Herero and Nama genocide

De Herero den Nama genocide anaa Namibian genocide, na dem dey call am sanso as de Herero den Namaqua genocide, be campaign of ethnic extermination den collective punishment waged against de Herero (Ovaherero) den de Nama peoples insyd German South West Africa (now Namibia) by de German Empire. E be de first genocide to begin insyd de 20th century, wey occur between 1904 den 1908. Insyd January 1904, de Herero people, who were led by Samuel Maharero, den de Nama people, who were led by Captain Hendrik Witbooi, rebelled against German colonial rule. On 12 January 1904, they killed more than 100 German settlers insyd de area of Okahandja.

Insyd August 1904, German General Lothar von Trotha defeate de Ovaherero insyd de Battle of Waterberg den drove them into de desert of Omaheke, where most of them died of dehydration. Insyd October, de Nama people sana rebelled against de Germans, only to suffer a similar fate. Between 24,000 den 100,000 Hereros den 10,000 Nama were killed insyd de genocide.Nuhn (1989); Schaller (2008), p. 296: "see his footnotes to German language sources citation #1 for Chapter 13."; Sarkin-Hughes (2008); Moses (2008); Friedrichsmeyer, Lennox & Zantop (1998), p. 87; Baronian, Besser & Jansen (2007), p. 33 De first phase of de genocide be characterized by widespread death from starvation den dehydration, due to de prevention of de Herero from leaving de Namib desert by German forces. Once defeated, thousands of Hereros den Namas be imprisoned insyd concentration camps, where de majority died of diseases, abuse, den exhaustion.Olusoga, David [unspecified role] (October 2004). Namibia – Genocide and the Second Reich. Real Genocides. BBC Four.

Insyd 1985, de United Nations ein Whitaker Report classified de aftermath as an attempt to exterminate de Herero den Nama peoples of South West Africa, den therefore one of de earliest attempts at genocide insyd de 20th century. Insyd 2004, de German government recognised de events insyd what a German minister qualified as an "apology" but ruled out financial compensation for de victims ein descendants. Insyd July 2015, de German government den de speaker of de Bundestag officially called de events a "genocide"; however, e refuse to consider reparations at dat time. Despite dis, de last batch of skulls den oda remains of slaughtered tribesmen which be taken to Germany to promote racial superiority were taken back to Namibia insyd 2018, plus Petra Bosse-Huber [de], a German Protestant bishop, dey describe de event as "de first genocide of de 20th century".

Insyd May 2021, de German government issue an official statement insyd which e say dat Germany"apologizes and bows before the descendants of the victims. Today, more than 100 years later, Germany asks for forgiveness for the sins of their forefathers. It is not possible to undo what has been done. But the suffering, inhumanity and pain inflicted on the tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children by Germany during the war in what is today Namibia must not be forgotten. It must serve as a warning against racism and genocide."De same year, de German government agreed to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years to fund projects insyd communities dat be impacted by de genocide.

 Background 
De original inhabitants of what be now Namibia be de San den de Khoekhoe.

Herero, who speak a Bantu language, be originally a group of cattle herders who migrated into what be now Namibia during de mid-18th century. De Herero seize vast swathes of de arable upper plateaus which be ideal for cattle grazing. Agricultural duties, which be minimal, were assigned to enslaved Khoisan den Bushmen. Over de rest of de 18th century, de Herero slowly drove de Khoisan into de dry, rugged hills to de south den east.Gaudi 2017, pp. 69–70.

De Hereros be a pastoral people whose entire way of life centred on ein cattle. De Herero language, while limited insyd ein vocabulary for most areas, contains more dan a thousand words for de colours den markings of cattle. De Hereros be content to live insyd peace as long as ein cattle be safe den well-pastured, but become formidable warriors when ein cattle be threatened.

According to Robert Gaudi, "De newcomers, much taller den more fiercely warlike than de indigenous Khoisan people, be possessed of de fierceness dat comes from basing one ein way of life on a single source: everything they valued, all wealth den personal happiness, had to do plus cattle. Regarding de care den protection of ein herds, de Herero show themselves utterly merciless, den far more 'savage' than de Khoisan had ever been. Because of ein dominant ways den elegant bearing, de few Europeans who encountered Herero tribesmen insyd de early days regarded them as de region ein 'natural aristocrats.'"Gaudi 2017, p. 70.

By de time of de Scramble for Africa, de area which be occupied by de Herero be known as Damaraland. De Nama be pastorals den traders den lived to de south of de Herero.

