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Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi: Survival story of a hero from Hamburg
Discover the moving life story of Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi, born in Hamburg in 1926, and his survival in the Nazi regime as well as his important career in the USA.
Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi: Survival story of a hero from Hamburg
On January 19, 1926, Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi was born in Hamburg-Eppendorf. The son of a German nurse, Bertha Baetz, and a Liberian diplomat, Al-Haj Massaquoi, he grew up in a Hamburg that at the time was shaped by the ideals of National Socialism. He spent the first years of his life in upper-class circumstances before fate took his family to Barmbek in 1929, where they were confronted with a completely different reality. Many of his relatives returned to Liberia, leaving Massaquoi and his mother alone. In this difficult environment, he began to experience firsthand the frustrating experience of exclusion and discrimination.
As [NDR](https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/koepfe/hans-juergen-massaquoi-schwarze-kindheit-unterm- Hakenkreuz,massaquoi-100.html) reports, Massaquoi was often humiliated at school by teachers and bullied by his classmates. During this time he also experienced the increased discrimination that accompanied the Nazis' rise to power in 1933. Officially stigmatized as a “non-Aryan,” Massaquoi desperately tried to fit in. He painted a swastika on his tank top and sought a place in the Hitler Youth, hoping to be accepted.
A life between racism and resilience
The young Massaquoi's childhood and youth were marked by constant challenges. He lived in a Germany where racism was omnipresent and was repeatedly the target of discriminatory comments and hostile looks. As NAG points out, Massaquoi was not only the victim of insults, but also of physical attacks during his school years. Despite these difficult times, Massaquoi developed a remarkable resilience that would shape his life story.
When the bombing of Hamburg began in the summer of 1943, Massaquoi lived with his mother in constant fear. But he survived the terror of World War II, partly because there was no systematic plan for the extermination of blacks. After the war came his encounters with US sailors, which sparked his interest in the United States and ultimately led him to leave Germany in 1948. He moved to Liberia before coming to the USA in 1950. There he found his place as a paratrooper in the US Army and studied journalism.
A legacy of the fight for equality
His professional career was impressive: for 39 years, Massaquoi worked for the Afro-American magazine “Ebony” and conducted interviews with important personalities such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. In 1966 he visited Germany for the first time after emigrating. His life, marked by racism, reflected the challenges faced by many people who are discriminated against because of the color of their skin. In his autobiography “Neger, Neger, Chimney Sweep”, which was published in 1999, he discussed his experiences and thus gained a lot of attention.
In 2009, Massaquoi was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his contributions and life's work. Tragically, he passed away on January 19, 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving behind two sons. However, his legacy lives on: in 2017, a pedestrian passage in Barmbek was named after him to honor his commitment to equality and against racism.
Massaquoi's life is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit and resilience in the midst of discrimination. His story is not only a part of the past, but also an impetus to address current challenges, such as those arising in the discussion about racial profiling in Germany. The topic remains relevant, as Democracy BW impressively demonstrates.