Demise of the first
During this project I learned about imperialism in Africa. My specific event was the Herero Genocide which occurred in Southern Africa after Germany decide to attack. Many Herero people were murdered and tortured, that’s what I based my visual piece off of.
Op-ed
Chloe Sturm
October 8, 2020
The Forgotten Genocide
“Within the German boundaries, every Herero, whether found armed or unarmed, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall not accept any more women and children.” - Lothar Von Trotha, Lieut. Gen. Of Berlin, Germany Forces
During the war for land after the discovery of Africa, a dangerous war took place, killing tens-of-thousands and separating thousands of Africans. South-West Africa, now known as Namibia, was colonized in 1884 by Germany. Many remaining citizens of Namibia have claimed that Germany still has to pay for the damage they caused. In 1904, one of the first ever recorded genocides in the 20th century took place in Namibia, where the Herero people revolted against the German commanders. Many Herero and Nama lives were lost, as well as kidnapped, captured, raped and medically/scientifically experimented on.
The Germans used very brutal techniques and tactics to colonize the Namibian people, many of them included dehydration, sexual assault, dehumanization, torture, and enslavement. Many women and children were murdered, in hopes of successfully wiping out “monsters” as seen by European colonists. The German colonists in Namibia practiced a dangerous aray of white supremacy and brutality that ultimately lead to the Herero Genocide.
On the day of the attack on the Herero people, Lothar Von Trotha, German military commander during the European colonial era. He served as Governor of South West Africa, and Commander in Chief of German Military Forces, in which he struck against a native rebellion during the Herero War (Erichsen). He was widely known for his brutality in the Herero Genocide, particularly for his role in the genocide that led to the near end of the Herero. Trotha moved his troops gradually across the desert to surround the Herero, where they were trapped and unarmed. Many Herero were unprepared for a fight, and Trotha’s forces were successful. Many of those who had not escaped farther into the desert, were captured and imprisoned, leaving them vulnerable and helpless, those who had escaped were poisoned by Lothar, His troops poisoned the drinking wells near to where the Herero were staying.
Lothar Von Trotha had purposely put the Herero people in a vulnerable position by surrounding and attacking. Though the Herero people had no choice but to fight, Trotha used his surroundings to his advantage, leaving the Herero with no other options. It was either fight and lose, or surrender and become a slave. The Herero leader tried his best to stay afloat during the brutal attack, but to no avail they lost. Unfortunately, Trotha’s inhumane attack had successfully put Germany above the Herero, allowing them to take their land, along with their freedom. As trotha states, “A humane war cannot be waged against those who are not human.” (Zimmerer) The Herero were not seen as humans, rather they were perceived as animalistic or primitive beings. This proves Trotha and his troops were white supremicists acting upon greed and ignorance.
Many stories of The Herero Revolt convey the brutality of concentration camps for the Herero and Nama people. One popular camp was known as Shark Island or Death Island, located on the gulf of Namibia. Shark Island was used decades before the holocast and killed up to 3,000 people. Inmates were starved, beaten or worked to death. There were plenty of other camps placed in the most heavily populated and work deprived places in Namibia. 80 percent of Herero people in Namibia were killed in concentration camps like Shark Island Camp. (Herero Revolt 1904-1907)
Herero Slaves were often used to mine, farm, dig, build and serve their owners. Many female slaves were used to labor German babies and were castorized. Hundreds of slaves were hung each week. Children were used to experiment on, they were injected with diseases like smallpox and observed. Many were killed and had forgotten who they were. They were tortured so harshly that they often lost their minds. Germans justified this by claiming the Herero weren't human and deserved to perish without mercy (Montreal Holocast Museum). This only results in the desire to oppress a group of minorities and eventually eliminate them. This method for elimination is horrible and inhumane, similar to the methods Nazis used of jews.
Many German imperialists had used these methods because they wanted to whip out the entire race of Herero. Many Herero and Nam people were seen as ‘monkeys’ or inhumane. The torture performed on these people was justified by the internal underlying racisism the germans had towards the Herero. The Germans wanted to use their power to override anyone who wasn't white. This mindset was seen during the many occasions of torture mentioned thorught this piece. For Example, assault by commanders and ‘superior’ figures such as mine owners and military commanders who many if not all were white supremacists and believed they were in the right with their actions.
