On Friday, May 28, 2021, for the first time, Germany confessed to having committed genocide in Namibia at the beginning of the 20th century, during the colonial era. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in a statement said: “We now officially regard these events as what is now called genocide”.
Recognizing his function in the massacre of the people of the Nama and Herero tribes in Namibia during the era of colonization, the State of Germany promises the allocation of exceptional development aid of one billion euros.
At the start of the 20th century, the occupation and colonization of Namibia by the German state led to the massacre of at least 70,000 people from the Herero and Nama tribes between the years 1904 and 1908. The deaths of women and children exiled to the desert because of droughts and diseases, brutal massacres, and the establishment of forced labor camps are among the genocidal practices perpetrated by the German colonial forces in Namibia. The genocide in Namibia perpetrated by Germany is perhaps considered the first case of genocide on such a scale in modern times.
The German colony of Southwest Africa was the first colony of the German Empire from 1884. From 1904 to 1908, the Nama and Herero tribes revolted in response to the seizure of their lands by the German army. The background of this uprising is certainly the violent structure under the conditions of colonialism.
German colony in the Southwest Africa was the first colony of the German Empire from 1884. From 1904 to 1908, the Nama and Herero tribes revolted in response to the seizure of their lands by German colonial troops. The context of this uprising was certainly the violent basic structure in the conditions of colonialism. However, the specific reason was the increase in violent attacks by settlers and traders against Africans. On the other hand, after the severe cattle plague, the herdsmen were forced to sell their lands and could no longer graze the remaining herds on these limited lands. The colonizers also occupied other surrounding lands. In any case, in January 1904, they started an uprising that intensified, and finally in October 1904 German forces under the command of Lothar von Trotta, with a command called “Strategy of Destruction” attacked. The decree stated that the Heroes no longer had the right to be present in the German “protected area” and that they would either be killed or driven into the desert in defiance of the order. Thousands of Herrero people could not survive the German commander’s order. Moreover, the Nama tribe, which does not accept these hegemonies, rises in its turn against the Germans. They will meet the same fate as the Hereros, and this war continued until 1907.
It is estimated that between 65,000 and 80,000 Hereros and 10,000 to 20,000 Namas are killed in the massacres. These crimes were declared “genocide” by the United Nations in 1948.
The bodies of many victims of this genocide were transported to European countries with a lack of cultural respect and were used in biological and medical experiments. The victims’ skulls were also transported to Germany to be used to prove racist theories of European superiority over Africans and other races. Indeed, it was a “racial fight” that must end with the extermination of the Hereros and the Namas. In 2018, Germany returned the remains of 27 victims to Namibia.
Apology after hundreds of years of silence
Regarding research on this genocide, we can say that there is a silence of a hundred years. It was not until the late 1960s (even in the academic community) that there was a coherent investigation of the German genocide in Namibia. It can be said that in 2004, the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the uprising and the massacre, research work began in this area.
Since 2015, there have been negotiations between Namibia and Germany. After five years of negotiations, the German state finally accepts the title of genocide for the massacre in Namibia and Germany’s function in order, promising to pay the country aid of one billion euros out of the thirty coming years to develop in areas like agriculture and education in this country. However, the current Namibian state is understating the amount demanded by Germany, and the Herero and Nama tribes, who are also pursuing an unsuccessful lawsuit in federal court in New York, are seeking to recover their land from the Germans. It should be noted that most agricultural land in Namibia is still in the hands of white immigrants.
In Namibia, victims’ associations are also protesting against the result of Germany’s negotiations with Namibia describing it as insufficient in exchange for the blood of their ancestors and demanding direct compensation. They believe that the money that Germany allocates to these projects will, in fact, go to the Namibian state. Opposition parties in Namibia call the German state’s offer an insult to the Namibian people and consider it a betrayal of the Namibian state.
Despite all this, the German state has not yet fully recognized the consequences of this criminal act. The Federal Foreign Minister apologizes on behalf of his country to Namibia and the children of the victims for what he described as “atrocities committed”, he stressed that the financial aid intended for the development of Namibia should not be considered a legal compensation but only a moral and political duty.