{"id":121871,"date":"2023-09-18T11:56:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T09:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/?p=121871"},"modified":"2024-05-06T16:59:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T14:59:40","slug":"stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html","title":{"rendered":"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><strong>Berlin still has a monument commemorating German soldiers who died as \u201cheroes\u201d during the Namibian campaign, which resulted in the genocide of the Herero and Nama about 120 years ago. This tombstone shows how dominant and resistant to change Germany\u2019s narrative is about its colonial past, according to scholar Anne van Mourik, who reflects on the controversial monument located in the German capital\u2019s Columbiadamm garrison cemetery that may be soon removed.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>In the garrison cemetery on Columbiadamm in Berlin's Neuk\u00f6lln district, there is a four-foot-tall stone which commemorates seven German soldiers who volunteered for the \u201ccampaign in South West Africa\u201d between January 1904 and March 1907 and \u201cdied a hero\u2019s death\u201d. In other words: this monument does not commemorate victims, but perpetrators of genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The stone, popularly known as the \u201cHerero Stone\u201d, dates from 1907 and refers to a short but important period within the German colonial rule of what is now Namibia (1884-1915). German colonial policy was characterized by land and cattle theft, racism, mistreatment and exploitation. Resistance of indigenous Herero and Nama was ruthlessly crushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1904, a surprise attack by Herero led to the October 2 \"extermination order\" from German Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha. German soldiers drove Herero into the desert where many died of thirst, hunger and exhaustion. From 1905, Herero and their Nama allies were imprisoned in concentration camps where they worked as slave laborers on railways or became victims of medical experiments. This genocide ultimately killed 50,000-65,000 of the 80,000-100,000 Herero and 10,000 of the 20,000 Nama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-1_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg\" alt=\"The &quot;Herero stone&quot; at Columbiadamm cemetery, Germany.\" class=\"wp-image-121851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-1_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-1_@Anne-van-Mourik-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-1_@Anne-van-Mourik-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-1_@Anne-van-Mourik-1110x740.jpg 1110w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The \"Herero stone\" at Columbiadamm cemetery honours the German soldiers who took part in the genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples in Namibia. \u00a9 Anne van Mourik, July 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conflicting-views-on-the-german-colonial-past\">Conflicting views on the German colonial past<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In light of this history, it is not surprising that the monument is not widely loved. Anyone who currently takes a walk in the cemetery will see, for example, that the stone has been daubed with the text: \u201cNo racist commemoration for Nazis and genocides\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The stained stone clearly shows the conflicting views on the German colonial past. On the one hand there is criticism expressed by the graffiti, namely that it is racist myopia to commemorate perpetrators of a colonial genocide. On the other hand, there is still a colonial approach to national history, which is mainly expressed here in silence and indifference. In 2023, there is not even a sign at the monument that explains German colonial rule or refers to the fact that the \u201ccampaign in South-West Africa\u201d is a colonial euphemism for genocide. Moreover, the stone only focuses on Germany's own suffering and there is no other monument in the city that commemorates the genocide. These omissions make the monument seem like an innocent memorial to seven lives. The loss of the colony in 1915 during World War I clearly does not mean a loss of a colonial bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The five-month-old graffiti on the stone, on the other hand, could be seen as a cry from society for postcolonial modernization. Such criticism may not be surprising today, but as is often the case with postcolonial criticism, it has a long history. In this case, there is a long chain of critical reactions to the monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-beating-around-the-bush\">Beating around the bush<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever since 1973, when the stone was moved from a barracks site to the cemetery, there were voices that the monument was offensive and inappropriate. But it was not until 2004 that local politicians felt compelled to do something with this criticism. An important reason for their sudden interest was a temporarymemorial plaque placed by various interest groups, in honor of the 100<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the genocide. This provisional plaque stated: \u201cIn memory of the victims of the German genocide in Namibia 1904-1908.