The first German Holocaust? Colonial Genocide in Namibia.

Influenced by eugenic theories, General Von Trotha ordered the "extermination order" against the Herero (and later also the Nama) people of Namibia between 1904-1909.
en.wikipedia.org...

It is often assumed that key figures in the Holocaust had ancestors involved in the colonial "death camps".

Goering had an ancestor involved in the then South West African conquest.
Dr Mengele allegedly was taught by a professor (Eugen Fischer) who collected human remains and performed human experiments in Namibia.

So, was the Herero/Nama genocide tied to the holocaust?
Did the dehumanization of colonialism lead to extermination in Europe?
Others argue that British and Belgian colonialism was worse, and the Herero survived, because reports eventually caused an outrage in Germany.

It is quite sad however that tourists go to former concentration camp sites like Shark Island, and there is not a single reminder of the horror that went on there.

reply to post by halfoldman

Shark Island - the Nama join the Herero as people "without any more purpose on earth".

reply to post by halfoldman

I suppose knowledge can be a curse.

Natural beauty and fondness for a place can really change when one finds out what went on.

I was baptized in a church built by that Herero slave labor from that period.
Worse things happened on the site of the school.

Perhaps I also wish nobody had ever mentioned it.
But I guess life goes on.

reply to post by halfoldman

Looks like an interesting place for psychic research and EVPs!
I'm not sure one should expect them in English however.

reply to post by halfoldman

Am I all alone in this sad feeling?
Did nobody from colonies like the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand have similar moments of realization?

reply to post by halfoldman

How do we expect modern repressive states and their people to feel guilty for what they are doing?
Most people are in denial about their own countries' pasts.

Extracts from the book The Colonizing Camera: Photographs in the making of Namibia's history (details in link):
books.google.co.za... Ac&hl=en&ei=uvfpTNuOLc2Rswa8if2bCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

I find p.119 particularly disturbing because it mentions places I've been.

Germany has been involved in repayments and reconciliation, although the ruling Ovambo tribe has not been particularly supportive of Herero claims.

Never heard of this before.
Thanks.
Flagged.

reply to post by theBLESSINGofVISION

Thank you so much!
The lack of response has made me wonder whether I wrote something wrong.
But yeah, I must remember that most people don't live in our little corner of the globe.
I'm glad that a member found it informative.

Weird how everything is connected.

reply to post by halfoldman

In fairness, the German literature representing the soldiers from that period is also pretty harrowing.

It's the usual story: they came to South West Africa with great bravado, thinking that they would fight complete savages.
Instead, the campaigns through the desert dragged on, in an unforgiving desert landscape.
Many died or went mad, or suffered horrible injuries.
There was a great deal of frustration, because the Hereros were a more tenacious enemy than expected.