Namibia: Germany 'unable to draw lessons from history'

Namibia sharply criticized Germany, its former colonial ruler, earlier this month after the German government said it would support Israel against genocide allegations in a case South Africa brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial branch of the United Nations.

Namibia's president, Hage Geingob, described his "deep concern" at what he called Germany's "shocking decision" to back Israel as a third party in defense in the ICJ case. He accused Germany of being unable to "draw lessons from its horrific history" in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, just days after the ICJ's first hearing of the case on January 11-12.

In its allegations, South Africa said Israel's current war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, which was signed in 1948 after the Holocaust.

Germany says 'no basis' to genocide charge

Israel has rejected this accusation and declared that its military action in Gaza is self-defense against Hamas terrorism. The Palestinian Islamist militant group killed more than 1,100 people, most of whom were civilians, and took 240 hostages in attacks on central and southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

More than 25,000 people have since been killed in the ensuing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, according to the enclave's Hamas-run Health Ministry. The UN has also warned of extreme starvation of Gaza residents due to the Israeli siege of the territory.

Earlier this month, Germany offered to intervene on Israel's behalf in the ICJ case and "decisively and expressly" rejected South Africa's accusations against Israel, calling it a "political instrumentalization" of the UN Genocide Convention with "no basis in fact."

This went too far for Geingob, who called on Germany to reconsider its decision to intervene as a third party in defense.

"Germany cannot morally express commitment to the United Nations Convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, whilst supporting the equivalent of a holocaust and genocide in Gaza," Geingob said.

Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial forces in what was then German South West Africa brutally suppressed an uprising by indigenous Herero and Nama. More than 70,000 people died as a result. The UN has called the persecution of the Herero and Nama the 20th century's first genocide.

Germany rejects Namibia's criticism

The German government firmly rejected Geingob's criticism.

"Incidentally, we, the federal government, call the crimes against the Herero, Nama, Damara and San what they are. They were genocide," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner said at a press conference last week.

"We reject the historical equation of the Holocaust with the actions in Gaza."

Annette Widmann-Mauz, a German MP of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), believes that because of Germany's past, the country needs to stand with Israel now.

"Precisely because Germany committed genocide against the Herero and Nama seen from a contemporary perspective, and because our history obliges us to take special responsibility, it is consistent for Germany to stand with Israel," Widmann-Mauz told DW in an email.

But Sevim Dagdelen, a Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht member of the German parliament, sees it differently. She doesn't blame Namibia for criticizing what she calls the government's "double standards."

"The German government's sweeping, indeed, downright insulting, rejection of South Africa's factual complaint is evidence of Western ignorance and almost neo-colonial arrogance," she told DW.

Dagdelen, who has been campaigning for years for Germany to recognize its colonial crimes, said it's the ICJ, not Germany's Foreign Office or the Chancellery, that determines the validity of the case.

Germany held numerous colonies from 1884 until the end of World War I. These included territories in modern-day Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Namibia, Cameroon, Togo and Ghana, as well as in Papua New Guinea.

Namibia has history of Palestinian support

Back in Namibia, Windhoek-based political analyst Rakkel Andreas isn't surprised at Geingob's criticism of Germany's support for Israel. Like its neighbor South Africa, Namibia has historically expressed its solidarity with the Palestinians.

"If there are elements of oppression, colonization or any imperialistic tendencies, [Namibia's government] tends to call it out," she told DW.

Israel has repeatedly rejected claims that it is a settler colony as Jews have long been indigenous to the land of Israel, denouncing such accusations as antisemitic.

Namibia's government has long called for a two-state solution as the only viable option for Palestinians, most recently at the 78th UN General Assembly, which was held in September 2023 before the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Namibia is also in an election year, with polls scheduled for November. Geingob's statement "accomplished exactly what it was set out to," Andreas said. "It really raised a lot of public support for the president."

At the same time, she called the publication of the statement by the President's Office, rather than by the Foreign Ministry, a strategic move. That way, the ministry in direct negotiations with Germany is indirectly distanced from the criticism, she pointed out.

Herero and Nama want more from Germany

President Geingob, however, may have unwittingly exacerbated tensions within Namibia.

The Ovaherero Traditional Authorities and Nama Traditional Leaders Association said they welcomed the president's statements in principle. But the chair of the Ovaherero Genocide Foundation, Nandi Mazeingo, wasn't pleased. He accused the Namibian government of being as hypocritical as Germany.

That's because, he said, Namibia is "so vocal" in condemning Germany for refusing to acknowledge a genocide in the Palestinian territories. But at the same time, he stressed, Namibia is unable to fully condemn Germany for its genocide of the Hereros and the Namas.

In 2021, Germany officially recognized the atrocities committed against the Herero and Nama people as genocide, a declaration Geingob supported. At the time, Germany pledged to spend €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) over 30 years for infrastructure and development aid in Namibia.

However, Mazeingo takes issue with the wording of Germany's formal recognition, specifically genocide "from today's perspective. Moreover, Herero and Nama leaders saw the payments as "unacceptable" as they don't include reparations.

Mazeingo is calling on support from President Hage Geingob to bring Germany before an international body to make a comprehensive confession of genocide.

"What South Africa did for Palestine is what Namibia must do for us as Hereros and Namas. They must go to that ICJ also, for us," he said.

This article was originally written in German.