MATATA: A Memoir of A German Cavalryman In German East Africa Before, During and After World War I

MATATA is the personal memoir of the life and struggles of an adventurous young German soldier, named Alfred Schöffler. After completing his first military obligation in 1912, he moved to German East Africa to start a new life near his sister Mimi and her husband. Africa offered all the adventures he dreamed of -- the thrill of hunting big game, living off the land and establishing a good life for himself -- until 1914, when Africa took a very dark and serious turn for Alfred. World War I broke out!Alfred was drafted again into the German Army to defend the Colony from the advancing British. What followed was four years of fighting lions, rhinos, mosquitoes as well as the British and their allies. War brought disease, death, destruction and his own capture by the British. The War haunted his days and his nights for the rest of his life.Alfred sailed to America, arriving in the port of New Orleans in 1921. Soon after he settled in Lafayette. During the 1930’s he wrote this manuscript and sent it to Germany to be published, but Hitler was on the rise and the manuscript was confiscated as the Nazi censors rejected the portrayal of the war as anything but a glorious stage in their plan for conquest. Alfred wasn’t defeated, just delayed by the Germans, for he retained a copy of his manuscript. He later passed it on to his son, Clifford ‘Kip’ Schoeffler and asked, that he one day complete his dream of getting it published and share his story with the world.Finally, translated and published 100 years after his prisoner-of-war capture and in his own words; Alfred’s Journey of Matata (Trouble in Swahili), before, during and after the War, remains part of his legacy to all who fought in the Great War, the Wars to follow and to those who honor the sacrifice of soldiers through the ages.