama’s prayer of ending ‘dumsor' featured prominently in talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Mahama.
Need for new mentality
In Ghana and most parts of Africa, we have complained too much about the effects of colonisation that we have never dreamt of putting such effects behind us and adopting a new and positive mentality of changing our destiny. After the Germans suffered massively during the two world wars, they also had to face the difficult project of uniting their two countries. Both situations required the determination of the people and their leaders. This is what is lacking in Ghana and many parts of Africa.
We need to stop moaning our colonisation and be determined to develop ourselves. We can, however, do this when we know our history and promote our literature to enable generations to learn from our past and use it as a guide to avoid repeating old mistakes.
Another lesson from the Germans is their determination to expose corruption and fight it. In this way, effective policies have been put in place, and state institutions work for the interest of the country and its people, unlike in Ghana, where we have laws but nobody implements them. For instance, why can’t we implement findings and recommendations in a series of Auditor-General’s reports, yet all governments claim they are fighting corruption?
If the Germans should come with their money and other resources to help us improve our energy system, are we going to sustain the process when government institutions, including ministries, use electricity but won’t pay for it?
Lessons
The Germans I have recently interacted with showed me their highly resolved determination to develop. In spite of the fact that there are political parties in Germany, hardly would one find the type of politicking one sees in Ghana, where there is no regard for national interest, but party interest.
German automotive and other companies are seeking cheaper labour out of Europe, and Africa with its long-term relationship with Germany, could become a host for such companies, but as in Ghana, where there is no constant supply of electricity, how do we attract German car-manufacturing companies?
Ghana is among the five top African countries which receive 80 per cent of all German exports to the continent, but when it comes to German imports from Africa, Ghana is not one of the four countries which account for 80 per cent of German imports from the continent.
As I sat in an audience where a German Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Gunter Grass, paired with German PEN Centre President, Josef Haslinger, and honorary President, Christoph Hein, to discuss the effect of literature on society, at the centre's 90th anniversary celebration in Hamburg, I was wondering when Ghana would appreciate the powerful effect of literature in nation-building and support literary activities as Germany does.
It would be preposterous to claim that only one week’s stay in Germany made me to learn all about Germany.
However, with a well-preserved history and an abundance of literature, it is not difficult to learn so much in a relatively short time. Definitely, this experience has kept me thinking about how Ghana can learn from Germany.
To my colleagues of the German PEN Centre and to the Federal Foreign Office, I say ich danke Ihnen für die Gelegenheit, sich über Ihre Leistungen erfahren.
The author is a political scientist and media and communication expert.
His email is: [email protected]