Financial aid to the descendants of victims of the ‘Namibian genocide’ during the colonial era of Germany
Recently, Germany accepted that the genocide took place in Namibia during its colonial rule. After this, Germany also announced a billion euros to Namibia through which to help the descendants of the genocide victims.
Key points
- Germany has also announced a grant of 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to support community projects in Namibia.
- Namibia has welcomed their cooperation, calling it a “first step”, but many activists say Germany’s financial aid may heal wounds that have been raging for more than a century?
Namibian genocide
- Between 1904 and 1908, there was a rebellion against German colonial rule by the Herero and Nama tribes in Namibia’s South West Africa.
- Millions of men, women and children from these communities were massacred by the German colonists to suppress this rebellion.
- The main reason for this rebellion was seen by the local tribes to the German colonists as a threat to their land and resources.
Battle of Waterberg
- In this battle, about 80,000 people, including women and children of the Herero tribe, were chased and killed by German soldiers in the desert, out of which only 15,000
Colonial History of Namibia:
- Some parts of present-day Namibia were formally colonized by Germany between 1884 and
- The Germans ruled the region until 1915, after which it was controlled by South Africa until Finally Namibia gained independence in the year 1990.
Further actions
- Some historians call these atrocities the first genocide of the twentieth century. Following this recent German admission, a declaration will be signed by Germany, after which it will be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
- It will once again see German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier officially apologizing for crimes committed by Germany in front of the Namibian parliament.
Source – The Hindu
