Photo : ©Scientific Society, Swakopmund
The first genocide of the 20th century: Herero and Nama in German South-West Africa, 1904-1908
History books often skip over the tragic fate of the Herero and Nama people, but this powerful exhibition confronts that silence head-on. Through carefully curated testimonies and documentation, it unpacks the devastating reality of early 20th-century colonial violence in present-day Namibia. A sobering and essential experience for those seeking to understand the complex threads of global history.
Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris 4th)
About
In 1904, in reaction to the rules imposed by the German colonial administration and the abuses and mistreatment by settlers, a revolt broke out in German South-West Africa, present-day Namibia. The forces of the Second Reich suppressed it with brutality and defeated the Herero. An extermination order – issued by General Lothar von Trotha on October 2, 1904 – enjoined the Kaiser's troops to kill without distinction, thus condemning men, women, and children. The Nama in turn took up arms against the Germans and suffered the same fate as the Herero. In the concentration camps opened in 1905, such as those in Windhoek, Swakopmund, and Shark Island, Nama and Herero prisoners were eliminated through labor and succumbed to disease, mistreatment, and malnutrition. Skulls of the victims were then sent to Germany for the purpose of racial scientific research. Between 1904 and 1908, approximately 80% of the Herero and 50% of the Nama were exterminated: a crime of African colonial history considered to be the first genocide of the 20th century.
Scientific curatorship: Leonor Faber-Jonker, Leiden University, Netherlands.
Coordination: Sophie Nagiscarde, Élise Arnaud, Mémorial de la Shoah.
