Herero and Nama genocide in German South West Africa
- Date
- 1904–1908
- Category
- Social & demographic
- Region
- German South West Africa (present-day Namibia)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
In German South West Africa (present-day Namibia), German colonial rule and land seizures provoked an uprising by the Herero people under Samuel Maharero in January 1904, followed by a Nama revolt in 1905.
After German reinforcements routed the Herero at the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904, General Lothar von Trotha issued an extermination order (Vernichtungsbefehl) on 3 October 1904, driving survivors into the Omaheke desert to die of thirst and decreeing that Herero found within the colony be shot. Although the order was formally rescinded weeks later, survivors were confined in concentration camps such as Shark Island, where lethal conditions, forced labour and abuse killed a large proportion of inmates. By 1908 an estimated 40,000–80,000 Herero, around 80 percent of their population, and roughly 10,000 Nama had died. Widely regarded by historians as the first genocide of the twentieth century, the atrocities prefigured later state-organised mass killing and remain central to debates over colonial reparations.
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Empires active in 1904–1908
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- German Empire1871 CE – 1918 CE
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Qing Dynasty1636 CE – 1912 CE
Related social & demographic events
- Influenza pandemic of 1918–19201918–1920
- The Holocaust and the 'Final Solution'1941–1945
- Bengal Famine of 19431943–1944
- Emancipation of the serfs in Russia3 March 1861 (19 February O.S.)
- The Great Irish Famine1845–1852
- Armenian Genocide1915–1916 (beginning 24 April 1915)
Further reading
The wider story
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