NDN Staffer
BERLIN, April 25 — Germany’s atrocities during World War II and the Holocaust are widely known, but the country’s colonial-era genocide in Namibia has often been overlooked. The new film, “Measures of Men” by Lars Kraume, sheds light on Germany’s neglected crimes by telling the story of a German ethnologist who travels to German South West Africa in the early 1900s to study the country’s indigenous peoples and harvest their skulls. The film’s release in German cinemas on March 23 has generated widespread discussion, including special screenings in schools and the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
Germany’s colonial empire, though smaller than those of France and Britain, included parts of several African countries, including present-day Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, and Cameroon. In Namibia, Germany committed mass killings of indigenous Herero and Nama people, a genocide that many historians refer to as the first of the 20th century. Over the past two decades, Germany has gradually begun to acknowledge and discuss the massacre, including returning skulls and other human remains from Namibia that had been taken to Berlin for “scientific” experiments. In May 2021, the country officially acknowledged its responsibility for the genocide and pledged a billion euros in financial support to the descendants of the victims.
“Measures of Men” is an important contribution to raising awareness among Germans about their country’s past atrocities. While the film is told mainly from the German perspective, the Herero translator, Kezia Kambazembi, also plays a significant role. Israel Kaunatjike, a Herero rights activist based in Berlin, was moved by the film and hopes that a perspective from the Herero and Nama on the same events would be shown in the future. However, as Kaunatjike notes, funding for such a project is currently lacking.
Both Kraume and Kaunatjike believe that Germany still has a long way to go in acknowledging and reckoning with its colonial past. Kraume calls for an official request for forgiveness from the German president in Namibia and the return of all Herero and Nama skulls and bones still in German collections for burial. Kaunatjike notes that while development aid is a positive step, it is not a substitute for reparations. “Measures of Men” is a crucial step in acknowledging Germany’s colonial-era genocide and bringing it to the forefront of discussions. – Namibia Daily News
So, turns out Germany didn’t just stop at one genocide – they had a whole colonial-era one in Namibia too, where they went around killing indigenous people and even took their skulls as souvenirs. But don’t worry, a new movie called “Measures of Men” is finally shining a light on this forgotten atrocity. It’s been causing quite a stir in Germany, with special screenings in schools and even in parliament. And the best part? Germany has now officially acknowledged their responsibility and is giving a billion euros to the victims’ descendants. So, I guess that makes up for it, right? Not according to some activists who say there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of reparations and asking for forgiveness. But hey, at least we’re finally talking about it!