Insyd 1883, Adolf Lüderitz, a German merchant, purchased a stretch of coast near Lüderitz Bay (Angra Pequena) from de reigning chief. De terms of de purchase be fraudulent, but de German government nonetheless established a protectorate over it. At dat time, e be de only overseas German territory deemed suitable for European settlement.Peace and Freedom. 40. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: 57. 1980.

Chief of de neighbouring Herero, Maharero rise to power by uniting all de Herero. Faced plus repeat attacks by de Khowesin, a clan of de Khoekhoe under Hendrik Witbooi, he sign a protection treaty on 21 October 1885 plus Imperial Germany ein colonial governor Heinrich Ernst Göring (father of Hermann Göring) but do not cede de land of de Herero. Dis treaty be renounced insyd 1888 due to lack of German support against Witbooi but e be reinstated insyd 1890.

De Herero leaders repeatedly complained about violation of dis treaty, as Herero women den girls be raped by Germans, a crime dat de German judges den prosecutors be reluctant to punish.Klotz, Marcia (1994). White women and the dark continent: gender and sexuality in German colonial discourse from the sentimental novel to the fascist film (Ph. D.). Stanford University. p. 72. Although records show that Herero leaders repeatedly complained that Germans were raping Herero women and girls with impunity, not a single case of rape came before the colonial courts before the uprising because the Germans looked upon such offences as mere peccadilloes.

Insyd 1890 Maharero ein son, Samuel, sign a great deal of land over to de Germans insyd return for helping him to ascend to de Ovaherero throne, den to subsequently be established as paramount chief. German involvement insyd ethnic fighting ended insyd tenuous peace insyd 1894. Insyd dat year, Theodor Leutwein become governor of de territory, which underwent a period of rapid development, while de German government send de Schutztruppe (imperial colonial troops) to pacify de region.

 German colonial policy 
Both German colonial authorities den European settlers envisioned a predominantly white "new African Germany," wherein de native populations would be put onto reservations den ein land distributed among settlers den companies.Moses (2008) Under German colonial rule, colonists be encouraged to seize land den cattle from de native Herero den Nama peoples den to subjugate them as slave laborers.​​

Resentment brewed among de native populations over their loss of status ein property to German ranchers arriving insyd South West Africa, den de dismantling of traditional political hierarchies. Previously ruling tribes were reduced to de same status as de other tribes they had previously ruled over den enslaved. Dis resentment contributed to de Herero Wars dat begin insyd 1904.

Major Theodor Leutwein, de Governor of German South West Africa, be well aware of de effect of de German colonial rule on Hereros. He later write: "De Hereros from early years be a freedom-loving people, courageous den proud beyond measure. On de one hand, there was de progressive extension of German rule over them, den on de other ein own sufferings dey increase from year to year."Gaudi 2017, p. 76.

 The Dietrich case 
Insyd January 1903, a German trader named Dietrich dey walk from ein homestead to de nearby town of Omaruru to buy a new horse. Halfway to Dietrich ein destination, a wagon carrying de son of a Herero chief, ein wife, den ein son stopped by. Insyd a common courtesy insyd Hereroland, de chief ein son offered Dietrich a ride.Gaudi 2017, p. 75.

Dat night, however, Dietrich get very drunk den after everyone be asleep, he attempt to rape de wife of de chief ein son. When she resisted, Dietrich shot ein dead. When he be tried for murder insyd Windhoek, Dietrich denied attempting to rape ein victim. He alleged dat he awoke thinking de camp be under attack den fired blindly into de darkness. De killing of de Herero woman, he claim, be an unfortunate accident. De court acquitted him, alleging dat Dietrich be suffering from "tropical fever" den temporary insanity.

According to Leutwein, de murder "aroused extraordinary interest insyd Hereroland, especially since de murdered woman had been de wife of de son of a Chief den de daughter of anoda. Everywhere de question be asked: Have White people de right to shoot native women?"

Governor Leutwein intervened. He had de Public Prosecutor appeal Dietrich ein acquittal, a second trial took place (before de colony ein supreme court), den dis time Dietrich be found guilty of manslaughter den imprisoned. De move prompt violent objections of German settlers who considered Leutwein a "race traitor".

 Rising tension 
Insyd 1903, some of de Nama clans rose insyd revolt under de leadership of Hendrik Witbooi. A number of factors led de Herero to join them insyd January 1904.

