ABSTRACT
Although German colonial rule in Namibia had “only” lasted for 30 years, its bloody legacy is still present in Namibia and makes up a large part of the Hereros’ collective memory. It can be added that the central position of victimhood in post-colonial identity is a global phenomenon: the struggle for historical justice and against annihilation unites politically and even culturally dispersed societies in regions formerly dominated by foreign colonizers. It is not surprising that “Herero Day” has become the platform upon which leaders of Herero opinion demand fi nancial reparations from Germany. Until the end of the Cold War and Namibia’s independence, these claims remained unheard and the murder of the Herero by the German Schutztruppe was just one of the many forgotten genocides in world history. The commemoration in August 2004, however, marked an important caesura. The German Minister of Economic Cooperation and
Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, visited Namibia and attended a ceremony marking the centenary of the Battle of Waterberg on 11 August 1904, and during the ceremony she apologized for the atrocities committed by the German colonizers:
A century ago, the oppressors “blinded by colonialist fervor” became agents of violence, discrimination, racism and annihilation in Germany’s name. The atrocities committed at that time would today be termed genocide and nowadays a General von Trotha would be prosecuted and convicted. We Germans accept our historical and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time. And so, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer that we share, I ask you to forgive us our trespasses.3