\u201d Although the plaque \u201cdisappeared\u201d after only a few days, the local administration of Neuk\u00f6lln was now prepared more than ever to face the colonial genocide: in the same year the district assembly passed a motion submitted by the Social Democratic Party to erect a permanent memorial plaque for the victims of the genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But anyone who thinks that this changed vision regarding the German colonial past was going to be processed quickly, is wrong. It was only after five years of deliberation that a permanent plaque was placed at the monument. On a black placard placed at the foot of the stone in 2009 we can read in white-engraved letters: \u201cIn memory of the victims of the German colonial rule in Namibia 1884-1915 and in particular of the colonial war of 1904-1907.\u201d The term genocide, the mention of the Herero and Nama and that of casualty numbers remain absent. As such, the text disguises more than it reveals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-2_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg\" alt=\"Poster next to the &quot;Herero Stone&quot; (Germany). It reads &quot;In memory of the victims of German colonial rule in Namibia from 1884 to 1915, and in particular of the colonial war from 1904 to 1907&quot;.\" class=\"wp-image-121856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-2_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-2_@Anne-van-Mourik-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-2_@Anne-van-Mourik-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-2_@Anne-van-Mourik-1110x740.jpg 1110w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In 2009, this placard was placed next to the monument. It reads: \"In memory of the victims of the German colonial rule in Namibia 1884-1915 and in particular of the colonial war of 1904-1907\". \u00a9 Anne van Mourik, July 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason that this text beats around the bush has probably been money. If you look closely at the black placard, you will see that something has been written there and has been removed. The <a href=\"https:\/\/taz.de\/Afrikastein-in-Berlin-Neukoelln\/!5870084\/\">same activists<\/a> who defaced the stone last April wrote that \u201cBerlin's District Assembly and Neuk\u00f6lln District Office did not want to write \u2018genocide\u2019 here because that could justify reparations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a fair comment. In 2009, the Federal government had not yet recognized the genocide. What happened a century ago was not supposed to be a genocide but a \u201ccolonial war\u201d \u2013 to evade reparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why up to now the monument continues to tell a rather one-sided, colonial and outdated official story, and from time-to-time unofficial postcolonial updates become visible in the form of red paint and postcolonial slogans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-times-they-are-a-changin\">The times they are a-changin\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The question now is how the defaced monument fits in with today\u2019s German approach to the past. Historians recognize that for a long time little attention was paid to the colonial past in Germany. \u201cMany people only have a vague idea that Germany was a colonial power,\u201d says historian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/after-namibia-could-other-former-german-colonies-demand-reparations\/a-39924695\">J\u00fcrgen Zimmerer<\/a>. Only with publications by him (for example <em>Von Windhuk nach Auschwitz?<\/em>, 2011), or by Sebastian Conrad (<em>Globalisierung und Nation im Deutschen Kaiserreich<\/em>, 2006) did the colonial past receive more attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to historians such as Dirk Moses, we should see this long period of relative silence surrounding German colonial history as an unpleasant consequence of the great focus on the Holocaust and its uniqueness. The Shoah occupies such a dominant position in German remembrance culture that it stands in the way of commemoration of colonial crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But something is definitely changing. For example, this year, a feature film \u201cMeasures of Men\u201d was released. The film, directed by Lars Kraume, highlights Germany\u2019s brutal colonial past in what was then German South West Africa. Moreover, since the turn of the millennium, the subject has been increasingly included in German textbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, textbook inclusion of the colonial genocide does not necessarily mean a conscientious dealing with this past. For example, the 2003 textbook <em>Horizonte II: Geschichte f\u00fcr die Oberstufe<\/em> asked students to \u201ccontrast the positive and negative aspects of imperialism.\u201d Instead of reflecting on the German colonial project, the textbook still attempted to defuse criticism of the colonial project. In more modern textbooks, we see no such mitigation of colonialism. But here too, the intrinsically racist and oppressive nature of the entire colonial occupation is often (partly) ignored or distorted. The focus is mainly on German colonial experiences and perspectives, overlooking those of Herero and Nama. Colonialism thus becomes primarily a matter of suppressing a rebellion by Herero, resulting in an unfortunate genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-genocide-recognition-in-2021\">Genocide recognition in 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The temporary exhibition \u201cSchaumagazin Afrika\u201d in the prestigious Humboldt Forum in Berlin is doing a better job. The exhibition shows photos from the colonial period, interviews and reflections on German textbooks. By focusing on experiences of Namibians and people with a German-Namibian identity, the exhibition manages to break through the rigid national framework. It shows how the original population was continuously framed as inferior and how this view can still have an effect today. As such, the exhibition accounts for the root of current worldviews of different groups of people in German society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-3_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Black lives&quot; and &quot;Fight against imperialism&quot; inscribed on the &quot;Herero stone&quot; at Columbiadamm cemetery, Germany.