Presentation by Marjan Wardaki
Thursday, October 23, 201411:00 AM - 1:00 PM
10367 Bunche Hall
Afghan interaction with Europe has been presented either within an anti-imperialist framework or from a diplomatic angle. This paper investigates cultural interaction between Afghans and Germans in the twentieth century by offering an analysis of German-Afghan interaction in a roughly ten-year period. The paper begins by looking at the arrival of Afghan students in 1922 in Berlin and highlights some of their activities, and then discusses the educational context that surrounded the founding of the German-run school, Ämani, in Kabul in 1924. Finally, the paper will seek to analyze the 1933 murder of Afghan envoy, Sirdar Mohammed Aziz Khan in Berlin, and the murder of his half-brother, King Mohammad Nadir Shah in Kabul at the hands of German-educated students. The aim of this research is to examine how Afghan students selected German ideas, yet in keeping with their own sense of attachments and loyalties. This study will seek to characterize the Afghan students upon arrival in Berlin and trace their trajectory back to Afghanistan.