Expedition to Kamerun

After staying in Germany for about a year, in July 1913, Markus Mailopu embarked on another expedition that was led by Dr. Johannes Elbert, a geologsit and geographer from Frankfurt am Main. The aim of this expedition was the geographical and geological investigation of the German colony of Kamerun which, at that time, included areas of today’s Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, and Gabon. Commissioned by the Reichskolonialamt (the German Imperial Colonial Office), the main objectives were the examination of oil and gold deposits, as well as the collection of zoological specimens. The expedition team included Dr. Johannes Elbert, his wife Hedwig, Markus Mailopu, and Dr. Erich Lange, a geologist from Berlin/Potsdam.

Assembling archival records from the German Federal Archives, the State Library in Berlin, the University Archive at LMU Munich as well as the Institute for the History of Frankfurt reveals a story that has been hidden in the archives—up to now.

Planning the expedition

Between May and July 1913, Elbert frequently corresponded with the Reichskolonialamt. One of the main subjects was the negotiation of the costs and their coverage for Mailopu's participation in the expedition. How and where Elbert first met or heard about Mailopu is not known. But as fellow geologists, it is likely that Deninger and Elbert communicated regularly. Mailopu was mentioned for the first time in a letter dated 1 May 1913:

Berlin, 1 May 1913

I would particularly like to recommend the Malay Markus from Ceram, who accompanied Prof. Deninger from Freiburg on his Moluccan Expedition. This man was educated in the Christian mission, is very intelligent, very skillful in the praeparation of geolog[ical] and palaeontolog[ical] objects, as well as in collecting zoological specimens. For 1 ½ years he has been the taxidermist of Prof. Deninger (...). The conditions under which Prof. Deninger leaves Markus to my expedition are as follows:
Salary per month approx. 50 M for the year 600,-
Provisions 600,-
Voyage steerage (as servant) à 110 M 220,-
Equipment (1 suitcase, suits etc.) 150,-
Return journey, to the Dutch Indies III. class 480,-
Total M. 2050,-*
As I attach great importance to taking this man with me, I am prepared to bear part of these costs if I were permitted to use him occasionally, at times of little work, for personal services. (...).

Dr. J. Elbert

Handwritten letter, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3369, p. 4-6.
* The currency is expressed in German Marks. 1 Mark in 1913 is equivalent to 6.5 Euros today.1

In response to Elbert's letter, the Reichskolonialamt expressed concern about the high expenses. In order to cut costs, the Reichskolonialamt urged Elbert to hire either an assistant or Mailopu, but not both. Elbert, however, did not want to give up either of them and offered to pay part of Mailopu’s costs from personal funds. The Reichskolonialamt agreed and after some further negotiation, Elbert was allowed to travel with his wife, Mailopu and Lange, the assistant geologist.2

The records show that Mailopu's participation was based on an increased effort, bureaucratically as well as financially. Still, it was so important for Elbert that Mailopu would join the expedition, that he was willing to put up with the extra effort and costs.

Travelling to and in Kamerun

Finally, on 24 July 1913, the expedition team boarded the steamer Professor Woermann and set off for Kamerun. Elbert, his wife and Lange are mentioned in the passenger lists3, but Mailopu’s name does not appear since steerage passengers were often excluded from the lists. The following visualization shows Mailopus' route to and in Kamerun as part of the expedition. Move the cursor over the map to see the individual stops. 

The content of the visualization originates from the following sources:
Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3370 & R1001/3369;
Elbert, Johannes. "Berichte über die Kameruner Gouvernements-Expedition des ✝︎ Dr. Johannes Elbert." Mitteilungen aus den deutschen Schutzgebieten 33, no. 2 (1925): 127-142;
Elbert, Hedwig. "Das Ende der geologischen Kamerun-Expedition." Die Umschau. Wochenzeitschrift über die Fortschritte in Wissenschaft und Technik XX, no. 15 (1916): 281-285.

'A moment from expedition life'—Photographic traces in the archive

The Institute for the History of Frankfurt holds a sensational record: a photograph taken during the expedition, sometime between March and August 1914. It shows an overview of the main camp in the Mbere Valley. On the back of the photograph, a detailed description provides information on what and who is visible. One of the people photographed is Markus Mailopu, preparing birds in his capacity as taxidermist. This photograph also illustrates how many people were actually involved in the realization of an expedition—individuals that were commonly absent from official documentation.

Move your curser over the image to read the corresponding descriptions (translated from the German original) that are noted on the back of the photograph.

