Between 1904 and 1908, about 80% of the Herero and 50% of the Nama were exterminated: a crime in African colonial history considered to be the first genocide of the 20th century.
In 1904, in reaction to the rules imposed by the German colonial administration and the abuses and mistreatment of the settlers, a revolt broke out in South-West Germany, now Namibia. The forces of the Second Reich brutally repressed her and defeated the Herero.
An extermination order – issued by General Lothar von Trotha on 2 October 1904 – enjoined the Kaiser’s troops to kill indiscriminately, thus condemning men, women and children. The Nama take up arms against the Germans and suffer the same fate as the Herero.
In the concentration camps opened in 1905, such as those at Windhoek, Swakopmund and Shark Island, prisoners Nama and Herero were eliminated by labor and succumbed to disease, mistreatment and malnutrition. Skulls of victims were then sent to Germany for scientific racial research.
Free entry
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For individuals: on Thursdays, 5 January, 2 February and 9 March from 7:30 pm to 9 pm.
Free without prior reservation
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The first genocide of the 20th century, Herero and Nama in the German South-West Africa, 1904-1908.
Booklet of the exhibition éd. Shoah Memorial, 2017.
Author: Leonor Faber-Jonker
Price: 12€
For sale at the Shoah Memorial bookstore or on the
Namibia: the genocide of the Herero and Nama – Saturday, November 26, 2016
By Valérie Nivelon
With the testimonies of
Partners of the exhibition
Leonor Faber-Jonker, Leiden University, Netherlands.
Sophie Nagiscarde, Caroline François, Shoah Memorial, assisted by Émilie Jumez.
David Lebreton, L'atelier collectif.
Emmanuel Labard, L'atelier collectif.
