Members of the Nama and Herero communities gathered at the old cemetery in Swakopmund on Saturday, to commemorate the 110th year since the infamous Extermination Order issued by General Lothar von Trotha in 1904.
Prof. Dr. Reinhart Közler of the University of Freiburg in Germany says that the thousands of unmarked graves along the Swakop riverbed contain the remains of prisoners of war, who were used to build a railway line to the interior, the port at Swakopmund and the Mole.
The prisoners were also used to load and offload ships. “During the war, the German colonial infrastructure was severely strained and the colonial authorities then resorted to the using of prisoners of war”, he explained.
“But I don't know why they had to put the people into concentration camps. They died from a number of causes, including poor shelter and lack of food. Many were not used to the climate at the coast. They also suffered from hunger and scurvy.” In his estimation, thousands of people lie buried along the southern boundary of Swakopmund.
Many were worked to death. Prof Közler says the colonial forces would capture an entire population, not just prisoners of war: “There were women, children, old people...,” and he shuddered at the thought of the “horrors committed” against these captives. Archival records show that the supervisors on duty during the construction of the Mole had a logbook to mark off how many workers died every day.
Many were worked to death. Prof Közler says the colonial forces would capture an entire population, not just prisoners of war: “There were women, children, old people...,” and he shuddered at the thought of the “horrors committed” against these captives. Archival records show that the supervisors on duty during the construction of the Mole had a logbook to mark off how many workers died every day.
(Photograph: Paramount Chief Riruako of the Herero Traditional Authority)
Following the commemoration ceremony at Vineta Sports Ground over the weekend, concerned members of the Herero and Nama communities marched proudly through the streets of Swakopmund to mark 110 years since the Order of Extermination against the Herero was issued.
During his speech at Swakopmund on Saturday, Paramount Chief Riruako of the Herero Traditional Authority spoke passionately at the grave sites of thousands of the fallen Herero, Nama and Damara people. The infamous Extermination Order issued by General von Trotha in 1904 reads, in part: “I, the great general of the German soldiers, send this letter to the Hereros.
Following the commemoration ceremony at Vineta Sports Ground over the weekend, concerned members of the Herero and Nama communities marched proudly through the streets of Swakopmund to mark 110 years since the Order of Extermination against the Herero was issued.
During his speech at Swakopmund on Saturday, Paramount Chief Riruako of the Herero Traditional Authority spoke passionately at the grave sites of thousands of the fallen Herero, Nama and Damara people. The infamous Extermination Order issued by General von Trotha in 1904 reads, in part: “I, the great general of the German soldiers, send this letter to the Hereros.
(Photograph: General Lothar von Trotha in ceremonial dress)
"The Hereros are German subjects no longer… The Herero nation must now leave the country (South West Africa, now Namibia). 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."
Mr Scara Matundu said he was attending the commemoration because he grew up in Botswana due to the Extermination Order, which forced vast numbers of Herero to flee from South West Africa (now called Namibia). “My forefathers fled with Samuel Maharero and I grew up in a foreign country, because of German colonialism.”
He said he moved to Namibia in 1993 and later studied law, with a focus on genocide cases. Mr Matundu believes that the Herero and Nama people have a valid claim for reparations and that this should be tested in a court of law.
Young people in the graveyard on Saturday, said: “Our history is being erased. We were the first people in this land, but today we are not recognised. There are no statues to honour our ancestors, there are not even streets named after our people.”
By 1907 approximately 60% of the Nama and 80% of Hereros were wiped out, Mrs Ida Hoffmann (of mixed Nama and German heritage) recounted: “Taking into account the burning desire of our people to get redress for the wrongs of the past, we have therefore resolved to state our position and demands for reparation for the crime of genocide committed against our ancestors by the imperial German government of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1904-1908.”
Other critics of Germany's policy are keen to point out that following the Second World War (WWII) Germany paid reparations both to individuals of Jewish descent and to the State of Israel for the Jewish Holocaust, which took place barely 30 years after the Herero and Nama holocaust in Namibia.
Written by: Jade McClune
Media house: Namib Times, serving the coastal community since 1958
Website: www.namibtimes.net
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