Tagebücher und Memoiren deutschsprachiger Immigranten in Brasilien. Zum Selbstbild und zur Wahrnehmung des Anderen

Abstract

After the abolition of slavery in 1888, the Brazilian economy turned towards cheap workforce, which attracted many Middle European settlers, among them German-speaking settlers and refugees seeking better life conditions. This article verifies the perception of “others” and the self-image (including resignifications of self and acculturation) in some mostly unedited diaries and memoirs of German-speaking immigrants in Brazil in 19th and 20th century. Among other topics, the target group and function of each memoir, its construction, and the omitted and disparate representations of topics and events are analyzed.