What really happened in 1904

It helps to have a look back.

The Hereros at that time were cattle breeders who lived as nomads. They entered what is now Namibia from Angola and trekked south.They had no permanent settlements.They killed the San, wherever they found them, without mercy.They met the Tswanas and drove them back in the direction from where they came from.They enslaved the Damaras, who had, in their eyes, no right to possess anything.They met and fought the cattle rustling Namas and were driven back through ferocious battles by them to Okahandja.That was the time, when the German colonialists with their administration came, following the questionable request of some missionaries.They stopped the tribal wars, first by agreements and then by force.For the Hereros the Germans were just another tribe.Their leaders were quite happy to exchange cattle against other goods.The Hereros noticed only later, that their understanding of land ownership was totally different from what the European knows as ownership.The settlers fenced the land in and started drilling boreholes to pump the underground water up; something the Hereros had never done and are reluctant to do even today on their own.Here the trouble started.The merchants were happy to deliver goods to the chiefs on a credit-only basis.When the borrowers, did not pay, they were forced to pay their debts by having their cattle confiscated.By the way, this happens in modern Namibia every day.The then authorities forbade the selling of goods against credit.But it was too late.The young Hereros rebelled against this practice and beleaguered their chiefs to take action.The chiefs, who knew that they were the greedy culprits who handed over more and more cattle and land without having the mandate from their people, had only one way to secure their leadership.They agreed to lead their people into war.The war started in January 1904 with the unexpected slaughter of altogether about 150 German men, women and even children through Herero gangs.Farms were plundered and German settlements beleaguered.Samuel Maharero issued a proclamation, which asked for the murder of every German man except the missionaries, women and children.The Germans, of course, fought back.They had to contain the situation and fight with the few soldiers they had and wait for reinforcements from Germany.In August 1904 some Herero chiefs assembled in true nomadic fashion their families (at least more than 20 000) and their wealth (cattle) in the Waterberg area to wage ?a battle against the now 2 000 German soldiers.The battle was undecided.The Germans were totally exhausted.The Hereros trekked immediately after the battle in smaller groups with their whole belongings in the direction of Bechuanaland, now Botswana, on ways known to the Mbanderus and the Hereros for a long time.The Germans could not follow them.After two weeks they send an officers patrol to find out what happened.The patrol saw horrible pictures of dead people and cattle that perished because of lack of water.Corpses poisoned the wells.In the meantime the politicians had taken over and begun to develop their own ideas.General von Trotha , sent by the Kaiser to solve the war against the Hereros, issued in October 1904 – two months after the battle of Waterberg – a pamphlet ,directed to the Hereros.He forbade them in clear words (in the famous so-called extermination order) to come back.The “order” was in fact a proclamation in the language of that time for the Hereros.The German soldiers had been given the different order to drive back the Hereros in the direction of Botswana.Women and children would have to be frightened by shooting over their head, so that they would be forced to retreat.It was therefore a similar order, which Samuel Herero has given his people, how to handle the Germans.In December 1904, 11 months after the unsuspected murder of German civilians and after four months of the battle of Waterberg and two months after the proclamation (“order”) of General von Trotha, Mr. von Trotha and his “order” were withdrawn by the German authority because of political reasons after intensive debates in the German Reichstag and recommendations given by administrators and authorities from German South West Africa.That means, that the so called extermination order of Mr. von Trotha had a life of two months only and no practical consequences, but unfortunately the negative propaganda effect remained as it seems forever.In 1918 the famous ‘Blue Book’ was produceId by a British magistrate to prove the incapacity of Germans to run colonies.All colonies were taken from Germany and handed over to victors of the First World War.The Republic of South Africa administered South West Africa from then on.The “Blue Book” died a natural death afterwards, because many stories in it were found out to be in principle unfounded war propaganda and fabricated for one purpose only, to discredit the Germans.In the 1960s the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands or SED in East Germany (DDR) began to develop relations with the emerging freedom movements in the colonies in what they simple-mindedly called Afro-Asia.Under Russian supervision they gave them support, firstly through training in true Marxist-Leninist fashion.The Cold War was at its peak.They produced pamphlets, which were discrediting the ‘West’.Since parts of the archive of the German Army were stored in Potsdam (DDR) a scientist was asked by the party to produce a book about the Herero War oEf 1904,which could be used as an argument against the enemy.In due course Mr Horst Drechsler went through the archive and found the “extermination order” of General Trotha and other papers in relation to the Herero War of 1904.He put them together and fabricated a book, which could be used as an argument against whomever.He himself was not allowed to interview survivors or use archives in other parts of the world or even to leave the country.It became fashionable to use the word ‘genocide’ and to claim reparations.A whole bunch of so called scientists; lawyers and ,most important, politicians have taken it over in the meantime to feather their own nest.Nobody seems to be interested in what really happened.The ideologues from yesterday are still around and active.Their argumentation is based on a hollow foundation.The archives in Namibia, South Africa, Germany and Britain are full of documents, which would give a more balanced view, if one were interested.One can only hoIpe that the chiefs of today -black, white, Coloureds- have learned from the mistakes of their forefathers and follow a sober and realistic path.The future is for all Namibians and not for one tribe only.