Heinrich Hessel

In his diary dated 23 March 1888 young Heinrich Hessel recalls proudly that on the preceding day at noon the German detachment in Moshi had hoisted the German flag. The flag had unfurled splendidly. Hessel writes: "No drop of rain had fallen in spite of the rainy season." At lunch they had first toasted the Kaiser, then the crown prince. He ends his entry observing: "we have to see to it that this flag stays for ever". Writing this down he is not aware that his young life is fast coming to an end. Half a year later he is killed in action at Kilwa in the revolt against the Germans.