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Germany's Genocide of the Herero: Kaiser Wilhelm II, His General, His Settlers, His Soldiers. By Jeremy Sarkin. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press, 2011. Pp. xi + 276. Cloth $80.00. ISBN 978-1919895475.
The initial return of twenty skulls from Germany to Namibia in September and October 2011 recalled a dark chapter in the history of both countries. Descendants of the Herero and the Nama (as well as the Damara) brought back the remains of their forefathers killed during what they refer to as the Namibian-German war of 1904-1908. For them, this was an act of genocide committed by the German Schutztruppe, as the colonial army was euphemistically called. For German governments since then, this was a colonial war just like many others.
While Germany has supported Namibia since independence with generous bilateral aid in explicit recognition of historical responsibility, it has never made an official admission of genocide or an apology. This contentious issue remains a political hot iron, with the Namibian government reluctant to support the demands for reparations advanced mainly by the Herero since Namibia's independence in 1990. Jeremy Sarkin, a professor of law at the South African University of the Western Cape and an attorney in the United States and South Africa, represented the Herero in a hitherto unsuccessful reparation claim initiated in an American court against Germany, and has already published several articles as well...