Thus far I have really only focused on how Germany has aided Africans and promoted good relationships with both African countries and those of African descent living in Germany. In this blog post, I am going to touch on a piece of unfortunate history that does not bode well for Germany. However, it is important to examine what happens when international powers use their authority in a negative way on countries that do not have the ability to fight back.
As I mentioned in my first post about Germany, Germany’s government was able to acquire control of colonies in Africa after the Berlin Conference of 1884. On August 7, 1884 Germany raised its flag in South-West Africa, claiming this land as their own despite the fact that it went against the beliefs of those who lived there. Indigenous peoples of this region did not believe in individually owned private property and did not believe that another country should have control and autonomy over their own settled areas. When German settlers discovered an abundance of mineral deposits, the Germany Colonial Society for Southwest Africa, otherwise known as DKGSWA, was granted monopoly to exploit the diamonds, gold, copper, and platinum that would garner huge amounts of money if traded. This started heightened German control in these African villages. The German settlers tried to impose their legal and property systems on the Khaua people, ultimately leading to the first genocide of the 20th century.
The Herero and Namaqua Genocide took place between 1904 and 1907 in German South-West Africa, now known as Namibia. On January 12, 1904, the Herero people grew tired of the unfair treatment from the Germans and rebelled against German colonial rule. However, the Germans had much more power, technology, and knowledge than the indigenous peoples and the Germans were able to defeat both the Herero people and the Nama people in two separate battles. It is estimated that 24,000 to 100,000 Herero people died and 10,000 Nama died throughout this period of unrest. Some of these deaths occurred either in battles against the Germans. However, many occurred because Africans fled the violence to the Namib Desert. Unable to return for fear of being killed by Germans, they often died from starvation and thirst. Moreover, it is alleged that the German colonial army poisoned desert wells to kill those who fled. This mass genocide almost led to the extinction of South-West African tribes. Fortunately, even though it was too late, in 1985, The United Nations’ Whitaker Report classified this war as a way for Germans to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples. However, the Germans were not taught much of a lesson because all they had to do was apologize for their wrongdoings. They did not even have to pay for financial compensation for the victims’ descendants.
I suppose I wanted to share this story because I think people today are naive to think that since international hegemonic countries, like Germany, the US, and France no longer have legal racism, everything is perfect in their relationships with Africa. This story sheds light on why there are still tensions between Africa and Germany and dismisses the idea that German rule in Africa was for the good of the indigenous people living there.
Here are some quotes from Leautwein, a Prussian general who reported to the military German General Staff:
“My intimate knowledge of many central African tribes (Bantu and others) has everywhere convinced me of the necessity that the Negro does not respect treaties but only brute force”
“I know enough of African tribes that they give way only to violence. To exercise this violence with crass terrorism and even with gruesomeness was and is my policy. I destroy the rebellious tribes with streams of blood and money. Only from this seed something new will emerge, which will remain.”
It is clear why horrible and unnecessary genocides occur with these types of close mind and stupid people in the world.
I used this wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herero_and_Namaqua_Genocide but checked it against these other sites as well: http://www.enotes.com/namibia-german-south-west-africa-south-west-africa-reference/namibia-german-south-west-africa-south-west-africa and http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Herero%20and%20Namaqua%20Genocide.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment