Chapter 540: Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs
Colonization had to be approached step by step. Without four to five years, it would be impossible for Sigmaringen to establish a solid foothold locally. With East Africa as a brilliant example, Prince Karl didn't want to pursue a simplistic traditional colonization path—modern colonization was in vogue.
Of course, whether this non-traditional method worked depended on the strength of the colonizer. For instance, the Hohenzollern-Prussian branch wouldn't take the same path as Hechingen or Sigmaringen. After all, Germany itself was a top-tier great power.
But Hechingen and Sigmaringen were minor lords in Europe, so building their own countries in Africa was clearly more attractive. In Europe, both families had already hit their limits. Following Ernst into commerce or taking the military path like Sigmaringen required considerable wisdom.
...
Nairobi City.
"Director, we've completed our investigation. No. 202, 13th Street, District 2—that's the location of the Italian Cultural and Educational School."
"Hmm, these Italians are cunning—disguising an illegal education center as a residential property. They really think they can slip past our eyes."
"Director, when should we begin the arrest operation?"
"Not yet. First I'll coordinate with the Education Bureau and the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs. After that, we'll devise the arrest plan. For now, continue surveillance. Don't leak anything."
"Yes, Director. I'll handle it over the next few days."
That evening, the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs, the Nairobi Police Department, and the Nairobi City Education Bureau reached a consensus on cracking down on illegal cultural dissemination.
"Culture and religion are areas of extreme importance to the central government. Nairobi is home to many former Italians, but now they're all German citizens. In a forest this large, all kinds of birds will be present. So it's understandable that some misguided citizens are swayed. Maintaining the dominant position of German culture is our shared and unrelenting responsibility."
It wasn't that East Africa didn't allow multiculturalism—after all, customs and traditions in East Africa were diverse. The government mainly sought to guide them.
However, deliberately spreading foreign cultures in East Africa—especially by setting up educational institutions and illegally teaching languages other than German—crossed a red line.
Language was the most unshakable position in East Africa's soft cultural policy. Once the language was unified, many cultures dependent on other languages would naturally fade.
"That's why the government takes Nairobi very seriously. No other city has as many Italians. We'll stay in Nairobi for a while, until the cleanup is complete."
This meeting was clearly led by the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs, with the police supporting the operation. The education system was just there for formality.
The next day.
Knock knock knock...
"Who is it?!"
"Mr. Oscar, hello. I'm Hans from the City Police Department."
"Officer Hans, may I ask what this is about?"
"Heh, Mr. Oscar, there's no need to pretend. We've uncovered your illegal educational institution. What now? Shall we come in and take a look?"
"This..."
As Oscar hesitated, Hans signaled for his men to restrain him, then said, "Don't be nervous, Mr. Oscar. This matter can be big or small. If you cooperate, we won't make things too hard on you."
Hearing that, Oscar gave up resistance. What he did might have been illegal, but not criminal—his Italian cultural school was strictly nonprofit.
Still, East African law clearly prohibited unlicensed schools. And of course, East Africa wouldn't issue licenses for non-German-language institutions. So Oscar was knowingly breaking the law. In other countries, this might warrant a heavy fine, but East Africa, considering income levels, didn't use this as a source of revenue.
Hans entered Oscar's home, where he found a dozen small desks occupied by children—obviously Oscar's students.
Police still carried a degree of intimidation among schoolchildren. Many kids had heard parents say things like, "If you don't behave, the police will take you away."
Seeing the nervous faces, Hans coughed and tried to appear friendly: "Hello, children!"
"Hello, officer!"
"Very good. Do you study here every day?"
"Only for three hours after school."
"What do you study?"
"Italian language and culture."
"Really? What have you learned?"
"Italian history, geography, literature, and art..."
Hans noticed handmade textbooks on the desks.
"May I take a look?"
"No problem!"
Hans flipped through the homemade books, all handwritten by Oscar. He had even cut out photos of Italian architecture from the East African National News and pasted them into the books, annotated in Italian. Oscar would've made a great teacher—if he were in Italy. Unfortunately, this was East Africa.
After reading, Hans stood up and said, "All right. From today, you no longer need to attend classes here."
"Why, officer?"
"Don't you already go to school? What you learn there is more than enough. After school, you should spend time playing with friends or doing other things."
"But our parents won't agree."
Of course, kids often wanted to play—especially when peers were running wild and they had to sit through more classes.
"That's fine. Just tell your parents the school is closed. The police said it's illegal. Don't go back. Otherwise, I'll have to speak with them directly."
"Really?"
"You don't trust me? Just explain it clearly—they won't blame you."
Hans then asked, "Do your parents pick you up, or do you go home yourselves?"
"We go home ourselves!"
"My mom picks me up..."
Although East Africa was one of the safest nations of its time, Hans still assigned officers to escort the children home.
As for Oscar—he was taken to the station.
"Mr. Oscar, you know why we brought you in, right?"
Oscar sighed. "Of course."
"Then why break the law knowingly?"
"Heh... I don't think I did anything wrong. I understand it conflicts with East African law, but I'm Italian. Preserving Italian culture is important to me."
"Mr. Oscar, let's be clear. This is not Italy. Citizens who've acquired East African nationality are no longer Italians. Your reasoning doesn't hold up. Besides, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Papal States still exist. Promoting Italian culture is their responsibility. Did any of them authorize you—a 'German'—to help?"
That stumped Oscar. But as a man of culture, he understood East Africa's reasoning. If he were a German, he'd advocate his own culture too. Wait—he was a "German" now!
Seeing Oscar's bitter smile, the interrogator added, "Since this is your first offense, we won't press charges. However, we've reassigned you to a new job—in the city of Kisumu. We hope you'll enjoy your time there."
East Africa didn't punish Oscar but transferred him from Nairobi to Kisumu. As an early East African regional capital, Kisumu had been established before Nairobi, the current South Prussia provincial capital. It was inhabited entirely by German and Chinese immigrants, giving Oscar no chance to start another Italian school.
The Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs stayed in Nairobi for three months. With police cooperation, they shut down three illegal schools and dismantled twelve "cult" organizations.
Since it had "religion" in its name, the bureau's main role—more than education enforcement—was to monitor unauthorized religious groups and outlawed missionary activity.
East Africa did have churches, but they were managed by the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs—not the Roman Catholic Church based in Italy. That alone set it apart from most European countries.
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