In 1886 it was decided by Sultan Abdul Hamid II' to arm the new Turkish army
and reorganize it on the the Prussian model. For this reason Paul Mauser in November 1886 proposed his new repeater to Constantinople.
After several months of firing test attempts, two Mauser rifles (cal. 11 mm and 9.5 mm) were selected over one Belgian rifle, an Austrian rifle, a Martini rifle and a Hotchkiss rifle.
Mavi Boncuk |
The sultan signed on February 10, 1887 a delivery order for 500,000 Mauser repeating rifles cal. 9.5 mm and 50,000 repeating carbines. Thus began the visits of the military acceptance commissions to Oberdorf and in due course the a guest house in Turkish style, the Türkenbau was built in 1887.
The "Türkenbau | Turk Building", a Moorish-style building, was designed to make the high officials' stay as comfortable as possible in Oberndorf to conclude business with the Mauser Waffenfabrik.
The restoration of the pavilion, one of two parts left over from the demolished Turk construction and used for the rest of the Ottoman officers can be seen in Oberdorf. Two Osmanic commissions were in succession in Oberndorf am Neckar since 1887, in order to gradually check the delivery of one million rifles from the local Mauser weapons factory. The last members left in 1914.
Literature: Wolfgang Seel, Mauser rifles under the half moon. Turk Mauser. In: German Weapons Journal 17 (1981), 18 (1982);
Jürgen Grässlin / Daniel M. Harrich / Danuta Harrich-Zandberg, Network of Death. The criminal links between arms industry and authorities. Munich 2015.
The first Ottoman commission in Oberndorf a.N. around 1887. From: Former private archive Walter Schmid, Oberndorf a.N. 2008. Copyright Monika Firla, Stuttgart. Ottoman tombstones on the Talfriedhof in Oberndorf a. N. for Captain Ibrahim (died 1888) and the infant Leyla Husny (died 1889), Photo 2008. Copyright Monika Firla, Stuttgart. Thanks to Mr. Walter Schmid posthumously for the friendly guidance.
Current site location: Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Haus, Eugen-Frueth-Str. 7, Oberndorf am Neckar.
Source: http://www.afrituede-geschichtswerkstatt.de/Kritik-wissenschaftlicher-Praxis
A rare thing about Kohlmann's postcard is that products from the Oberndorfer Waffenindustrie and Türkenbau can be seen on it.
Occasionally, "Turkish" because of their African origin, of course, black, and came in the Turkish wars like other prisoners of war in the German-speaking countries. Not only did they encounter them on the battlefield, but also on their travels, and then they were able to report on it at home like Friedrich Seidel (Troppau 1568 - Brieg ad Oder 1637) in his memoirs in 1629. As a pharmacist he was on an imperial mission to Constantinople 1591-96, whose members had to perform forced labor because of misconduct of their leadership. Seidel saw a black "Turk" as a merciful savior in distress and reported: After I came to the stone saloon, I was forged on the second bench next to a Greek and a Moor, such a Turk. The Greek, who was a Christian, often made me feel sick if I did not know how to pull the helm (...). And I was very unchristian. On the other hand, the Moor had great compassion for me, took on my duty as a new slave, who did not know the custom, and defended me against the Christian. Sometimes let me sit and rest and pulled the rudder more diligently for me. This good black fellow was by his standards a barber. Whenever he occasionally shaved Turks, he devoutly consumed his merit with me as his mate. (...) After a quarter of a year, the good black brother of the stone galley has been done. Because he was not a slave, but because he had drawn a knife, it had been condemned to it. And so was my best time on the terrace.
From: Karl Teply (ed.), Imperial delegations to the Golden Horn. Stuttgart 1968, p. 394-95.
Friedrich Seidel and Salomon Haussdorff, Denckwürdige Gesandtschafft an die Ottomannische Pforte, Welche ehmahls auf Röm. Kays. Maj. Rudolphi II. Hohen Befehl Herr Fridrich von Krekwitz ... verrichtet : Nebst ausführlichem Bericht/ was hierbey so wohl mit dem Herrn Oratore selbst, als denen Seinigen vorgelauffen (Görlitz: Laurentius, 1711).
Friedrich Seidel and Salomon Haussdorff, Dignified Legation to the Ottomannische Porte, What Ehmahls on Rom. Kays. Maj. Rudolphi II. High Command Mr. Fridrich von Krekwitz ... performed: In addition to a detailed report / what hierbey so well with the Lord Oratore itself, than those of his own (Görlitz: Laurentius, 1711).
see: http://ottomanhungary.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-ottoman-and-habsburg-frontier-in.html