Genocide: - DIIS

Henrik Lundtofte
The central part of South West Africa was inhabited by the Herero, a seminomadic
tribe, the size of the population of which is strongly disputed;
fi gures from the period put the Herero population at between 35 and a
100 thousand. Theodor Leutwein, the longest reigning German governor,
puts the Herero population at 70 to 80 thousand, but the fi gures in 1904
were presumably lower, the Herero having been hard hit by epidemics
at the turn of the century. A likely fi gure around 1904 is therefore 60 to 70
thousand. 16
The Herero lived on the relatively fertile central highland and their existence
centred on herds of cattle which not only gave the Herero food but
were of central importance in giving prestige and had religious signifi -
cance.
There is consensus in the historical literature to the effect that the long
term German intention in South West Africa from the beginning of the
1890s was to establish a colony of settlers economically based on cattle
raising. The Herero, in possession of both land and cattle, held the key to
the creation of a thriving colony. 17 However, the view of the situation taken
by the Herero was not compatible with German intentions. The governor
of South West Africa, Theodor Leutwein, thus stated in a letter to Berlin in
1894; “The Herero refrain from two things which directly confl ict with our
colonial efforts”. On the one hand, Leutwein emphasized, the Herero were
unwilling to sell land to white people – on the other hand they did not
commercialize their livestock but tried to increase it infi nitely. 18
The potential for confl ict was as may be seen apparent, the Herero in
preventing the development of a rational European production of cattle,
16 Theodor Leutwein (1906), Elf Jahre Gouverneur in Deutsch-Südwestafrika. Berlin; Krüger
(1999), 64-65.
17 Drechsler (1966), p. 137-41; Krüger (1999), p. 32.
18 “Die Hereros scheuen vor zwei Dingen zurück, die mit unseren kolonialen Bestrebungen in
direktem Widerspruch stehen. Einerseits wollen sie kein Land an Weisse verkaufen, sondern
diesen lediglich die Erlaubnis zum dort wohnen geben, andererseits ihre Ochsenherden
nicht verwerten, sondern in das Ungemessene vermehren“. Cited in Drechsler (1966), p.
100.
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