- Japie van Wyk – Walvis BayThey entered what is now Namibia from Angola and trekked south. They had no permanent settlements. They killed the San, wherever they found them, without mercy. They met the Tswanas and drove them back in the direction from where they came from. They enslaved the Damaras, who had, in their eyes, no right to possess anything. They met and fought the cattle rustling Namas and were driven back through ferocious battles by them to Okahandja. That was the time, when the German colonialists with their administration came, following the questionable request of some missionaries. They stopped the tribal wars, first by agreements and then by force. For the Hereros the Germans were just another tribe. Their leaders were quite happy to exchange cattle against other goods. The Hereros noticed only later, that their understanding of land ownership was totally different from what the European knows as ownership. The settlers fenced the land in and started drilling boreholes to pump the underground water up; something the Hereros had never done and are reluctant to do even today on their own. Here the trouble started. The merchants were happy to deliver goods to the chiefs on a credit-only basis. When the borrowers, did not pay, they were forced to pay their debts by having their cattle confiscated. By the way, this happens in modern Namibia every day. The then authorities forbade the selling of goods against credit. But it was too late. The young Hereros rebelled against this practice and beleaguered their chiefs to take action. The chiefs, who knew that they were the greedy culprits who handed over more and more cattle and land without having the mandate from their people, had only one way to secure their leadership. They agreed to lead their people into war. The war started in January 1904 with the unexpected slaughter of altogether about 150 German men, women and even children through Herero gangs. Farms were plundered and German settlements beleaguered. Samuel Maharero issued a proclamation, which asked for the murder of every German man except the missionaries, women and children. The Germans, of course, fought back. They had to contain the situation and fight with the few soldiers they had and wait for reinforcements from Germany. In August 1904 some Herero chiefs assembled in true nomadic fashion their families (at least more than 20 000) and their wealth (cattle) in the Waterberg area to wage ?a battle against the now 2 000 German soldiers. The battle was undecided. The Germans were totally exhausted. The Hereros trekked immediately after the battle in smaller groups with their whole belongings in the direction of Bechuanaland, now Botswana, on ways known to the Mbanderus and the Hereros for a long time. The Germans could not follow them. After two weeks they send an officers patrol to find out what happened. The patrol saw horrible pictures of dead people and cattle that perished because of lack of water. Corpses poisoned the wells. In the meantime the politicians had taken over and begun to develop their own ideas. General von Trotha , sent by the Kaiser to solve the war against the Hereros, issued in October 1904 – two months after the battle of Waterberg – a pamphlet ,directed to the Hereros. He forbade them in clear words (in the famous so-called extermination order) to come back. The “order” was in fact a proclamation in the language of that time for the Hereros. The German soldiers had been given the different order to drive back the Hereros in the direction of Botswana. Women and children would have to be frightened by shooting over their head, so that they would be forced to retreat. It was therefore a similar order, which Samuel Herero has given his people, how to handle the Germans. In December 1904, 11 months after the unsuspected murder of German civilians and after four months of the battle of Waterberg and two months after the proclamation (“order”) of General von Trotha, Mr. von Trotha and his “order” were withdrawn by the German authority because of political reasons after intensive debates in the German Reichstag and recommendations given by administrators and authorities from German South West Africa. That means, that the so called extermination order of Mr. von Trotha had a life of two months only and no practical consequences, but unfortunately the negative propaganda effect remained as it seems forever. In 1918 the famous ‘Blue Book’ was produceId by a British magistrate to prove the incapacity of Germans to run colonies. All colonies were taken from Germany and handed over to victors of the First World War. The Republic of South Africa administered South West Africa from then on. The “Blue Book” died a natural death afterwards, because many stories in it were found out to be in principle unfounded war propaganda and fabricated for one purpose only, to discredit the Germans. In the 1960s the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands or SED in East Germany (DDR) began to develop relations with the emerging freedom movements in the colonies in what they simple-mindedly called Afro-Asia. Under Russian supervision they gave them support, firstly through training in true Marxist-Leninist fashion. The Cold War was at its peak. They produced pamphlets, which were discrediting the ‘West’. Since parts of the archive of the German Army were stored in Potsdam (DDR) a scientist was asked by the party to produce a book about the Herero War oEf 1904,which could be used as an argument against the enemy. In due course Mr Horst Drechsler went through the archive and found the “extermination order” of General Trotha and other papers in relation to the Herero War of 1904. He put them together and fabricated a book, which could be used as an argument against whomever. He himself was not allowed to interview survivors or use archives in other parts of the world or even to leave the country. It became fashionable to use the word ‘genocide’ and to claim reparations. A whole bunch of so called scientists; lawyers and ,most important, politicians have taken it over in the meantime to feather their own nest. Nobody seems to be interested in what really happened. The ideologues from yesterday are still around and active. Their argumentation is based on a hollow foundation. The archives in Namibia, South Africa, Germany and Britain are full of documents, which would give a more balanced view, if one were interested. One can only hoIpe that the chiefs of today -black, white, Coloureds- have learned from the mistakes of their forefathers and follow a sober and realistic path. The future is for all Namibians and not for one tribe only.- Japie van Wyk – Walvis Bay