One of de major issues be land rights. Insyd 1903 de Herero learned of a plan to divide ein territory plus a railway line den set up reservations where they would be concentrated. De Herero had already ceded more than a quarter of ein 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi) territory to German colonists by 1903, before de Otavi railway line running from de African coast to inland German settlements was completed. Completion of dis line would have made de German colonies much more accessible den would have ushered a new wave of Europeans into de area.

Historian Horst Drechsler states dat there was discussion of de possibility of establishing den placing de Herero insyd native reserves den dat dis was further proof of de German colonists sense of ownership over de land. Drechsler illustrates de gap between de rights of a European den an African; de Reichskolonialbund (German Colonial League) held dat, insyd regards to legal matters, de testimony of seven Africans was equivalent to dat of a colonist. According to Bridgman, there were racial tensions underlying these developments; de average German colonist viewed native Africans as a lowly source of cheap labour, den others welcomed ein extermination.

A new policy on debt collection, enforced insyd November 1903, ein played a role insyd de uprising. For many years, de Herero population had fallen insyd de habit of borrowing money from colonist moneylenders at extreme interest rates (see usury). For a long time, much of dis debt went uncollected den accumulated, as most Herero had no means to pay. To correct dis growing problem, Governor Leutwein decreed plus good intentions dat all debts not paid within de next year would be voided. Insyd de absence of hard cash, traders often seized cattle, or whatever objects of value they could get ein hands on, as collateral. Dis fostered a feeling of resentment towards de Germans on de part of de Herero people, which escalated to hopelessness when they saw dat German officials were sympathetic to de moneylenders who were about to lose what they were owed.

Racial tension was sana at play. De German settlers often referred to black Africans as "baboons" den treated them plus contempt.

One missionary reported: "De real cause of de bitterness among de Hereros toward de Germans be without question de fact dat de average German looks down upon de natives as being about on de same level as de higher primates ('baboon' being ein favourite term for de natives) den treat them like animals. De settler holds dat de native has a right to exist only insyd so far as he be useful to de white man. Dis sense of contempt led de settlers to commit violence against de Hereros."

De contempt manifested itself particularly insyd de concubinage of native women. Insyd a practice referred to insyd Südwesterdeutsch as Verkafferung, native women were taken by male European traders den ranchers both willingly den by force.

 Revolts 
Insyd 1903, de Hereros see an opportunity to revolt. At dat time, there be a distant Khoisan tribe insyd de south called de Bondelzwarts, who dey resist German demands to register ein guns. De Bondelzwarts engaged insyd a firefight plus de German authorities which lead to three Germans killed den a fourth wounded. De situation deteriorated further, den de governor of de Herero colony, Major Theodor Leutwein, went south to take personal command, leaving almost no troops insyd de north.

De Herero revolted insyd early 1904, killing between 123 den 150 German settlers, as well as seven Boers den three women, insyd what Nils Ole Oermann calls a "desperate surprise attack".

De timing of ein attack was carefully planned. After successfully asking a large Herero clan to surrender ein weapons, Governor Leutwein be convinced dat they den de rest of de native population be essentially pacified den so withdrew half of de German troops stationed insyd de colony. Led by Chief Samuel Maharero, de Herero surround Okahandja den cut railroad den telegraph links to Windhoek, de colonial capital. Maharero then issued a manifesto insyd which he forbade ein troops to kill any Englishmen, Boers, uninvolved peoples, women den children insyd general, or German missionaries. De Herero revolts catalysed a separate revolt den attack on Fort Namutoni insyd de north of de country a few weeks later by de Ondonga.

A Herero warrior interviewed by German authorities insyd 1895 had described ein people ein traditional way of dealing plus suspected cattle rustlers, a treatment which, during de uprising, be regularly extended to German soldiers den civilians, "We come across a few Khoisan whom of course we killed. I myself helped to kill one of them. First we cut off ein ears, saying, 'You will never hear Herero cattle lowing.' Then we cut off his nose, saying, 'Never again shall you smell Herero cattle.' And then we cut off ein lips, saying, 'You shall never again taste Herero cattle.' And finally we cut ein throat."

According to Robert Gaudi, "Leutwein knew that the wrath of the German Empire was about to fall on them and hoped to soften the blow. He sent desperate messages to Chief Samuel Maherero in hopes of negotiating an end to the war. In this, Leutwein acted on his own, heedless of the prevailing mood in Germany, which called for bloody revenge."

