‘The Kaiser’s Holocaust– Germany’s Forgotten Genocide And The Colonial Roots Of Nazism’

There were many atrocities committed in the 20th century, some well remembered and many long forgotten. Etched into all our minds is the Nazi holocaust; with six million liquidated in a matter of years, it was an unprecedented act of violence.

The horrendous magnitude makes it difficult to even comprehend. But however deranged the men were who designed and perpetrated those events, they did not exist in a vacuum. The ideas that culminated in the Nazi ideology can all be traced from the past.

‘The Kaiser’s Holocaust’ by David Olusoga and Casper W Erichsen argues that the main starting point for many of these dark ideas were colonial Namibia.

The authors, weave together a long historical account of Namibia’s colonial past under German rule, and the implications of their evil practices.

Beginning with Portugal’s empty ‘invasion’ of Namibia in the 15th century, the authors explain the long and troubling story of the German colonial invasion, domination and genocide.

They claim, with credible support, that many aspects of these events directly influenced the Nazi ideology that began forming in a broken Germany after World War I.

Surprisingly easy to read, the book is impeccably researched and references hundreds of background texts and documents. But what sets this apart from other colonial texts is the insightful analysis beyond Africa.

The clinical genocide of the Nama and Herero peoples did not end at Namibia’s borders, it had profound effects that heavily influenced world history.

Most of the connections made between Germany’s colonial past and the Nazi holocaust are highly credible. They point to the industrialisation of death, which can be traced back to Shark Island’s concentration camp and the Swakopmund railroad.

They also spotlight the pseudo-scientist Eugen Fischer. As the father of Eugenics, Fishcer started his career researching the Baster tribe in colonial Namibia. His influential books written about the tribe argued for racial purity and cleansing, ideas that were directly incorporated under Nazi rule.

The bloody dots this book connects are important because they have been largely ignored elsewhere. Namibia’s colonial history is not well known outside the country, and this book goes some way towards changing that.

– ‘The Kaiser’s Holocaust’ is available online at Amazon.com

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