Project coordination: Prof. apl. Dr. Susanne Fehlings (Frobenius-Institute) and Prof. Nina Kleinöder (Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg)
Duration: since 2026
In 2011, the photographic collection of Ludwig Franz Rudolf Karl Kühne was added to the image and photo archive of the Frobenius Institute. Ludwig Kühne worked as a surveyor and engineer and eventually as a construction manager for the Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH). As part of his professional activities, he worked for the GHH in Tsingtao (China) (1903–1905), in Serbia (1909–1910), and in Cameroon (1910–1913), where he photographed both construction sites—such as the site of the famous Sanaga Bridge—and everyday life and the local people.
As part of the project, the first step will involve cataloging and describing 1,250 (already digitized) photographs by Kühne and linking them in the database to additional information (memoirs, family documents, recollections from family members, and archival materials from the GHH and other collections). Based on this cataloging, the second step will involve examining the significance of the collection for German economic and corporate history in the colonies, as well as its connections to other collections. This, in turn, is an important step toward making the photographic collection more accessible and can serve as a catalyst for further and more in-depth research that could be conducted in the future in collaboration with local partners (e.g., from Cameroon).
