MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History, January 12, 1904: Herero chief Samuel Maharero launched a surprise uprising against German colonial rule that would ultimately end in the first Genocide of the 20th century. The Herero Uprising, in what is now called Namibia, was initially a success. But Otto Von Bismark sent in reinforcements who subdued the Herero by August 1904. German commander Lothar von Trotha then ordered the execution of all Herero men. In reality they slaughtered everyone they could catch, men, women, and children. So, survivors fled into the desert, where a majority of them died from thirst, starvation, or massacres. Those who survived this were placed in concentration camps, where at least of half of them died from lack of shelter and food, and from slave labor. Overall, up to 80,000 Herero (80% of their pre-war population) and 10,000 Nama (50% of their pre-war population) died in the Genocide. Thomas Pynchon references the Herero genocide in several of his books, including “Gravity’s Rainbow,” and his first novel, “V.” In private letters, he referred to it as a dress rehearsal for the genocides against the Jewish and Roma people during the Nazi era.
German rule ended in Namibia with their defeat in World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. In 1948, South Africa imposed Apartheid on the region. Uprisings and resistance were ongoing until the Southwest African People’s Organization (SWAPO) won independence by defeating South Africa in a war lasting from August 1966 until March 1990. SWAPO was aligned with rebels in Angola and Zambia, also fighting for independence from South Africa. The Soviet Union support the African independence movement. Cuba sent soldiers and doctors to support their cause.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #genocide #herero #nama #nazi #racism #concentrationcamps #colonialism #namibia #cuba #russia #ussr #communism #thomaspynchon #novel #fiction #books #author #writer #BlackMastadon @bookstadon
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