\" class=\"wp-image-121846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-3_@Anne-van-Mourik.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-3_@Anne-van-Mourik-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-3_@Anne-van-Mourik-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Germany_Columbiadamm-cemetary-Herero-stone-3_@Anne-van-Mourik-1110x740.jpg 1110w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In 2020, activists wrote on the commemorative stone: \"Black lives\" and \"Fight against imperialism\". \u00a9 Roel Frakking, June 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The district administration of Neuk\u00f6lln also seems to be aware of the need for a different representation and commemoration of colonialism and the genocide. Thirteen years after the black placard was placed at the cemetery, the local government announced in 2022 that it strives for a redesign of the monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is the time finally ripe for a monument that does justice to this history? The recognition of the genocide by Angela Merkel's government in May 2021 is positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-talking-about-reparations\">Talking about reparations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The press release from the Neuk\u00f6lln museum, which is organizing an exhibition on the memory of the genocide in November 2023, also gives hope. The focus on memory suggests that the exhibition will reflect on the different ways in which the genocide has been portrayed and politicized over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But let's not celebrate too soon. It still appears to be easy to ignore the experiences and voices of formerly colonized groups. The exclusion of Herero and Nama representatives from talks about reparations for German colonial crimes makes that painfully clear. Without involving these groups, the Federal government and the Namibian government agreed in 2021 that Germany would pay 1.1 billion euros to Namibian development projects. Descendants of the genocide victims prefer that the reparations go directly to them. Not only do they fear embezzlement of the money, they also want to be able to tackle the poverty and marginalization as a result of the genocide. They therefore demand that Namibia renegotiate the reparations and ask for a place at the negotiating table. The fact that the voices of Herero and Nama are not central to these conversations shows how colonial ideas still find their way into the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether the difficulties surrounding the reparations will also influence the redesign of the Neuk\u00f6lln monument remains to be seen. Despite the increased willingness to adopt a postcolonial approach, the colonial paradigm in which we view the past has proved to be quite dominant. This Fall we will find out exactly how dominant this one-sided and often concealing narrative still is. Let's hope that a changing German society has managed to create space for the postcolonial voices that have been sounding for so long. Because only when the Neuk\u00f6lln memorial recognizes the victims of the Herero and Nama genocide can we say that there is no more \u201cracist memorial for Nazis and genocides\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"articleLink articleLink--editorRecommanded articleLink--textInImage articleLink--textTop\" style=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"articleLinkSurTitle\">Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<a class=\"articleLinkImageLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/38836-namibians-victim-of-genocide-press-for-german-apology.html\"><div class=\"articleLinkImageContainer \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/f370a7a63bf1d318fbbd24e993761a6c-540x360.jpg\" class=\"articleLinkImage backgroundImageTag w-100 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/f370a7a63bf1d318fbbd24e993761a6c-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/f370a7a63bf1d318fbbd24e993761a6c.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/38836-namibians-victim-of-genocide-press-for-german-apology.html\" class=\"articleLinkTitle articleLinkTitle--default\">\r\n\t\t\tNamibians victim of genocide press for German apology\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"content-encadre\">\r\n\t<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-88490 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Anne-van-Mourik.jpg\" alt=\"Anne van Mourik\" width=\"201\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Anne-van-Mourik.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Anne-van-Mourik-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/>ANNE VAN MOURIK<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anne van Mourik is a PhD candidate at the Niod Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam. Until 2020 she worked as a researcher in the \u2018Independence, Decolonization, Violence and War in Indonesia 1945-50\u2019 program. Together with Peter Romijn,\u00a0Remco Raben and Maarten van der Bent she worked on the research project about the ways politicians and colonial administrators dealt with large-scale violence.