Unknown, 1914, Photography of the Kamerun Expedition, Institut für Stadtgeschichte, Frankefurt am Main, V176/1123

What happened to Markus Mailopu?

The expedition came to an unexpected end when Kamerun was invaded at the beginning of the First World War. Mr. and Mrs. Elbert gathered the most important parts of their zoological collection and quickly embarked on their return journey. On their way, Dr. Elbert died in Granada after a heart attack that was caused by African trypanosomiasis.4 His wife, Hedwig Elbert, who was responsible for collecting and photographing during the expedition, made great efforts to manage Elbert’s estate and publish scientific results after she returned to Germany.5

But what happened to Markus Mailopu?

The reports written by the expedition members differ slightly in dates and details, but it is clear that Mailopu was drafted into the Schutztruppe (protection force) as wartime volunteer, together with Dr. Lange. What happened afterwards is not known at the present time and still raises questions today.
A report by Elbert, which was published posthumously, states that the expedition was near Garua at the beginning of the war. According to the report, Lange and Markus Mailopu were on their way from Rei to Garua together with the collection loads and were drafted in as war volunteers by the 7th Company.6 Lange, on the other hand, wrote in his curriculum vitae in 1936 that he had joined the 5th Company of the Schutztruppe as a war volunteer in mid-August 1914 and was taken prisoner in mid-1915.7 In another report by Mrs. Elbert about the end of the expedition, only the “assistant”—presumably Lange—is mentioned, but Markus Mailopu is not.8

The news of the war in Kamerun reached Germany and Deninger and Stresemann were concerned about Mailopu. In a letter that Deninger sent to Stresemann in December 1914—almost five months after the start of the Kamerun campaign—he expressed the hope of hearing something from Mailopu and the other expedition members:

Freiburg/Br. 12 December [19]14.

Dear Stresemann!
A letter from Marcus has arrived here, but it was sent before the outbreak of war. I have not found any other news of the Elbert Expedition. It is not entirely out of the question that some of them might have come to England with the private individuals who were transported from Kamerun, so that perhaps we might hear from them after all.

With best regards
Your K. Deninger

Not only Stresemann and Deninger were concerned about the disappearance of Mailopu: Mrs. Elbert also inquired about Mailopu after her return to Germany at end of 1915. As far as known at present, she did not receive any information. The last statement about Mailopu's whereabouts was made by Stresemann in a conversation in 1932, in which he stated that his friend Markus Mailopu had died in 1917 during the fighting with the British colonial army, as a member of the German Schutztruppe, on the African front of the First World War.9 The war in Kamerun, however, only lasted until February 1916. It is unclear which specific military conflict Stresemann was referring to in his statement or where this information originated.

In conclusion, Mailopu’s traces were lost in colonial Kamerun—more precisely in Garua—after he was drafted into the Schutztruppe.

___________________

References

  1. Deutsche Bundesbank, January 2025.↩︎

  2. Handwritten letter, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3369, p. 14-15. ↩︎

  3. Transcribed version of passengers list published by safrika.org—German South African Resource Page.↩︎

  4. Elbert, Hedwig. "Das Ende der geologischen Kamerun-Expedition." Die Umschau. Wochenzeitschrift über die Fortschritte in Wissenschaft und Technik XX, no. 15 (1916): 285.↩︎

  5. Handwritten letter, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3369, p. 153-155.
    Handwritten letter, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3369, p. 160-162.
    Handwritten letter, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3369, p. 250-251.↩︎

  6. Elbert, Johannes. "Berichte über die Kameruner Gouvernements-Expedition des ✝︎ Dr. Johannes Elbert". Mitteilungen aus den deutschen Schutzgebieten 33, no. 2 (1925): 127-142. ↩︎

  7. Typed curriculum vitae of Dr. Erich Lange, Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), file R 1001/3370, p. 196-197.↩︎

  8. Elbert, Hedwig. "Das Ende der geologischen Kamerun-Expedition". Die Umschau. Wochenzeitschrift über die Fortschritte in Wissenschaft und Technik XX, no. 15 (1916): 281-285.↩︎

  9. Nowak, Eugen. Professor Erwin Stresemann (1889-1972) - ein Sachse, der die Vogelkunde in den Rang einer biologischen Wissenschaft erhoben hat. Hohenstein-Ernstthal: Mitteilungen des Vereins Sächsischer Ornithologen, 2003, p. 26.↩︎