Germany Returns Skulls From Colonial-Era Genocide To Namibia

The callousness of colonialism knew no bounds, in all honesty. Skulls taken from Namibian tribespeople who were massacred have been handed over to Namibia in a church ceremony held at a church in Berlin. The skulls were taken for experimentation to push the narrative of European racial superiority. 

A Namibian government delegation received the remains at a church service in the German capital, Berlin.  Kaiser Wilhelm slaughtered some 65,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama tribespeople in a 1904-08 campaign after a revolt against land seizures by German colonists. Historians have referred to it as probably the first genocide of the 20th century. 

The skulls will be taken to the Namibian capital Windhoek on August 31 where rituals will be carried out. "Today, we want to do what should have been done many years ago - to give back to their descendants the remains of people who became victims of the first genocide of the 20th century,"said Petra Bosse-Huber, a German Protestant bishop.

The researches for European racial superiority were discredited long back. Since 2011, Germany has been formally handing back dozens of skulls, of which many were stored at universities and clinics. Germany however does not entertain the idea of paying reparations, so they only acknowledged a "moral responsibility" but have not yet made an official apology. 

Namibians still want an official apology from Germany, they want Germany to come to terms with its ugly, horrid colonial past. 

Esther Utjiua Muinjangue, chairwoman of the Ovaherero Genocide Foundation, said the handover ceremony would have been the perfect opportunity for Germany to officially apologize.

“Is that asking too much? I don’t think so,” she told reporters in Berlin earlier this week.