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The German School Mariscal Braun –
A mirror of the German colony in La Paz / Bolivia

Three institutions, one project within the competition
“Remembering for the Present” by the German Federal Foreign Office and the ZfA

The aim of this project is to understand, in a historical context, the impact that the German reality under the Nazi regime, or the war and post-war period, had on the German community in La Paz. One of the most important meeting places for the Germans in La Paz was and is the German School. Thus, life in school was a living reflection of the events in the country of origin of the German migrants in Bolivia.

We had access to the school archives and interviewed personalities who experienced or studied life in the German community during the different historical phases. There was a workshop with historian and author Robert Brockmann and interviews with Ricardo Udler, the president of the Jewish community in Bolivia, and Bernd Stahmer, the brother-in-law of Monika Ertl, who had joined the radical left in the 1960s. We went on a study trip to Berlin, where we had the opportunity to exchange ideas with a group of students. We also visited several museums and historical sites that helped us to expand our knowledge and studies on this topic. The project focuses in particular on the period of National Socialism, such as Jewish migration or the work of Klaus Barbie/Altmann (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbie).

Therefore, one of the main results of the project is to clarify the situation of the Germans who emigrated to Bolivia and to investigate their lives during the 1930s to 1950s. In addition, we have highlighted some aspects in which the Mariscal Braun School was a reflection of the German community, as well as some of the effects of the arrival of the Germans. Today, we sometimes forget how important history is. It not only tells us about the past, but we can also learn from mistakes and act better in the future. For this reason, we must always remember such drastic events as National Socialism in human history. Germany and Bolivia have had a close relationship for a long time, and it is worth keeping it alive for many more generations.