Germany admits to genocide in Namibia during colonial rule

Berlin promises financial support worth more than €1 billion for aid projects in the African country

Germany announced on Friday that it would pay more than €1 billion ($1.22bn) to aid projects in Namibia after recognising for the first time that it committed genocide during its occupation of the African country.

The announcement came after more than five years of negotiations between the two countries over events in the territory controlled by Germany from 1884 to 1915.

"We will now officially refer to these events as what they are from today's perspective: genocide," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Namibia said the announcement was a "first step".

German colonial settlers killed tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908 – acts considered by historians to be the first genocide of the 20th century.

"The acceptance on the part of Germany that a genocide was committed is the first step in the right direction," said Alfredo Hengari, a spokesman for Namibian President Hage Geingob.

"It is the basis for the second step, which is an apology, to be followed by reparations."

While Berlin previously acknowledged that atrocities occurred at the hands of its colonial authorities, it repeatedly refused to pay direct reparations.

Mr Maas said Germany would ask forgiveness from Namibia and the descendants of the victims of the massacres "in light of the historical and moral responsibility of Germany".

In a "gesture to recognise the immense suffering inflicted on the victims", Berlin will support the "reconstruction and the development" of Namibia through a financial programme of €1.1bn, he said.

The sum will be paid over 30 years, according to sources close to the negotiations, and must primarily benefit the descendants of the Herero and Nama.

But Mr Maas stopped short of referring to reparations, saying the payment did not open the way to any "legal request for compensation".

Mr Geingob will convene meetings with the affected communities in the coming weeks to work out the "implementation modalities of what has been agreed with Germany", Mr Hengari said.

Namibia was called German South West Africa during Berlin's rule. It was then ruled by South Africa for 75 years, before gaining independence in 1990.

Tensions with German colonial authorities boiled over in 1904 when the Herero – deprived of their livestock and land – rose up, followed by the Nama, in an insurrection crushed by imperial troops.

In the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904, about 80,000 Herero, including women and children, fled and were pursued by German troops across what is now known as the Kalahari Desert. Only 15,000 survived.

German military commander Lothar von Trotha, sent to put down the rebellion, issued an "extermination order" that year.

At least 60,000 Herero and about 10,000 Nama were killed between 1904 and 1908.

Colonial soldiers carried out mass executions and forced men, women and children to flee to the desert, where thousands died of thirst. They also established concentration camps, including one on Shark Island in southern Namibia.

The atrocities committed during colonisation affected relations between Berlin and Windhoek for years.

In 2015, the countries started negotiating an agreement that would combine an official apology from Germany and development aid.

But in August last year, Namibia said Germany's offers were unacceptable. No details of the offers were provided at the time.

Mr Geingob said Berlin declined to accept the term "reparations".

But in an effort to ease reconciliation, in 2018 Germany returned the bones of members of the Herero and Nama tribes, with Minister of State for International Cultural Policy Michelle Muentefering asking for "forgiveness from the bottom of my heart".