\u200b\u00a0Her current research explores victimhood\/perpetrator discourses with regard to German hunger during and after both world wars.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Berlin still has a monument commemorating German soldiers who died as \u201cheroes\u201d during the Namibian campaign, which resulted in the genocide of the Herero and Nama about 120 years ago. This tombstone shows how dominant and resistant to change Germany\u2019s narrative is about its colonial past, according to scholar Anne van Mourik, who reflects on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":121841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[545,567,544],"tags":[2635],"ji_location":[2239,2367],"class_list":["post-121871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memory","category-opinion","category-reparations","tag-genocide-2","ji_location-germany","ji_location-namibia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3.1 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Genocide in Namibia: is Germany short-sighted?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany&#039;s colonial past.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany&#039;s colonial past.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JusticeInfo.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"998\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Van Mourik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Van Mourik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anne Van Mourik\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ad9693e9bf57dfd53e166b5a5ae85dcd\"},\"headline\":\"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\"},\"wordCount\":1782,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"genocide\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Memory\",\"Opinion\",\"Reparations\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\",\"name\":\"Genocide in Namibia: is Germany short-sighted?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany's colonial past.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":998,\"caption\":\"German troops fighting the Herero, in a 1904 propaganda painting. In Berlin in 2023, the revision of Germany's colonial history in Namibia is still under way. Painting by Richard Kn\u00f6tel.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"name\":\"JusticeInfo.net\",\"description\":\"For justice to be done, it must be seen\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Justice Info\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Justice Info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Anne Van Mourik\",\"url\":\"\/en\/?s=Anne Van Mourik\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Genocide in Namibia: is Germany short-sighted?","description":"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany's colonial past.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory","og_description":"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany's colonial past.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html","og_site_name":"JusticeInfo.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","article_published_time":"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":998,"url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anne Van Mourik","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_site":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anne Van Mourik","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html"},"author":{"name":"Anne Van Mourik","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ad9693e9bf57dfd53e166b5a5ae85dcd"},"headline":"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory","datePublished":"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html"},"wordCount":1782,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg","keywords":["genocide"],"articleSection":["Memory","Opinion","Reparations"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html","name":"Genocide in Namibia: is Germany short-sighted?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-18T09:56:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-06T14:59:40+00:00","description":"A controversial monument in Berlin obscures the genocide in Namibia. The starting point for a deeper reflection on the memory of Germany's colonial past.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Namibia_Herero-german-troops-painting_@Richard-Knotel.jpg","width":1200,"height":998,"caption":"German troops fighting the Herero, in a 1904 propaganda painting. In Berlin in 2023, the revision of Germany's colonial history in Namibia is still under way. Painting by Richard Kn\u00f6tel."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/121871-stroll-germany-conflicted-postcolonial-memory.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A stroll into Germany\u2019s conflicted postcolonial memory"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","name":"JusticeInfo.net","description":"For justice to be done, it must be seen","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization","name":"Justice Info","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","width":1199,"height":1200,"caption":"Justice Info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Anne Van Mourik","url":"\/en\/?s=Anne Van Mourik"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121871"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131635,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121871\/revisions\/131635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121871"},{"taxonomy":"ji_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ji_location?post=121871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}