The first ever genocide commited in the 20th century left tens of thousands of Africans fearful, trapped, helpless, scarred and forgotten. Many lives will never be evenged for the horrible events that occurred during the Herero Revolt, but we cannot forget about those who vanished. Lothar Von Trotha, a German Army Commander was responsible for the killing and torture of thousands of Herero and Nam people. Trotha was remebered for sentenceing thousands of innocent prisoners to work camps, unjust lynching and permanant medical experimentation. Still to this day, Namibian inhibitors claim Germany still hasn't paid. Though the genocide has already ended, the conseqeunces will never.
Works Cited
Casper Erichsen., “German-Herero conflict of 1904–07”. Encyclopædia Britannica,, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. January 05, 2020, September 25, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-Herero-conflict-of-1904-1907
“Herero Revolt 1904-1907.” South African History Online, September 22 2020. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/herero-revolt-1904-1907
Dr Jürgen Zimmerer and Prof. Benyamin Neuberger, “Herero and Nam Genocide.” The Combat Genocide Assosiation,Dror Isreal Movement, September 25 2020, https://combatgenocide.org/?page_id=153
“Herero Genocide in Namibia.” Montreal Holocast Museum, September 25, 2020, https://museeholocauste.ca/en/resources-training/ten-stages-genocide/
October 8, 2020
The Forgotten Genocide
“Within the German boundaries, every Herero, whether found armed or unarmed, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall not accept any more women and children.” - Lothar Von Trotha, Lieut. Gen. Of Berlin, Germany Forces
During the war for land after the discovery of Africa, a dangerous war took place, killing tens-of-thousands and separating thousands of Africans. South-West Africa, now known as Namibia, was colonized in 1884 by Germany. Many remaining citizens of Namibia have claimed that Germany still has to pay for the damage they caused. In 1904, one of the first ever recorded genocides in the 20th century took place in Namibia, where the Herero people revolted against the German commanders. Many Herero and Nama lives were lost, as well as kidnapped, captured, raped and medically/scientifically experimented on.
The Germans used very brutal techniques and tactics to colonize the Namibian people, many of them included dehydration, sexual assault, dehumanization, torture, and enslavement. Many women and children were murdered, in hopes of successfully wiping out “monsters” as seen by European colonists. The German colonists in Namibia practiced a dangerous aray of white supremacy and brutality that ultimately lead to the Herero Genocide.
On the day of the attack on the Herero people, Lothar Von Trotha, German military commander during the European colonial era. He served as Governor of South West Africa, and Commander in Chief of German Military Forces, in which he struck against a native rebellion during the Herero War (Erichsen). He was widely known for his brutality in the Herero Genocide, particularly for his role in the genocide that led to the near end of the Herero. Trotha moved his troops gradually across the desert to surround the Herero, where they were trapped and unarmed. Many Herero were unprepared for a fight, and Trotha’s forces were successful. Many of those who had not escaped farther into the desert, were captured and imprisoned, leaving them vulnerable and helpless, those who had escaped were poisoned by Lothar, His troops poisoned the drinking wells near to where the Herero were staying.
Lothar Von Trotha had purposely put the Herero people in a vulnerable position by surrounding and attacking. Though the Herero people had no choice but to fight, Trotha used his surroundings to his advantage, leaving the Herero with no other options. It was either fight and lose, or surrender and become a slave. The Herero leader tried his best to stay afloat during the brutal attack, but to no avail they lost. Unfortunately, Trotha’s inhumane attack had successfully put Germany above the Herero, allowing them to take their land, along with their freedom. As trotha states, “A humane war cannot be waged against those who are not human.” (Zimmerer) The Herero were not seen as humans, rather they were perceived as animalistic or primitive beings. This proves Trotha and his troops were white supremicists acting upon greed and ignorance.
Many stories of The Herero Revolt convey the brutality of concentration camps for the Herero and Nama people. One popular camp was known as Shark Island or Death Island, located on the gulf of Namibia. Shark Island was used decades before the holocast and killed up to 3,000 people. Inmates were starved, beaten or worked to death. There were plenty of other camps placed in the most heavily populated and work deprived places in Namibia. 80 percent of Herero people in Namibia were killed in concentration camps like Shark Island Camp. (Herero Revolt 1904-1907)
Herero Slaves were often used to mine, farm, dig, build and serve their owners. Many female slaves were used to labor German babies and were castorized. Hundreds of slaves were hung each week. Children were used to experiment on, they were injected with diseases like smallpox and observed. Many were killed and had forgotten who they were. They were tortured so harshly that they often lost their minds. Germans justified this by claiming the Herero weren't human and deserved to perish without mercy (Montreal Holocast Museum). This only results in the desire to oppress a group of minorities and eventually eliminate them. This method for elimination is horrible and inhumane, similar to the methods Nazis used of jews.
