Article from The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 28 July, 1990.
BONN, Friday: The annihilation by German troops of 54 000 African tribespeople eight decades
ago has come back to haunt the Germans at the time of their unification.
In a phase of Germany's colonial history, much of the Herero tribe in what is now Namibia was
wiped out when warriors rose up against German domination. Now the Herero tribe is demanding
that West Germany pay reparations for the annihilation, reviving a portion of 20th century history
seldom taught in German classrooms. Mr Kuaima Riruako, chief of the Hereros, is demanding that
Germany pay the equivalent of about $A1.12 billion in reparations for the near-extermination of that
tribe under German colonial rule in the early 1900s, the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper
reported.
Between 1904 and 1908, 54 000 members of the tribe - warriors, women and children - died after a failed revolution against German colonial powers in what is now Namibia. According to history books, fewer than 20 000 tribespeople survived. Mr Riruako argues that since Germany has paid reparations to Jews for their suffering in the Nazi Holocaust, his tribe should also receive German compensation. "...They should also do that for us so the hatred can be buried and the wounds can heal", the Rundschau quoted him as saying in an interview.
Suppression of the Herero revolt was one of the bloodiest chapters of European colonial history. World historians are split on their sympathies when it comes to the rebellion. It is generally acknowledged that the Hereros, herders with close links to their land, were fighting for their survival against land-hungry Germans. But some historians also say German troops' brutal suppression of the Herero uprising was at least partly the result of alleged atrocities committed by the Herero in their bid to keep their land.
Associated Press