Germany’s Holocaust Before the Jews: Germany’s African Colony
Introduction:
In school, we are taught about the Holocaust; the one that was a major cause of World War II. The only Holocaust we know is one the Germans had inflicted on the Jews. As part of the curriculum, we read ‘Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, ‘Night’, and there is a continuous publishing of historical fiction and production of films on Netflix and other streaming platforms. (The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Forgotten Battle, and The Resistance Banker) to name a few around the subject. There is only ONE movie, that told the history from opposite lens: “Where Hands Touch” — but we will get to that later, that film alone could be a sequel to this article.
Yet, NOBODY told us about, the first Holocaust of the 20th century, Germany’s first acts of genocide.
Today we are having to ask ourselves what is considered genocide because those who have committed such offenses are attempting to wiggle themselves from shame.
Definition of Genocide: the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.
Historical Background
Germans first landed on the shores of southwestern Africa in the mid-1800s. In what is known as The Scramble for Africa.
Just like the British, Belgians, and the French, the German policy was to seize territory that Europeans ‘considered empty’, though it was obviously occupied. They officially claimed this area as South West German from 1884–1890 and by 1903 some 3,000 Germans had settled in the colony.
‘Let Us Die Fighting’
Germany’s colonial era was brief compared to their counterparts, lasting for 30 years and ending with its defeat in World War I. From the years 1904–1908, the German’s killed 80% of the Herero and 50% of the Nama in what is present day Namibia.
In 1903, some of the Khoi and Herero tribes rose in revolt and about 120–150 German settlers were killed, with many victims of the uprising tortured and mutilated before death. Troops were sent from Germany to re-establish order but only dispersed the rebels, led by Chief Samuel Maharero.
The German government in Berlin were frustrated by Leutwin’s slow progress in dissipating the uprising, and in May 1904 appointed Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha Supreme Commander of GSWA. Trotha arrived in GSWA on 11 June
The Herero led a guerrilla campaign, conducting fast hit and run operations then melting back into the terrain they knew well, preventing the Germans from gaining an advantage with their modern artillery and machine-guns. The Herero had fled to the remote Waterberg plateau; where another battle begun. On August 11th, 1904, at the Battle of Waterberg in the Waterberg Mountains. Chief Maharero believed his six to one advantage over the Germans would allow him to win in a final showdown. The Germans had time to bring forward their artillery and heavy weapons. Both sides took heavy losses, but the Herero were scattered and defeated.
On 2 October 1904, Trotha escalated the violence against the Herero in an order:
‘Within the German borders, every male Herero, armed or unarmed […] will be shot to death. I will no longer take in women or children but will drive them back to their people or have them fired at. These are my words to the Herero people.’
In November 1904, the German government in Berlin overturned General Trotha’s inhumane execution order, and instead commanded that the surviving members of the Herero population be incarcerated in concentration camps, such as the Shark Island Concentration Camp . By this point, however, many thousands of Herero had already been murdered.
Present Day
In 2018, Germany returned to Namibia human skulls of people who were killed in the genocide. Three years later, it officially acknowledged the genocide and announced more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to community projects in Namibia.
In a 2021 statement, Germany said it recognized its “moral responsibility for the colonization of Namibia” and apologized “for the historic developments that led to the genocidal conditions between 1904 and 1908 … with its gross human rights violations and human sufferings.”)
Will their promise be fulfilled? Or will it be excuses given for reasons why they cannot complete their end of the bargain?
The declaration included a German pledge of €1.1bn (£980m) in development projects over 30 years but Ktjiua said the tribes want direct reparations to address the poverty and marginalization that resulted from the genocide.
“We were not involved at any stage. The government set the agenda, it discussed what it discussed and never disclosed it until we saw a joint declaration last year,” said Prof Mutjinde Ktjiua, chief of the Herero.
“It is critical because we know without any doubt that we have in this country a government that is misappropriating resources. A government that has for all these years denied that Hereros and Namas were [subject to genocide] — now you trust them to manage this?” said Ktjiua. 2
There is an disagreement among the people of Namibia about what can, cannot, and what should be done —
Herero lawyer Patrick Kauta argued that the joint declaration breaks a 2006 Namibian parliamentary motion to seek reparations from Germany.
Gaob Johannes Isaak, chair of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association, said reparations needed to address the loss of 80% of Nama ancestral land — much of it now occupied by farmers of German descent — as well as generational damage to livelihood and identity.
Currently, Germany is still under fire for supporting Israel in South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