Many German imperialists had used these methods because they wanted to whip out the entire race of Herero. Many Herero and Nam people were seen as ‘monkeys’ or inhumane. The torture performed on these people was justified by the internal underlying racisism the germans had towards the Herero. The Germans wanted to use their power to override anyone who wasn't white. This mindset was seen during the many occasions of torture mentioned thorught this piece. For Example, assault by commanders and ‘superior’ figures such as mine owners and military commanders who many if not all were white supremacists and believed they were in the right with their actions.
The first ever genocide commited in the 20th century left tens of thousands of Africans fearful, trapped, helpless, scarred and forgotten. Many lives will never be evenged for the horrible events that occurred during the Herero Revolt, but we cannot forget about those who vanished. Lothar Von Trotha, a German Army Commander was responsible for the killing and torture of thousands of Herero and Nam people. Trotha was remebered for sentenceing thousands of innocent prisoners to work camps, unjust lynching and permanant medical experimentation. Still to this day, Namibian inhibitors claim Germany still hasn't paid. Though the genocide has already ended, the conseqeunces will never.
Works Cited
Casper Erichsen., “German-Herero conflict of 1904–07”. Encyclopædia Britannica,, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. January 05, 2020, September 25, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-Herero-conflict-of-1904-1907
“Herero Revolt 1904-1907.” South African History Online, September 22 2020. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/herero-revolt-1904-1907
Dr Jürgen Zimmerer and Prof. Benyamin Neuberger, “Herero and Nam Genocide.” The Combat Genocide Assosiation,Dror Isreal Movement, September 25 2020, https://combatgenocide.org/?page_id=153
“Herero Genocide in Namibia.” Montreal Holocast Museum, September 25, 2020, https://museeholocauste.ca/en/resources-training/ten-stages-genocide/
Project Reflection
Imperialism Project Reflection
Paragraph 1: Pride
During this project I found myself being super interested in the topic I was writing about. I was proud of myself for working with my topic and finding it actually interesting. Most school projects aren’t for the students to actually enjoy, or atleast that’s how they turn out, But I really did find raw interest and wanting to dive deeper into the genocide and grow as much as I can. For me, that's not really normal. I was proud of myself for wanting to go and learn and I was proud of how much detail I put into my evidence paragraphs. For example, my quotes from Lothar were super interesting and I thought they added a lot to the piece.
Paragraph 2: Difficulties
I found difficulty with my visual piece. I really thought I had a super cool concept but it turned out bland and dark. Instead of redoing it, I sorta just added as much detail as I could, but I felt it fell flat. Many aspects of my visual piece weren’t that great and I don’t feel like they accurately represent the herero Genocide in the way I was hoping it would. I could’ve done a different background and choose to do a watercolor wash instead of heavy acrylics. This would’ve added lightness and detail while still remaining simple.
Paragraph 3: Learning
The most important thing I learned is African history. I loved learning about a story that is so horrible and tragic, because it was a breath of fresh air. In America many schools lack a good curriculum that teaches young students about important history such as Black history and Asian history. Many students lack common knowledge about important leaders and figures for people of color. I was excited to learn about this because of the current status of our nation. The Herero people still haven’t recovered from the genocide and are still split to this day. You can see this learning in both of my pieces, though their stories are so bad, they are an important part of the history of Africans and Led to the holocaust. I hint many times in my Op-ed how important and passionate I was about this topic, this proves my learning because it is new content for me, new stories and inspired me to write my best.
Paragraph 4: Writing Growth One time I felt a strong growth during this project was when I had to revise my Op-ed and others. During this processI found myself really deeply thinking about how I could give the most useful critique to my peers, while still keeping thier vision for their op-ed in mind. Maintaining another persons vision is definetately one of the most difficult parts of critiqing for me, though I thought I had areally strong sense of their personal goals and story withing their Op-Ed. For me personally when I critiqued myself, I found it extremely difficult to want to chane and improve, though I did better than I normally do. I further explained certain points and resolved any comments Lori had for me. One improvement I madew to my Op-Ed was when I stated “_________” I really think this statement improved my writing as well as showed growth from before we started this project.
