Genocide and Its Features
Senior 1 · History and Citizenship
Genocide and Its Features
Lesson 4 of 5
25 min
The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi (Lesson 5) was not the first genocide of the twentieth century. Figure 4 shows two earlier cases: one in Africa, under colonial rule, and one in Europe. Read them with the stages of genocide (Lesson 2) in mind.
Worked example: finding the stages on a timeline
Question: Use Figure 4 and Lesson 2 to show that the Holocaust was a process, not a sudden event.
Definition
The Holocaust: "the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators" between 1933 and 1945 (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). In Hebrew it is called the Shoah, "catastrophe".
Definition
Herero and Nama genocide: the destruction of the Herero and Nama peoples by the German colonial army in German South West Africa (today Namibia) between 1904 and 1908. It is often called the first genocide of the twentieth century.
Definition
Concentration camp: a place where large numbers of people are imprisoned without trial, usually in harsh conditions and often with forced labour. Example: the camp on Shark Island, near Lüderitz, Namibia, used from 1905.
Definition
Nazi: a member or supporter of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, led by Adolf Hitler, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 and spread antisemitism (hatred of Jews) and racist ideas.
| Point of comparison | Herero and Nama genocide | The Holocaust |
|---|---|---|
| When | 1904 to 1908 | 1933 to 1945 |
| Where | German South West Africa, today Namibia | Nazi Germany and the countries it occupied or controlled in Europe |
| Who carried it out | the German colonial army, under General Lothar von Trotha | the Nazi German regime, its allies and collaborators |
| Who was targeted | the Herero (Ovaherero) and Nama peoples | the Jews of Europe; the Nazis also persecuted and murdered Roma, people with disabilities and others |
| Scale | historians estimate that about 80% of the Herero and about half of the Nama died | about six million Jews were murdered |
| Evidence of intent | von Trotha's order of 2 October 1904 declared that Herero found in the colony would be driven out or killed | laws, orders and plans of the Nazi state, including the Wannsee meeting of January 1942 |
| How it ended | the camps were closed in 1908, after protests in Germany and abroad | the Allied armies defeated Nazi Germany in May 1945 |
| Recognition and remembrance | Germany acknowledged it as genocide in 2021; Namibia first held a national Genocide Remembrance Day on 28 May 2025 | Nuremberg trials (1945 to 1946); the United Nations' International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January |
Important
In January 1904, the Herero rose against German colonial rule, which had taken much of their land and cattle. After the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904, many Herero fled into the Omaheke desert, and on 2 October 1904 the German commander, Lothar von Trotha, issued his order against them. The Nama, led by Hendrik Witbooi, took up arms later in 1904. From 1905, survivors of both peoples were held in concentration camps, such as the one on Shark Island near Lüderitz, where very many died from forced labour, hunger and disease.
For most of the twentieth century this genocide was hardly remembered outside Namibia: a clear case of the last stage, denial. Herero and Nama communities campaigned for decades. In 2021 the German government acknowledged the events as genocide and offered development aid; many descendants say they were left out of the talks and continue to ask for reparations. In 2025 Namibia held its first national Genocide Remembrance Day, on 28 May.
Why do you think it took more than a hundred years for the Herero and Nama genocide to be officially recognised, while the Holocaust was put on trial at Nuremberg within months? What does this tell you about power, colonial rule and whose history is remembered?
Warning
Compare, but never rank. We compare genocides to understand how they happen and how to prevent them. Every genocide is a crime against a whole people; never say that one was "worse" or "less" than another, and never use a comparison to make any genocide seem smaller.
Tip
Dates to learn: Herero and Nama, 1904 to 1908; the Holocaust, 1933 to 1945. Remembrance days: 27 January (Holocaust, United Nations) and 28 May (Namibia).
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: "Some Were Neighbors". Holocaust survivors describe how neighbours, classmates and friends made choices: some joined in, many stood by, and a few helped. Listen for the reasons people gave, and link them to the idea of the upstander (Unit 10). Teachers should preview it before class.
Practice
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
