Their own men

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History (research) (MA)

Engberts, Christiaan (2012)

Their own men

Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)

German migrants have a reputation of creating a blooming associational life in their places of settlement. Therefore, a better understanding of German migrant life might be acquired if we better understand the associational life of these migrants. This thesis tries to provide a functionalist account of German associational life abroad based on case studies of the sailors homes and German schools in the German colonies of Antwerp and Rotterdam in the early twentieth century. Though it is often assumed that nationalist considerations and pressures from sending states are decisive in shaping the functionality of migrant organizations, I argue that the economic, moral and class related interests of the local environment provide a more elucidating picture of the functioning of the researched migrant organizations.