De Hereros, however, were emboldened by ein success den had come to believe dat, "de Germans were too cowardly to fight insyd de open," den rejected Leutwein ein offers of peace.

One missionary write, "De Germans be filled plus fearful hate. I must really call it a blood thirst against de Hereros. One hears nothing but talk of 'cleaning up,' 'executing,' 'shooting down to de last man,' 'no pardon,' etc."

According to Robert Gaudi, "De Germans suffered more dan defeat insyd de early months of 1904; they suffered humiliation, ein brilliant modern army unable to defeat a rabble of 'half-naked savages.' Cries insyd de Reichstag, den from de Kaiser himself, for total eradication of de Hereros grew strident. When a leading member of de Social Democratic Party pointed out dat de Hereros be as human as any German den possessed immortal souls, he be howled down by de entire conservative side of de legislature."

Leutwein be forced to request reinforcements den an experienced officer from de German government insyd Berlin. Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha be appointed commander-in-chief (German: Oberbefehlshaber) of South West Africa, arriving plus an expeditionary force of 10,000 troops on 11 June.

Meanwhile, Leutwein be subordinate to de civilian Colonial Department of de Prussian Foreign Office, which was supported by Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow, while General Trotha reported to de military German General Staff, which be supported by Emperor Wilhelm II.

Leutwein want to defeat de most determined Herero rebels den negotiate a surrender plus de remainder to achieve a political settlement. Trotha, however, planned to crush de native resistance through military force. He stated dat:My intimate knowledge of many central African nations (Bantu den odas) has everywhere convinced me of de necessity dat de Negro does not respect treaties but only brute force.By late spring of 1904, German troops be pouring into de colony. Insyd August 1904, de main Herero forces be surrounded den crushed at de Battle of Waterberg.

 Genocide 
Insyd 1900, Kaiser Wilhelm II had been enraged by de killing of Baron Clemens von Ketteler, de Imperial German minister plenipotentiary insyd Beijing, during de Boxer Rebellion. De Kaiser take e as a personal insult from a people he viewed as racially inferior, all de more because of ein obsession plus de "Yellow Peril". On 27 July 1900, de Kaiser give de infamous Hunnenrede (Hun speech) insyd Bremerhaven to German soldiers being sent to Imperial China, ordering them to show de Boxers no mercy den to behave like Attila ein Huns. General von Trotha had served insyd China, den be chosen insyd 1904 to command de expedition to German South West Africa precisely because of ein record insyd China. Insyd 1904, de Kaiser be infuriated by de latest revolt insyd ein colonial empire by a people whom he sana view as inferior, den take the Herero rebellion as a personal insult, just as he had viewed the Boxers' assassination of Baron von Ketteler. De tactless den bloodthirsty language dat Wilhelm II used about de Herero people insyd 1904 be strikingly similar to de language he had used about de Chinese Boxers insyd 1900. However, de Kaiser denied, together plus Chancellor von Bülow, von Trotha ein request to quickly quell de rebellion.

