Namibia held its first-ever Genocide Remembrance Day on 28 May 2025, honoring the more than 70,000 Ovaherero and Nama people killed by German colonial forces between 1904 and 1908—atrocities widely recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century. The day was marked by a candle-lighting ceremony led by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who called the new national holiday a “symbol of unity and reflection,” while demanding a swift conclusion to ongoing negotiations with Germany over reparations. “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” she said.
The date commemorates the 1907 closure of German-run concentration camps, following international outrage over the treatment of civilians. Victims of the genocide were subjected to forced labor, execution, starvation, and pseudoscientific experiments, decades before the Holocaust. Germany formally acknowledged the genocide in 2021 and offered €1.1 billion in development aid over 30 years, but Namibia rejected the deal, criticizing the absence of a formal apology and reparations. A revised deal—including a German apology and an additional €50 million—is under review, but Ovaherero and Nama descendants say they were excluded from negotiations and demand land restitution and direct compensation.
Historians note Germany had previously extracted reparations from the Ovaherero and Nama, including 12,000 cattle, now worth millions of dollars. Many view the refusal to pay reparations today as historically ironic and unjust. Germany’s recent support for Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—where it is being tried for genocide in Gaza—has fueled further anger in Namibia. Former President Hage Geingob said in 2024 that Germany must first fully atone for its own genocidal past in Namibia.
More than a century later, Namibia’s wounds remain open, and many believe true justice will only come through land restitution, reparations, and full acknowledgment of historical crimes.
