Genocide: - DIIS

Henrik Lundtofte
Leutwein and the Department for the Colonies under the Foreign Offi ce
began to lose infl uence to powerful central military institutions such as the
General Staff and the War Ministry. The combination of military re-inforcements
and mistrust of Leutwein led to a demand for the appointment of a
new commander-in-chief of the forces in South West Africa. In the ensuing
struggle for infl uence the Department for the Colonies under the Foreign
Offi ce had little opportunity to make its infl uence felt, it being the military
power structure and, as the fi nal instance, Kaiser Wilhelm, who alone
appointed a commander-in-chief. The choice fell on General Trotha. 86
Although, as previously mentioned, Trotha was given free hands by the
Kaiser to pacify the rebels, the movement away from civil to military institutions,
the replacement of the politically able Leutwein by Trotha and
the massive increase in the German forces meant that the rebellion was to
be crushed by military means alone. Trotha’s carte blanche existed only on
paper, in reality a diplomatic solution was out of the question.
In this way the power structure in Berlin responded to dissatisfaction
with Governor Leutwein who throughout his period as governor had
had to contend with accusations of being too mild in his treatment of the
Africans. In contrast, from the very start, Trotha refused to consider the
peace overtures of the Herero. Before setting foot on the soil of South West
Africa Trotha had declared war in the territory. In this way the general
made actual the headlines in the German press reporting the fi rst war since
1870-71. 87
Calling the Herero rebellion war is a choice of terms of central importance
making the confl ict in South West Africa different in character from other
colonial confl icts in which Germany had been involved, such confl icts
usually being termed “risings.” The crushing of the Herero rebellion thus
became militarized while at the same time considerable prestige was invested
in the outcome of the confl ict due to the unprecedented extent of
the intervention of the General Staff and the Kaiser. According to Bridgman
the early victories of the Herero in the Spring of 1904 caused German
frustration which led to the military leadership deciding to conduct a war
86 Bley (1968), p. 195-200.
87 Krüger (1999), p. 53; Bley (1968), p. 195-203.
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