In late August Tanja Rother wrote about young Germans finding work and beauty in Ōpōtiki. In part 2 of this mini-series she discusses the popularity of Aotearoa New Zealand in German society and everyday life.

On a recent visit to Germany,I found there is a lot of Aotearoa New Zealand in Germany. The media seems to love New Zealand, many Germans’ bodies are covered in tattoos and some 13-year-olds are instructed in the art of haka in school. I visited several museums presenting large exhibitions on ‘Oceania’. Again, what is it that makes Aotearoa New Zealand so popular in Germany? Is it all those backpackers returning from their OE bringing back stories of beautiful sunsets and friendly people? Or is it simply a phenomenon of globalisation, a result of European colonisation and cultural appropriation? I suggest it is a mix of all of these.

Just checking the ‘on demand’ service of one of Germany’s main national TV stations, the ARD, I find dozens of programmes relating to New Zealand. They range from showcasing the country’s pure green image in numerous wildlife and nature documentaries to crime series and shows such as ‘New Zealand calling’, a programme telling emigration stories. There is also a garden magazine segment focussing on New Zealand spinach, also known as kōkihi. The Berliner Zeitung, one of the main Berlin newspapers, reports on events such as the rediscovery of a Pukupuku or little spotted kiwi and, by contrast, the capture of Tom Phillips. The Christmas 2024 edition of mare, the coffee table magazine of all things to do with the sea, titles ‘New Zealand - Shadows in paradise’ and features an article that critically discusses New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 scheme. The potpourri of themes allows Germans to engage with New Zealand on multiple levels.

Some German museums encourage a deeper understanding of Aotearoa and the South Pacific than most mainstream media. ‘The Blue Continent – Islands in the Pacific’ is anew permanent exhibition at Bremen’s Ubersee (‘overseas’) museum which ‘takes a look at life and cultures in the Pacific. Biodiversity, cultural identity, resource use, climate change and a look at the colonial past’ (https://www.uebersee-museum.de/en/). As I walk into the large gallery, I stop at a display that talks about tattooing as ‘an essential part of the culture of the South Pacific’; on a video screen young Sāmoan woman Aiga Hemara Niulaga-Schmidt explains that her malu, a traditional Samoan tatau, or tattoo, means more than just body decoration. It is a way of telling stories, of her personally, her family and the islands. The display speaks to the huge popularity of tattooing in current German society. Unlike the tatauthat is a symbol of community, Germans use tattoos to emphasise their individuality.

Another display contains several artefacts from the museum’s large Oceania collection. The way it is designed is an expression of the Ubersee-Museum’s recognition of its own history, a history deeply embedded in European colonialism. The museum opened in 1896, a few years prior to Germany’s annexation of Western Sāmoa. For many of the artefacts it is unknown how they came into the collection let alone what their meaning is; however museum staff in this and other museums are now dedicated to find out exactly that. They are assisted by experts, such as Dr Te Herekiekie Herewini, head of repatriation at Te Papa Tongarewa with whom the Ubersee-Museum has had a long-term relationship and who visited the museum when the new exhibition was prepared. For this display he chose a mere pounamuheld in the museum’s collection and explains why: ‘The taonga, the special artefact that I have chosen today is a mere pounamu. It’s a beautiful piece of greenstone that has been carved into a club. It can symbolise fighting and warfare but it can also symbolise peace. For me it is that dual purpose that has the beauty because things are both good and bad’. The artefact’s presence in Germany is perhaps equally ambivalent. On the positive side, however, it provides a subject of learning and new relationships between the two countries.

Tanja Rother is a local independent historian and writer.

Email: [email protected]