Pt #2 Leader and Organizers

After Germany made South-West Africa there colony they appointed a ruler to enforce the laws of the land. Major Theodore Leutwein was appointed to this position and he held it for many years.

Kamaherero Maherero was the man who united the Herero tribe. He was the first chief of the tribe. His son Samuel Maherero was to be the second chief of the tribe.Samuel led the Herero in their first attack against the German population. Samuel specifically told his men that they were not to kill “Englishmen, Boers, as well as women” (Mark Wells).

Samuel Maherero

Lothar von Trotha

The German Emperor replaced Major Leutwein with a new commander. “This time a man notorious for brutality who had already fiercely suppressed African Resistance” (Espresso Stalinist). General Lothar von Trotha brought a whole army with him to fight the rebellious tribes, approximately 10,000 soldiers. In a letter Trotha openly stated his intensions for the tribes.

“I believe the nation as such should be annihilated, or, if this was not possible by tactical measures, have to be expelled from the country…This will be possible if the water-holes from Grootfontein to Gobabis are occupied. The constant movement of our troops will enable us to find the small groups of the nation who have moved backwards and destroy them gradually” (Mark Wells).

Eugen Fischer

In the midst of the genocide some subjects were taken to be tested on. One of the scientists involved is Eugen Fischer. Fischer came to the concentration camps (that were setup after the war) to do medical experiments on race (Mark Wells). Fischer tested on Men, Women, Children. He tested them against multiple well known diseases from Europe. Fischer was also joined by a man named Theodor Mollison who also did experiments on Herero people. The methods of testing on the Herero people are considered by many to be the precursor to the Nazi Holocaust, and the many concentration camps setup during the holocaust.