Paragraph 5: Self-Assessment
During my first semester at Animas I feel like I’m acheiving a 8.5 at the moment. Every day I come to class prepared and almost never forget to do any assignments, If I do forget assignments, I’ll most likely make them up as soon as possible. When class starts I usually do the starter unless I either forgot or didnt hear the instruction to do so. During school days Im always on task and working as hard as possible, during inline days I find myself off task or distracted more. I think I do this because I tend to say “Oh well, it’s due on monday, I’ll just do it sunday night.” This almost always ends with me not doing any of the work assigned that day until last minute. This only happens on online days though. I almost always engaging in the activity in class and participate when I’m asked to. I usually always find interest in classwork, but occassionally it’s for things I’m not intersted in or things that I already learned about at DHS. I think if i could improve this quality I would’ve, It’s hard to always be engaged or interested in the task at hand because theres so many distractions around. I find it easy to listen to speakers inperson more than online. I think this is also because there’s so many distractions at hand its hard to stop thinking and doing for one thing. Especially for me, I struggle to focus and find myself alwasy moving and thinking. Like many of my peers this qaulity is hard to avoid and manage. Overall, I hope to gain self control and learn to become always engaged and focused.
Paragraph 1: Pride
During this project I found myself being super interested in the topic I was writing about. I was proud of myself for working with my topic and finding it actually interesting. Most school projects aren’t for the students to actually enjoy, or atleast that’s how they turn out, But I really did find raw interest and wanting to dive deeper into the genocide and grow as much as I can. For me, that's not really normal. I was proud of myself for wanting to go and learn and I was proud of how much detail I put into my evidence paragraphs. For example, my quotes from Lothar were super interesting and I thought they added a lot to the piece.
Paragraph 2: Difficulties
I found difficulty with my visual piece. I really thought I had a super cool concept but it turned out bland and dark. Instead of redoing it, I sorta just added as much detail as I could, but I felt it fell flat. Many aspects of my visual piece weren’t that great and I don’t feel like they accurately represent the herero Genocide in the way I was hoping it would. I could’ve done a different background and choose to do a watercolor wash instead of heavy acrylics. This would’ve added lightness and detail while still remaining simple.
Paragraph 3: Learning
The most important thing I learned is African history. I loved learning about a story that is so horrible and tragic, because it was a breath of fresh air. In America many schools lack a good curriculum that teaches young students about important history such as Black history and Asian history. Many students lack common knowledge about important leaders and figures for people of color. I was excited to learn about this because of the current status of our nation. The Herero people still haven’t recovered from the genocide and are still split to this day. You can see this learning in both of my pieces, though their stories are so bad, they are an important part of the history of Africans and Led to the holocaust. I hint many times in my Op-ed how important and passionate I was about this topic, this proves my learning because it is new content for me, new stories and inspired me to write my best.
Paragraph 4: Writing Growth One time I felt a strong growth during this project was when I had to revise my Op-ed and others. During this processI found myself really deeply thinking about how I could give the most useful critique to my peers, while still keeping thier vision for their op-ed in mind. Maintaining another persons vision is definetately one of the most difficult parts of critiqing for me, though I thought I had areally strong sense of their personal goals and story withing their Op-Ed. For me personally when I critiqued myself, I found it extremely difficult to want to chane and improve, though I did better than I normally do. I further explained certain points and resolved any comments Lori had for me. One improvement I madew to my Op-Ed was when I stated “_________” I really think this statement improved my writing as well as showed growth from before we started this project.
Paragraph 5: Self-Assessment
During my first semester at Animas I feel like I’m acheiving a 8.5 at the moment. Every day I come to class prepared and almost never forget to do any assignments, If I do forget assignments, I’ll most likely make them up as soon as possible. When class starts I usually do the starter unless I either forgot or didnt hear the instruction to do so. During school days Im always on task and working as hard as possible, during inline days I find myself off task or distracted more. I think I do this because I tend to say “Oh well, it’s due on monday, I’ll just do it sunday night.” This almost always ends with me not doing any of the work assigned that day until last minute. This only happens on online days though. I almost always engaging in the activity in class and participate when I’m asked to. I usually always find interest in classwork, but occassionally it’s for things I’m not intersted in or things that I already learned about at DHS. I think if i could improve this quality I would’ve, It’s hard to always be engaged or interested in the task at hand because theres so many distractions around. I find it easy to listen to speakers inperson more than online. I think this is also because there’s so many distractions at hand its hard to stop thinking and doing for one thing. Especially for me, I struggle to focus and find myself alwasy moving and thinking. Like many of my peers this qaulity is hard to avoid and manage. Overall, I hope to gain self control and learn to become always engaged and focused.