ADOLF HITLER’S ‘final solution’, the systematic extermination of over six million Jews and other ethnic groups is a dark and repulsive chapter in German history. But nearly 50 years before that, Germany was carrying out an organised genocide that almost wiped out an entire ethnic group of people in Africa.
The German genocide in the South East African region of what is present day Namibia, had many similarities to that of the Jewish holocaust. The order for genocide came from the very top, and the organised butchery involved the setting up of concentration camps and mass executions. However while much has been written about the Jewish genocide of WWII, what happened in Namibia is hardly known outside of the African country. It’s as if the events of that evil time has been systematically removed from the history books.
Compared to Britain and France, Germany had been slow in the land grab of Africa that was called 19th century colonialisation. But as German commercial interests started to increase in the South Eastern part of Africa that is now Namibia, the German government seized more and more control of the territory. The state of German South West Africa was born.
The ethnic make up of the region was complex and today Namibia’s population includes at least 11 major ethnic groups, ranging from hunter-gatherers to rural farmers and town dwellers. The 650,000-strong Owambo make up the largest group and live mainly in the north. Other significant tribes include the Kavango, Herero, Himba, Damara, Nama, San and Basters.
For years there had been skirmishes between the Germans and different tribal groups, but on January 12, 1904 Herero warriors, incensed by years of German settlers lynching tribesmen, stealing their land, cattle and women, launched a full scale rebellion killing about 200 German civilians over several days. They spared missionaries on the explicit orders of chief Samuel Maharero.
The Hereros were traditionally cattle herders and with their land being quickly taken from them by the Germans, their battle against the Europeans was a simple one of survival. For the Germans it was a matter of power and wealth. Read More
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