Genocide in German South-West Africa The Colonial War of 1904–1908 and Its Aftermath

by Zimmerer, Jürgen; Zeller, Joachim; Neather, E. J.

• ISBN13: 9780850365733
• ISBN10: 0850365732
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-01
• Publisher: Merlin Press

Summary

The 1904 war that broke out in present day Namibia after the Herero tribe rose against an oppressive colonial regimeand the German army's brutal suppression of that uprisingare the focus of this collection of essays. Exploring the annihilation of both the Herero and Nama people, this selection from prominent researchers of German imperialism considers many aspects of the war and shows how racism, concentration camps, and genocide in the German colony foreshadow Hitler's Third Reich war crimes.

Author Biography

Jürgen Zimmerer teaches history at the Center for 20th Century Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Joachim Zeller teaches at the Technical University in Berlin. E. J. Neather is the author of Mastering German 2, Previsions, and Realisations.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction to the English edition	p. xv
Translator's note	p. xxxiii
Maps	p. xxxv
Namibia on the path to colonization
The golden age of the pastoralists: Namibia in the 19th century	p. 3
The model colony?: Racial segregation, forced labour and total control in German South-West Africa	p. 19
The Colonial War 1904-1908
War, concentration camps and genocide in South-West Africa: The first German genocide	p. 41
'Ombepera i koza - The cold is killing me': A history of the concentration camp in Swakopmund (1904-1908)	p. 64
Forced labour in the concentration camp on Shark Island	p. 84
'The drama was played out on the dark stage of the sandveldt': The destruction of Herero and Nama in German (popular) literature	p. 100
The 'Hottentot election' of 1907	p. 113
Misery, resistance and a new beginning: the African perspective
Colonisation, genocide and resurgence: The Herero of Namibia 1890-1923	p. 123
The Nama and the war in the south	p. 143
At the margins of the war: The Ovambo kingdom of Ondonga	p. 159
Beasts and victims - Women in the Colonial War	p. 170
Wartime wedding: The experiences of Kaera Ida Getzen-Leinhos	p. 193
Remembering and forgetting
The funeral of Samuel Maharero and the reorganisation of the Herero	p. 207
'A luta continua': Strategic orientation and the politics of remembrance as exemplified in the Witbooi 'Heroes' Day' in Gibeon	p. 217
Symbolic politics: Notes on the German colonial culture of remembrance	p. 231
The German cemetery at the Waterberg	p. 252
'We never spoke about reparations': German-Namibian relationships: suppression or reconciliation?	p. 259
Namibia - a German 'Sonderweg' in Africa?: Remarks on the international discussion	p. 274
Contributors	p. 288
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