An artefact returns to Namibia from Switzerland

In the Nambian coastal town of Swakopmund, traces of the German colonial past are everywhere. But the only place dedicated to the genocide against the Herero is the Genocide Museum, on the outskirts of town. An artefact from Switzerland is also on display there. The Swakopmund Genocide Museum covers an area of about 12 square metres. Laidlaw Peringanda, an artist and Herero activist, welcomes visitors from a small office table. In front of him are a laptop and an array of books and magazines on the subject. The photos on the walls bear witness to the deeds of the German soldiers: severed heads, emaciated men in chains, skulls stacked in piles. The first genocide of the 20th century Between 1904 and 1908, the troops of the German Empire murdered up to 100,000 Herero and Nama people in the former colony of German South West Africa by putting them in concentration camps or driving them into the desert. In Swakopmund, apart from the Genocide Museum, there is almost no discussion of ...