The Herero and Nama Genocide

In 1904, German colonial forces in present-day Namibia committed what historians recognize as the 20th century's first genocide. When the Herero rebelled against land seizures, General Lothar von Trotha issued an extermination order:

• German forces drove tens of thousands of Herero into the Omaheke Desert and sealed the border
• Wells were poisoned to prevent return
• Survivors were held in concentration camps with brutal death rates
• The Nama people faced similar treatment soon after

Germany did not officially acknowledge the genocide until 2021, more than a century later. Herero and Nama descendants widely criticized the compensation offered as far too little.