As the world commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Great War, The World War I in Africa Project has been launched to provide information on one of the most overlooked theatres of the war.
Two million African soldiers, workers and porters took part in the war, yet their story is often unheard. Battles between the French, British, Belgian, German and Portuguese colonial empires pitted Africans against each other on their own soil. Beyond the tens of thousands of African lives lost, migration trends were set, economies transformed, and borders redefined.
The project was launched over summer 2014. Its organisers say the task is ‘not to commemorate the passing of the war, but to restore its meaning’. Using the web and social media, the project displays photos, propaganda posters, and maps.
See the project here
Posted by: Hannah Schneider, Centenary News