No written oda by Wilhelm II ordering or authorising genocide has survived. Insyd February 1945 an Allied bombing raid destroyed de building housing all of de documents of de Prussian Army from de Imperial period. Despite dis fact, surviving documents indicate dat Trotha used de same tactics insyd Namibia dat he had used insyd China, only on a much vaster scale. E be sana known dat throughout de genocide Trotha sent regular reports to both de General Staff den to de Kaiser. Historian Jeremy-Sarkin Hughes believes dat regardless of whether or not a written oda was given, de Kaiser must have given General von Trotha verbal orders. According to Hughes, de fact dat Trotha be decorated den not court-martialed after de genocide become public knowledge lend support to de thesis dat he be acting under orders.
General von Trotha commented: "I know de tribes of Africa…. They are all alike. They only respond to force. It was den be my policy to use force plus terrorism den even brutality. I shall annihilate de African tribes plus streams of blood den streams of gold." General von Trotha stated ein proposed solution to end de resistance of de Herero people insyd a letter, before de Battle of Waterberg:I believe dat de nation as such should be annihilated, or, if dis was not possible by tactical measures, have to be expelled from de country ... Dis will be possible if de water-holes from Grootfontein to Gobabis are occupied. De constant movement of our troops will enable us to find de small groups of dis nation who have moved backwards den destroy them gradually.Trotha ein troops defeated 3,000–5,000 Herero combatants at de Battle of Waterberg on 11–12 August 1904 but be unable to encircle den annihilate de retreating survivors.
De pursuing German forces prevented groups of Herero from breaking from de main body of de fleeing force den pushed them further into de desert. As exhausted Herero fell to de ground, unable to go on, German soldiers killed men, women, den children. Jan Cloete, acting as a guide for de Germans, witnessed de atrocities committed by de German troops den deposed de following statement:I was present when the Herero were defeated in a battle in the vicinity of Waterberg. After the battle all men, women, and children who fell into German hands, wounded or otherwise, were mercilessly put to death. Then the Germans set off in pursuit of the rest, and all those found by the wayside and in the sandveld were shot down and bayoneted to death. The mass of the Herero men were unarmed and thus unable to offer resistance. They were just trying to get away with their cattle.A portion of de Herero escaped de Germans den went to de Omaheke Desert, hoping to reach British Bechuanaland; fewer than 1,000 Herero managed to reach Bechuanaland, where they be granted asylum by de British authorities. To prevent them from returning, Trotha ordered de desert to be sealed off. German patrols later found skeletons around holes 13 m (43 ft) deep dat had been dug insyd a vain attempt to find water. Some sources also state dat de German colonial army systematically poison desert water wells. Maherero and 500–1,500 men crossed de Kalahari into Bechuanaland where he was accepted as a vassal of de Batswana chief Sekgoma.
On 2 October, Trotha issued a warning to de Herero:I, the great general of the German soldiers, send this letter to the Herero. The Herero are German subjects no longer. They have killed, stolen, cut off the ears and other parts of the body of wounded soldiers, and now are too cowardly to want to fight any longer. I announce to the people that whoever hands me one of the chiefs shall receive 1,000 marks, and 5,000 marks for Samuel Maherero. The Herero nation must now leave the country. If it refuses, I shall compel it to do so with the 'long tube' [cannon]. Any Herero found inside the German frontier, with or without a gun or cattle, will be executed. I shall spare neither women nor children. I shall give the order to drive them away and fire on them. Such are my words to the Herero people.He further give orders dat:This proclamation is to be read to the troops at roll-call, with the addition that the unit that catches a captain will also receive the appropriate reward, and that the shooting at women and children is to be understood as shooting above their heads, so as to force them to run [away]. I assume absolutely that this proclamation will result in taking no more male prisoners, but will not degenerate into atrocities against women and children. The latter will run away if one shoots at them a couple of times. The troops will remain conscious of the good reputation of the German soldier.Trotha give orders dat captured Herero males were to be executed, while women den children be to be driven into de desert where ein death from starvation den thirst was to be certain; Trotha argued that there was no need to make exceptions for Herero women den children, since these would "infect German troops plus ein diseases", de insurrection Trotha explained "is den remain de beginning of a racial struggle". After de war, Trotha argue dat ein orders were necessary, writing insyd 1909 dat "If I had made de small water holes accessible to de womenfolk, I would run de risk of an African catastrophe comparable to de Battle of Beresonia."
De German general staff be aware of de atrocities dat were taking place; ein official publication, named Der Kampf, noted that:Dis bold enterprise shows up insyd de most brilliant light de ruthless energy of de German command insyd pursuing ein beaten enemy. No pains, no sacrifices were spared insyd eliminating de last remnants of enemy resistance. Like a wounded beast de enemy was tracked down from one water-hole to de next, until finally he become de victim of ein own environment. De arid Omaheke [desert] be to complete what de German army begin: de extermination of de Herero nation.Alfred von Schlieffen (Chief of de Imperial German General Staff) approved of Trotha ein intentions insyd terms of a "racial struggle" den de need to "wipe out de entire nation or to drive them out of de country", but had doubts about ein strategy, preferring ein surrender.
Governor Leutwein, later relieved of his duties, complained to Chancellor von Bülow about Trotha's actions, seeing the general's orders as intruding upon the civilian colonial jurisdiction and ruining any chance of a political settlement. According to Professor Mahmood Mamdani from Columbia University, opposition to the policy of annihilation was largely the consequence of the fact that colonial officials looked at the Herero people as a potential source of labour, and thus economically important. For instance, Governor Leutwein write that:I do not concur with those fanatics who want to see de Herero destroyed altogether ... I would consider such a move a grave mistake from an economic point of view. We need de Herero as cattle breeders ... den especially as labourers.Having no authority over de military, Chancellor Bülow can only advise Emperor Wilhelm II dat Trotha ein actions be "contrary to Christian den humanitarian principle, economically devastating den damaging to Germany ein international reputation".

