German Evangelical Church Seeks Forgiveness for Namibia Genocide
The Evangelical Church of Germany has asked for forgiveness from the descendants of the victims of the Namibian genocide at the turn of the 20th century and for the role they played in it.
Germany's Evangelical Church Vice President and head of the Department for Ecumenical Relations and Ministries Abroad Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber told Deutsche Welle (DW) that the apology is long overdue.
Bosse-Huber also said there is another rationale for the apology.
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"The Lutheran World Federation is holding its congress in Windhoek (the capital of Namibia) at the beginning of May. Colonial history plays a large role," he told DW.
The bishop added that Germany's Evangelical Church "continues to cope with the past" and "wanted to keep up with additional reconciliation efforts."
More than 85,000 people from the Nama and Herero tribes in Namibia perished from the German genocide campaign from 1904 to 1908. Namibia was under the colonial rule of Germany at that time.
Bosse-Huber revealed that while there were members of the church who supported the Namibians in their fight against racism, abuse, and persecution, there were those who stood idly by.
"There was another element of the Rhine Mission that kept much close to the Kaiser. As heirs to the then-Evangelical Prussian High Consistory, we know that although no priest there called directly for annihilation, the relationship to colonial settlers and troops was so close there was no way they could have stood up to atrocities," she said.
The vice-president of the evangelical church revealed that it was not easy for the organization to come up with the statement, admitting that there was initial resistance to the offering of an apology.
Bosse-Huber said apart from the verbal apology, the church has reached out to its Namibian counterparts to discuss the creation of a Namibian-German Institute for Reconciliation and Development and the possibility of erecting memorial structures in Germany and Namibia to raise historical awareness.
In March, DW reported that the government of Namibia was planning to take Germany to court for reparations against the genocide atrocities done during their colonization of the country.
