Here's more info on the Genocide
The
Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of racial extermination and
collective punishment that the
German Empireundertook in
German South West Africa (now
Namibia) against the
Ovaherero and the
Nama. It is considered the first
genocide of the 20th century.
[1][2][3] It took place between 1904 and 1908.
In January 1904, the Herero people, led by
Samuel Maharero and
Nama led by Captain
Hendrik Witbooi, rebelled against
German colonial rule. In August, German General
Lothar von Trotha defeated the Ovaherero in the
Battle of Waterberg and drove them into the desert of
Omaheke, where most of them died of dehydration. In October, the Nama people also rebelled against the Germans, only to suffer a similar fate.
Between 24,000 and 100,000 Hereros and 10,000 Namas died.
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page needed]
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page needed]
[10] The first phase of the genocide was characterized by widespread death from starvation and dehydration due to the prevention of the retreating Herero from leaving the
Namib Desert by German forces. Once defeated, thousands of Hereros and Namas were imprisoned in
concentration camps, where the majority died of diseases, abuse, and exhaustion.
[11][
page needed]
[12][
page needed]
In 1985, the
United Nations'
Whitaker Reportclassified the aftermath as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples of
South West Africa, and therefore one of the earliest attempts at genocide in the 20th century. In 2004, the German government recognized and apologized for the events, but ruled out financial compensation for the victims' descendants.
[13] In July 2015, the German government and the speaker of the
Bundestag officially called the events a "genocide" and "part of a race war". However, it has refused to consider reparations.
[14][15]