Upon de arrival of new orders at de end of 1904, prisoners be herded into labor camps, where they were given to private companies as slave labourers or exploited as human guinea pigs insyd medical experiments.

Concentration camps

Sanso see: Shark Island concentration camp

Survivors of de massacre, de majority of whom be women den children, were eventually put insyd places like Shark Island concentration camp, where de German authorities forced them to work as slave labour for German military den settlers. All prisoners be categorised into groups fit den unfit for work, den pre-printed death certificates indicating "death by exhaustion following privation" be issued. De British government published ein well-known account of de German genocide of de Nama den Herero peoples insyd 1918.

Many Herero den Nama die of disease, exhaustion, starvation den malnutrition. Estimates of de mortality rate at de camps are between 45% den 74%.

Food insyd de camps be extremely scarce, consisting of rice plus no additions. As de prisoners lacked pots den de rice they received was uncooked, e be indigestible; horses den oxen dat die insyd de camp be later distributed to de inmates as food. Dysentery den lung diseases were common. Despite those conditions, de prisoners were taken outside de camp every day for labour under harsh treatment by de German guards, while de sick be left without any medical assistance or nursing care. Many Herero den Nama dey work to death.

Shootings, hangings, beatings, den oda harsh treatment of de forced labourers (including use of sjamboks) be common. A 28 September 1905 article insyd de South African newspaper Cape Argus detailed some of de abuse plus de heading: "Insyd German S. W. Africa: Further Startling Allegations: Horrible Cruelty". Insyd an interview plus Percival Griffith, "an accountant of profession, who owing to hard times, took up on transport work at Angra Pequena, Lüderitz", related ein experiences:There be hundreds of them, mostly women den children den a few old men ... when they fall they be sjamboked by de soldiers insyd charge of de gang, plus full force, until they get up ... On one occasion I saw a woman carrying a child of under a year old slung at her back, and with a heavy sack of grain on her head ... she fell. De corporal sjamboked ein for certainly more than four minutes den sjamboked de baby as well ... de woman struggled slowly to ein feet, den go on plus ein load. She did not utter a sound de whole time, but de baby cry very hard.During de war, a number of people from de Cape (in modern-day South Africa) sought employment as transport riders for German troops insyd Namibia. Upon ein return to de Cape, some of these people recounted ein stories, wey include those of de imprisonment den genocide of de Herero den Nama people. Fred Cornell, an aspiring British diamond prospector, be insyd Lüderitz when de Shark Island concentration camp was being used. Cornell write of de camp:Cold – for de nights be often bitterly cold there – hunger, thirst, exposure, disease den madness claimed scores of victims every day, den cartloads of ein bodies were every day carted over to de back beach, buried insyd a few inches of sand at low tide, den as de tide come insyd de bodies go out, food for de sharks.Shark Island be de most brutal of de German South West African camps. Lüderitz lies insyd southern Namibia, flanked by desert den ocean. Insyd de harbour lies Shark Island, which then was connected to de mainland only by a small causeway. De island be now, as e be then, barren den characterised by solid rock carved into surreal formations by de hard ocean winds. De camp be placed on de far end of de relatively small island, where de prisoners will have suffered complete exposure to de strong winds dat sweep Lüderitz for most of de year.

German Commander Ludwig von Estorff wrote in a report that approximately 1,700 prisoners (including 1,203 Nama) had died by April 1907. Insyd December 1906, four months after ein arrival, 291 Nama die (a rate of more than nine people per day). Missionary reports put de death rate at 12–18 per day; as many as 80% of de prisoners send to Shark Island eventually died there.

There be accusations of Herero women being coerced into sex slavery as a means of survival.

Trotha was opposed to contact between natives den settlers, believing dat de insurrection be "de beginning of a racial struggle" den fearing dat de colonists will be infected by native diseases.

Benjamin Madley argues dat although Shark Island be referred to as a concentration camp, e functioned as an extermination camp or death camp.

Medical experiments and scientific racism

Further information: Nazi eugenics, Racial hygiene, Scientific racism, den Craniometry

Prisoners be used for medical experiments den ein illnesses or ein recoveries from them be used for research.

Experiments on live prisoners be performed by Dr. Bofinger, who injected Herero who were suffering from scurvy plus various substances wey include arsenic den opium; afterwards he researched de effects of these substances via autopsy.

