Namibia observes its first national Genocide Remembrance Day, commemorating the systematic extermination of over 70,000 Herero and Nama people – a tragedy historians label Germany’s “forgotten genocide” and the 20th century’s inaugural such event.
Employing concentration camps and unethical medical experimentation – nearly four decades before the Holocaust – German colonial authorities inflicted brutal violence upon the Ovaherero and Nama populations, who resisted land and cattle seizure.
Wednesday’s remembrance follows years of advocacy for reparations from Germany.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah described the national holiday as a “symbol of unity and reflection,” acknowledging the enduring “emotional, psychological, economic, and cultural scars.” A candle-lighting ceremony, featuring traditional Ovaherero and Nama war cries, honored the victims.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah pressed for expedited negotiations with Germany on reparations, emphasizing that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
The May 28th commemoration date marks the 1907 closure of concentration camps, following international condemnation.
Germany’s control over South West Africa (among other colonial territories) ended after World War I. For decades, the genocide (1904-1908) remained unacknowledged publicly.
Four years ago, Germany formally recognized the genocide, offering €1.1bn in development aid over 30 years – an offer Namibia rejected, deeming it insufficient and lacking a formal apology and reparations.
Many Namibians viewed the offer critically. Uahimisa Kaapehi, an Ovaherero descendent, stated, “That was the joke of the century…We want our land. Money is nothing.”
A victims’ families group condemned the 2021 deal, characterizing it as reflecting “a racist mindset on the part of Germany and neo-colonial subservience on the part of Namibia.”
A subsequent draft agreement reportedly includes a formal apology and an increased financial commitment (€50m more). However, Ovaherero and Nama activists express discontent, citing exclusion from negotiations and deeming the deal inadequate.
Many campaigners advocate for the return of ancestral lands currently held by the German-speaking community.
Historians highlight the irony of Germany’s reluctance to pay reparations, considering its prior seizure of livestock (estimated at $1.2m-$8.8m today) from resisting Ovaherero and Nama people.
The genocide began in 1904 with an extermination order from Lothar von Trotha, initiating the concentration camps.
Namibian historian Martha Akawa-Shikufa described the camps’ conditions, stating, “People got worked to death… there were pre-printed death certificates [saying] ‘death by exhaustion’…because they knew they would die.”
Human remains were sent to Germany for discredited racial research; many have since been repatriated.
Namibia previously criticized Germany for offering support to Israel against genocide accusations at the UN.
Former President Hage Geingob stated, “The German government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed on Namibian soil.”
Additional reporting by Samantha Granville and Wycliffe Muia
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