In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia

Germany joins Israel to deny the war in Gaza constitutes genocide against the Palestinians, but Namibia disagrees.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia

By Danylo Hawaleshka

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — On January 12, Germany rejected the accusation of genocide in Gaza recently against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Advertisement

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — The next day, Namibia condemned Germany’s decision to, in effect, defend Israel’s intensive bombing of the occupied Palestinian territory, calling the decision 'shocking'. So, why Namibia? Because Namibia knows.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — In 1884, 13 European countries, as well as the United States, met at the Berlin Conference to decide on the rules for carving up and colonising Africa.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — With that deal in place, Germany took over Namibia, and by the early 1900s, about 5,000 German settlers ruled over 250,000 Indigenous people.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — The German colonists drove the ethnic Herero — nomads who kept cattle — off their ancestral lands and made them live in reserves. Locals seen to have broken the law were flogged or hanged, while Germans guilty of rape or murder often escaped with only light sentences.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — The land grabs and the brutality led to a lot of anger, and in 1904, the Herero, led by Samuel Maharero, rose up against the colonial Germans, and, on January 12, they killed more than 120 people, mostly Germans.

Advertisement

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — Despite initial military successes, the Herero, the Nama and others soon fell to the fire of German machineguns and artillery. More than 90,000 were killed. Many of the survivors were subjected to concentration camps and forced labour.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — In 2021, Germany accepted responsibility for what is considered the first genocide of the 20th century.

History Illustrated: Israel, Gaza, Germany and the genocide in Namibia — So today, we have Germany, having historically atoned for not one but two genocides, now defending Israel as it stands accused of committing its own genocide. The irony is surely not lost on the Namibians.