The genocide of the Herero and Nama people by German colonial forces between 1904 and 1908 is one of the most significant events in Namibian history and one of the most important, and least widely known, events in 20th-century world history. The Waterberg Plateau is the site where it began.
The Herero Genocide (1904 to 1907)
Inhalt
The Vernichtungsbefehl (extermination order) issued by General von Trotha on October 2, 1904 stated explicitly that every Herero found within German South West Africa’s borders would be shot, women, children, and the elderly included. The order was unprecedented in its explicitness and its scope.
The survivors of Waterberg who fled into the Omaheke Desert faced sealed borders and poisoned water holes. Those who returned from the desert were interned in concentration camps (established at Lüderitz, Swakopmund, and elsewhere) where mortality rates reached 45 to 74 percent from disease, starvation, and forced labour.
The Herero population fell from an estimated 80,000 pre-war to approximately 16,000 by 1911.
The Nama Genocide (1904 to 1908)
The Nama people rose in resistance in October 1904 under the leadership of Hendrik Witbooi. The colonial response applied the same methods as used against the Herero: military engagement, concentration camps, and the Shark Island camp at Lüderitz, described by survivors and witnesses as one of the most brutal camps of the colonial period. The Nama population fell from approximately 20,000 to approximately 10,000 by 1911.
Recognition
Germany recognised the events as a genocide in 2021, the first official recognition by a European colonial power of a colonial-era genocide. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government offered an apology and a development fund of €1.1 billion over 30 years; the Herero and Nama communities rejected this offer as insufficient and not constituted as reparations in the legal sense. Negotiations continue.
Verantwortungsvoll besuchen
The Waterberg is a wildlife destination and a genocide site simultaneously. Both dimensions are real; neither cancels the other. Engaging with the historical dimension, reading the information at the site, understanding the context, makes the visit more meaningful and more honest.
Die Battle of Waterberg guide covers the specific 1904 events. The responsible visit guide addresses how to approach the site.