Völker-und sprachenkarte des Vorderen Orient / contributor Germany, Auswӓrtiges Amt, Geographischer Dienst.

“Description Shows ethnicities, languages and beliefs of the peoples of the region. A relatively lengthy explanation in German begins by stating that this map "endeavors to show the coverage area of those oriental peoples, whose areas are part of Europe's interest..." Inset: Bevolkerungsdichte des Vorderen Orient [population density]. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image”.

“Ethnic and Language Map of the Near East : This map, produced in 1943 by the Geographic Service of the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office) of Germany, shows the ethnic, linguistic, and religious makeup of the Middle East. Included are the Caucasus and other parts of the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and parts of present-day Pakistan and India. The map and the explanatory text reflect the Nazi-era obsession with race and ethnicity. The long note at the top of the key states that the map "endeavors to show the Lebensraum [living space] of those oriental peoples located in Europe’s area of interest." It notes that the region is for the most part dry and lightly populated; most of its peoples are settled, but that nomadism persists in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula and in parts of Central Asia. Colors are used to indicate the different ethnic and linguistic groups, which are divided into broad Indo-Germanic (Indo-European) and Turkic categories, the former indicated by the blue-toned, the latter by the red-toned colors. Religious affiliations are shown using the symbols identified at the bottom of the key. The inset map in the lower right shows population densities, which range from 0.1 percent per square kilometer to 50 per square kilometer”—copied from website.

The Library of Congress donated copies of the digitized material (along with extensive bibliographic records) containing more than 163,000 pages of documents to ACKU, the collections that include thousands of historical, cultural, and scholarly materials dating from the early 1300s to the 1990s includes books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, newspapers and periodicals related to Afghanistan in Pushto, Dari, as well as in English, French, German, Russian and other European languages ACKU has a PDF copy of the item.

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