The “Princess of New Germania”

The incredible story of Nietzsche’s sister Elisabeth, who together with her husband Bernhard Förster, founded the nationalist settlement “Nueva Germania” in Paraguay.

In 1886, Nietzsche’s sister Elisabeth travelled to Paraguay with her husband, the anti-Semitic agitator Bernhard Förster and 14 German families to establish a German nationalist colony called “Nueva Germania”. The colonialists were lured to the Paraguayan rainforest with grand promises of affluence, living in a community of vegetarians, teetotallers and „racially pure“ Germans. However, their life in the commune was soon overshadowed by debt, discord and illness. After Förster’s highly publicised death, Elisabeth returned to Germany as the “Princess of New Germania” (Frankfurter General-Anzeiger, 1935) and began recounting her experiences not as a dismal failure but rather an exciting adventure. This special exhibition presents documents depicting the settlers’ departure, the striking contrast between dreams and reality of the founding generation, and photos of Nueva Germania today.

Publication The “Princess of New Germania”.