Germany admits: “In Namibia it was genocide”

Germany recognizes the atrocities committed in the years of colonialism, in the early 1900s, against the Herero and Nama populations in what is now Namibia. More than 100 years later, Berlin recognizes the genocide by pledging over one billion euros for development. “As a gesture in recognition of the enormous suffering inflicted on the victims, we want to support Namibia and the descendants of the victims with a significant program of 1.1 billion euros for reconstruction and development – said the Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas. happy that it was possible to reach an agreement with Namibia on how to face together the darkest chapter of our common history “. The news comes after representatives of the governments of the two countries, with the involvement of the Herero and the Nama, reached an agreement on a political declaration after almost six years of negotiations, but the document has yet to be signed and disputes have not been lacking in the past. by the two ethnic groups with complaints of what was regarded as a German government advertising campaign. As part of the agreement, the German government provides for the recognition of the genocide. According to historians, the numbers of the extermination speak of about 65,000 of the 85,000 people of the Herero community killed and of at least 10,000 of the 20,000 of the Nama. “The acknowledgment of guilt and our request for an apology is an important step in accepting these crimes and – said Maas – defining the future together”.