Tears, anger as Germany returns human remains from Namibian genocide

Descendants of those killed during German colonial rule slam Berlin for taking too long to issue formal apology, call for reparations

A man holds a lit candle next to one of two skulls on display during a handover ceremony of human remains taken from Namibia, in the French Church in Berlin on August 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/John Macdougall)
A man holds a lit candle next to one of two skulls on display during a handover ceremony of human remains taken from Namibia, in the French Church in Berlin on August 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/John Macdougall)

BERLIN (AFP) — Germany on Wednesday handed back human remains seized from Namibia a century ago after the slaughter of indigenous people under its colonial rule, but angry descendants slammed Berlin for failing to properly atone for the dark chapter.

Herero chief Vekuii Rukoro, whose ancestors were among the tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people massacred between 1904 and 1908, said the handover ceremony should have taken place not in a Berlin church, but a German government building.

He also accused Berlin of taking too long to formally apologize for what is often called the first genocide of the 20th century.

“By trying not to acknowledge the past, the German government will continue to make serious mistakes as regards present and future policies,” Rukoro told the church audience, which included government officials from both countries.

“We are after all the direct descendants of these remains and we should not be ignored.”

A woman wipes away a tear during a handover ceremony of human remains taken from Namibia, in the French Church in Berlin on August 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/John Macdougall)

A Namibian delegation formally received the remains, including 19 skulls, a scalp and bones, during the church ceremony.

Michelle Muentefering, a minister of state for international cultural policies in the German foreign ministry, asked “for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart” as she handed over the remains to Namibia’s culture minister.

Namibia’s Culture Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa (3rdL) and German Minister of State in the foreign ministry Michelle Muentefering (3rdR) stand together during a handover ceremony of human remains taken from Namibia, in the French Church in Berlin on August 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/John Macdougall)

Several Herero women in traditional, cow-horn shaped headdress wiped away tears during the at times emotional proceedings.

“May the remains of our ancestors finally go home to Namibia in peace. May they return to the dust from which they came. May justice be done and faith in humanity be restored,” said Nama chief Johannes Isaack.

Outside the venue, some two dozen protesters held up signs that read “Repatriation without an official apology?” and “Reparations Now!”

No reparations

The German government announced in 2016 that it planned to issue an official apology for the atrocities committed by German imperial troops.

But it remains locked in talks with the Namibian government on a joint declaration on the massacres.

It has also refused to pay direct reparations, arguing instead that German development aid worth hundreds of millions of euros since Namibia’s independence from South Africa in 1990 was “for the benefit of all Namibians.”

Angered by Berlin’s stance, representatives of the Hereros and Namas have filed a class-action lawsuit in a US court demanding reparations.

They also want a seat at the table in the discussions between the German and Namibian governments.

Demonstrators display a banner outside the venue where a handover ceremony was taking place for human remains taken from Namibia, in the French Church in Berlin on August 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/John Macdougall)

“They are still negotiating on an appropriate text… for an apology. That’s a big joke,” chief Rukoro said during the service, wearing a red, military-style dress uniform.

He accused both countries of trying to sideline him and others from the handover proceedings, saying he had been told in advance “not to embarrass the two governments.”

He also blasted the decision to hold the ceremony at the French Church in Berlin.

“We don’t believe that it is bigger and more dignified than all the government buildings of the federal government in Berlin.”

Rukoro and Nama chief Isaack are both plaintiffs in the US lawsuit.

The New York judge in the case has yet to rule on whether to hear the suit, which Germany wants thrown out on the grounds of state immunity from prosecution.

‘Extermination order’

Incensed by German settlers stealing their land, women and cattle, the Hereros revolted in 1904 and killed more than 100 German civilians over several days. The Nama people joined the uprising in 1905.

Determined to crush the rebellion, General Lothar von Trotha signed a notorious “extermination order” that would lead to the deaths of some 60,000 Hereros and 10,000 Nama people.

Many were murdered by German imperial troops while others, driven into the desert or rounded up in prison camps, died from thirst, hunger and exposure.

Dozens were beheaded after their deaths, their skulls sent to researchers in Germany for discredited “scientific” experiments that purported to prove the racial superiority of white Europeans.

Surviving Herero after they escape through the arid desert of Omaheke in German South-West Africa, modern day Namibia. (Public domain)

In some instances, captured Herero women were made to boil the decapitated heads and scrape them clean with shards of glass.

Research carried out by German professor Eugen Fischer on the skulls and bones resulted in theories later used by the Nazis to justify the murder of Jews.

Germany has previously repatriated human remains to Namibia in 2011 and 2014.

The remains, many of which were stored on dusty shelves in universities and clinics, were “often stolen… brought to Germany without respect for human dignity,” according to the German foreign ministry.

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