Experimentation plus de dead body parts of de prisoners be rife. Zoologist Leonhard Schultze [de] (1872–1955) noted taking "body parts from fresh native corpses" which according to him was a "welcome addition", and he also noted dat he could use prisoners for dat purpose.

An estimated 300 skulls were sent to Germany for experimentation, insyd part from concentration camp prisoners. Insyd October 2011, after three years of talks, de first 20 of an estimated 300 skulls stored insyd de museum of de Charité were returned to Namibia for burial. Insyd 2014, 14 additional skulls were repatriated by de University of Freiburg.

Number of victims

A census conducted insyd 1905 revealed dat 25,000 Herero remain insyd German South West Africa.

According to de Whitaker Report, de population of 80,000 Herero be reduced to 15,000 "starving refugees" between 1904 den 1907. Insyd Colonial Genocide den Reparations Claims insyd de 21st Century: De Socio-Legal Context of Claims under International Law by the Herero against Germany for Genocide in Namibia by Jeremy Sarkin-Hughes, a number of 100,000 victims is given. Up to 80% of the indigenous populations were killed.

Newspapers reported 65,000 victims when announcing dat Germany recognized de genocide insyd 2004.

 Aftermath 
Plus de closure of concentration camps, all surviving Herero be distributed as labourers for settlers insyd de German colony. From dat time on, all Herero over de age of seven were forced to wear a metal disc plus ein labour registration number, den banned from owning land or cattle, a necessity for pastoral society.

About 19,000 German troops be engaged insyd de conflict, of which 3,000 saw combat. De rest be used for upkeep den administration. De German losses be 676 soldiers killed insyd combat, 76 missing, den 689 dead from disease. De Reiterdenkmal (English: Equestrian Monument) insyd Windhoek be erected insyd 1912 to celebrate de victory den to remember de fallen German soldiers den civilians. Until after Independence, no monument be built to de killed indigenous population. E remain a bone of contention insyd independent Namibia.

De campaign cost Germany 600 million marks. De normal annual subsidy to de colony be 14.5 million marks. Insyd 1908, diamonds be discovered insyd de territory, den this did much to boost ein prosperity, though e be short-lived.

Insyd 1915, during World War I, de German colony be taken over den occupied by de Union of South Africa, which be victorious insyd de South West Africa campaign. South Africa received a League of Nations mandate over South West Africa on 17 December 1920.

De Herero den Namaqua genocide has been a focal point insyd modern debates about colonial reparations. Insyd 2021, Germany formally acknowledged de genocide den pledged €1.1 billion insyd developmental aid to Namibia over 30 years, framing it as a "gesture of reconciliation" rather than legal reparations (DW, 2021) However, de agreement faced criticism from Herero den Nama leaders, who be excluded from direct negotiations. They argue dat de funds—earmarked for infrastructure, healthcare, den education—will benefit de Namibian government rather than descendant communities. Activists demanded direct reparations, land restitution, den an official apology delivered insyd Namibia ein parliament (Al Jazeera, 2021). Legal scholars note dat de case sets a precedent for colonial-era claims, though Germany avoided using de term "reparations" to circumvent legal liability. De UN Special Rapporteur on reparations has cited de Herero case as a test for transitional justice insyd colonial contexts (UNPO Report, 2022).

 Cultural Impact 
De genocide be memorialized insyd Namibia through:

 Annual Commemorations: De Herero commemorate Heroes ein Day (August 26) plus ceremonies at de Waterberg Battle site, where survivors be driven into de desert. Participants wear colonial-era military uniforms to honor resistance leaders.
 Museums den Art: De Owela Museum insyd Windhoek displays artifacts from de genocide era, while contemporary artists like Nicola Brandt critique colonial amnesia insyd installations. 
 Oral Traditions: Herero communities preserve narratives of de genocide through songs den poetry, such as de Omurari lamentations recorded by anthropologists.

 Link between the Herero genocide and the Holocaust 
Sanso see: Genocide studies, Libyan genocide den de Holocaust, den Armenian genocide den de Holocaust

De Herero genocide has commanded de attention of historians who study complex issues of continuity between de Herero genocide den de Holocaust. E dey argue dat de Herero genocide set a precedent insyd Imperial Germany dat would later be followed by Nazi Germany ein establishment of death camps.

