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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Genocide, Apology and Reparation: the linkage between images of the past in Namibia and Germany
| Panel |
82. AEGIS related journals panel: Africa's contested memories
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| Paper ID | 726 |
| Author(s) |
Koessler, Reinhart
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| Paper |
View paper (PDF)
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| Abstract | The apology for the genocide, committed by the German colonial army in 1904 during the Herero-German war, that was offered by a German Cabinet Minister in the course of the commemorative event at Ohamakari (Waterberg) in 2004 seemingly ushered in a new phase in a long process of controversial constructions of the past. In a number of ways, such constructions constituted a long-time, if discontinuous, exchange between Namibia and Germany. Especially since the hopes for an equitable and decent dealing with the past and in particular the genocide, that had been raised by the Minister's bold move seem to be dashed by now, it is to be expected that this specific form of interchange will continue for some time. It brings together an array of stakeholders in Namibia whose activity and voice vary widely, as they include, besides the government, spokespersons of various Herero groups, some Nama and Damara voices, German speakers of various strands, the churches, and civil society organisations. The situation is also marked by the much lesser public interest that, in comparison to Namibia, can be mobilised in Germany, where also an array of actors, mainly in politics, civil society, academia and the churches are active, even though in other ways than in Namibia. Recent developments point to a whole set of controversies also among such actors. Positions taken range from debate on the meaning of genocide through the issue of a political response to the government's stand on reparations, right to outright tendencies towards colonial revisionism. One main interest of the paper will be to explore the interchange and communication of such controversy with public debate in Namibia and thus, to contribute towards an understanding of cross-cutting and mutually reflective constructions of the past in both countries.
The paper will draw on various former contributions by the author, including the mémoires grises issue of Politique Africaine, but it will also be innovative in the attempt to draw the observations on the two countries together and to explore their interaction more closely. |
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