Centre for African Studies (JNU) professor talks about implications of graves and artefacts being found on Shark Island, a notorious concentration camp from the period
Samuel Maharero, Paramount Chief of the Herero, with his wives and associates. Photo: iStock
This past week, The Guardian reported on how unmarked graves and artefacts have been uncovered by archaeologists on Shark Island, just off the Namibian port city of Luderitz.
They are reminders of a horrific event in the history of humanity: The genocide of the Nama and Herero peoples of what is now Namibia.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Namibia was Deutsch-Südwestafrika (German Southwest Africa), a part of the German Empire which also included Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania), Kamerun (today’s Cameroon), Togo, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, New Guinea, Samoa and other colonial possessions.
In 1904, the Herero and Nama peoples of the territory rebelled against the colonial German regime.
It started with the German-Herero Wars in January. On August 11, the German Army led by Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha defeated Herero warriors (led by Samuel Maharero) on the plateau of Waterberg.
The Herero fled into the desert, falling prey to German soldiers who shot any Herero they came across on sight. Von Trotha’s men also poisoned wells. So those who were not shot, died of thirst.
Read Genocide uncovered
A similar fate awaited the Nama, led by Hendrik Witbooi, who had also rebelled against the Germans.
Prisoners of war were led to Shark Island, home to a concentration camp. Atrocities by the colonial authorities there also claimed lives.
Shark Island has been called the blueprint for what later happened in Nazi-occupied Europe as concentration camps killed millions of Jews, Roma, Poles, LGBTQIA+ people and Soviet prisoners of war.
Down To Earth spoke to J M Moosa of the Centre for African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, about the implications of the findings. Edited excerpts:
Rajat Ghai (RG): In the last decade, Pope Francis I erroneously called the Armenian Genocide the 20th century’s first genocide, even though the events in Deutsch-Südwestafrika hold that dubious distinction. Does this reflect a Eurocentric bias towards atrocities and genocide in your view?
JM Moosa (JMM): Historically, the control, production and centralisation of knowledge has been very Eurocentric. Europeans and European-origin peoples have had control of the global discourse and how people worldwide look back and remember their past. Historical European atrocities are justified and buried in the sands of time.
There is thus a strong tendency of Eurocentrism in the production of knowledge and the Pope’s position reflects that the sufferings of people in the Global South as a result of European colonialism are usually conveniently forgotten.
RG: Now that we have forensic evidence of what happened on Shark Island in German Southwest Africa, should a full-fledged memorial be constructed at the spot?
JMM: Yes. Memory is very important. It is very important that the incidences of history — especially those related to the violence and brutality of colonialism — must be recognised as they are part of the global colonial project.
Memorials are important if historical sufferings are to be given recognition. Also, in this case, it is quite late since it took a long time for the world to recognise that a genocide had taken place; indigenous peoples had suffered and that the German occupation had been brutal. There is a need to recognise all this and a memorial will be the best way in which this can be done.
RG: How should Germany respond now, given that the Namibians have rejected its offer of development aid to atone for what Lothar von Trotha and others did?
JMM: It took a long time for Germany to concede the fact that a genocide had taken place. The issue of reparations is very complex. It is not a simple task to identify who actually suffered.
Now that the Germans have accepted that monstrous atrocities took place a century ago, they must engage further so that the descendants of those who suffered, at least get some succour.
The process of getting that succour and eventual closure will be complex as there are a number of stakeholders — the German and Namibian governments, the Nama and the Herero leadership as well the kin of the sufferers.
The issue has to be resolved with discussions and consensus, all done transparently so that restitution is meaningful for the current dependants. It should not be just limited to acceptance but should bring about meaningful change.
Read Is it time to rethink the definition & concept of ‘genocide’?
The German and Namibian governments, political elites and the victims’ families should embark on a process of engagement to ensure that a just and satisfactory solution emerges.
RG: How does this development affect the global debate on reparations?
JMM: As I said, reparations are a complex issue. There has to be engagement. It starts with recognition and thereafter involves some sort of meaningful benefit to the parties concerned, especially the victims’ kin.
There are a lot of questions: As what point in the past do you accept responsibility? Where do you stop it? Who exactly is to be held accountable?
These are complex topics. They need to be debated. That is what is important given the past record. The veracity and memory of such events or incidents used to tactically undermined and reparations were avoided.
In 2007, the then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy had infamously remarked in his Dakar address: “The tragedy of Africa is that the African has not entered history enough […]. He never rushes towards the future.” That symbolised European arrogance.
So, there is a need to discuss, engage and bring about meaningful responsibility and culpability. How it plays out cannot be spelt in black-and-white. It is a far more complex and nuanced issue.
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