According to Benjamin Madley, de German experience insyd South West Africa be a crucial precursor to Nazi colonialism den genocide. He argue dat personal connections, literature, de public debates served as conduits for communicating colonialist den genocidal ideas den methods from de colony to Germany. Tony Barta, an honorary research associate at La Trobe University, argues dat de Herero genocide be an inspiration for Hitler insyd ein war against de Jews, Slavs, Romani, den odas whom he described as "non-Aryans".

According to Clarence Lusane, Eugen Fischer ein medical experiments can be seen as a testing ground for medical procedures which be later followed during de Nazi Holocaust. Fischer later become chancellor of de University of Berlin, where he teach medicine to Nazi physicians. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer be a student of Fischer, Verschuer einself had a prominent pupil, Josef Mengele. Franz Ritter von Epp, who be later responsible for de liquidation of virtually all Bavarian Jews den Roma as governor of Bavaria, took part insyd de Herero den Nama genocide as well. Historians Robert Gerwarth den Stephan Malinowski have criticized dis claim, asserting dat Von Epp exercised no influence insyd Nazi extermination policies.

Mahmood Mamdani argue dat de links between de Herero genocide den de Holocaust be beyond de execution of an annihilation policy den de establishment of concentration camps den there be sanso ideological similarities insyd de conduct of both genocides. Focusing on a written statement by General Trotha which be translated as:I destroy de African tribes plus streams of blood ... Only following dis cleansing can something new emerge, which will remain.Mamdani take note of de similarity between de aims of de General den de Nazis. According to Mamdani, insyd both cases there be a Social Darwinist notion of "cleansing", after which "something new" dey "emerge".

Robert Gerwarth den Stephan Malinowski have questioned de supposed link plus de Holocaust, finding it to be lacking insyd empirical evidence, den argue dat Nazi policy represented a distinct turn away from typical European colonial practice. Additionally, they write that studies supporting de link completely ignore de influences of World War I, de German Revolution, den de activities of de Freikorps insyd de inurement of extreme violence as a method insyd de German political consciousness.

Patrick Bernhard dey write dat de Nazis, wey include Heinrich Himmler, explicitly reject de colonial experience of de German Empire as an "appallingly outdated" model; when they did draw inspiration from colonialism for Generalplan Ost, it was from de contemporary work of Italian fascists such as Giuseppe Tassinari in Libya, which they viewed as a shining example of fascist modernity.

 References 

 Sources 






 Bibliography den documentaries 



 Exterminate all the Brutes, Sven Lindqvist, London, 1996.
 A Forgotten History-Concentration Camps were used by Germans in South West Africa, Casper W. Erichsen, in the Mail and Guardian, Johannesburg, 17 August 2001.
 German Federal Archives, Imperial Colonial Office, Vol. 2089, 7 (recto)
 "The Herero and Nama Genocides, 1904–1908", J.B. Gewald, in Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, New York, Macmillan Reference, 2004.

 Herero Heroes: A Socio-Political History of the Herero of Namibia 1890–1923, J.B. Gewald, Oxford, Cape Town, Athens, OH, 1999.
 Let Us Die Fighting: the Struggle of the Herero and Nama against German Imperialism, 1884–1915, Horst Drechsler, London, 1980.
 Olusoga, David & Erichsen, Casper W. (2010). The Kaiser's Holocaust : Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism. London: Faber and Faber.
 Gerwarth, Robert, and Stephan Malinowski. “Hannah Arendt’s Ghosts: Reflections on the Disputable Path from Windhoek to Auschwitz.” Central European History 42, no. 2 (2009): 279–300. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40600596.





 The war and massacre is significantly featured in The Glamour of Prospecting, a contemporary account by Frederick Cornell of his attempts to prospect for diamonds in the region. In the book he describes his first hand accounts of witnessing the concentration camp on Shark Island and other aspects of the genocide. 

 External links 

 Official German apologies


Category:1904 insyd Africa
Category:1904 establishments insyd German South West Africa
Category:1908 disestablishments insyd German South West Africa
Category:Anti-black racism insyd Africa
Category:African resistance to colonialism
Category:Conflicts insyd 1904
Category:Genocide of indigenous peoples insyd Africa
Category:Ethnic cleansing insyd Africa
Category:Slavery insyd Africa
Category:German South West Africa
Category:Imperial German war crimes
Category:Germany–Namibia relations
Category:Herero people
Category:Herero Wars
Category:Medical experimentation on prisoners of war
Category:Forced labour
Category:January 1904
Category:Mass murder insyd 1904
Category:Proto-Nazism