I am a comparative historian of modern eastern and southern Africa. Based on sources in Swahili and Otjiherero, I examine African societies' changing understanding of the colonial past and how the resulting debates influenced notions of sovereignty and reckonings with episodes of mass violence. Beyond the workings of memory, I am also interested in colonial intermediaries, African vernacular newspapers, and Swahili poetry. You can find out more about my work on my website.

I earned my BA in Modern History and Anthropology at the University of Freiburg, my MA in Global History at Humboldt University and Free University Berlin, and my PhD at Princeton University.

Publications

Fabian Krautwald, "Genocide and the Politics of Memory in the Decolonization of Namibia," Journal of Southern African Studies, 48:5 (2022), 1-19.

Fabian Krautwald, "The Bearers of News: Print and Power in German East Africa," The Journal of African History, 62:1 (2021), 5-28.

With Sakiko Nakao and Thomas Lindner, "Fighting Marginality: The Global Moment of 1917-1919 and the Re-Imagination of Belonging," L'Atelier du Centre de recherches historiques 18 (2018).

With Alexander de Juan and Jan Pierskalla, "Constructing the State: Macro Strategies, Micro Incentives, and the Creation of Police Forces in Colonial Namibia," Politics & Society, Vol. 45, No. 2 (2017), 269-299.

Fabian Krautwald, Review of Postcolonial Germany. Memories of Empire in a Decolonized Nation, Oxford 2014 by Britta Schilling, in H-Soz-Kult, September 3, 2014.

Dissertation Title:

"Branches of Memory: Colonialism and the Making of the Historical Imagination in Namibia and Tanzania, 1914-1969"