The subject of the research project is the Herero War in German Southwest Africa of 1904, which was fought between the indigenous Herero tribe and the German colonial “protection” forces. The guiding principle of the discussion will be the legal evaluation and reappraisal of the historical events.
In the first part, the approach will, therefore, be based on an – as objective as possible – analysis of the events, drawing on and evaluating German and British official publications, diaries, and memoirs, as well as the basic secondary literature. In this context, a possible discrepancy between actual events and politically motivated research is also addressed.
In the second part, the historical facts established in the first block are subsumed under the genocide definition of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The applicability of the Genocide Convention and the intention of the German leadership to commit genocide will be examined. In addition, the existence of a systematic and planned extermination strategy is to be verified.
The third part will trace the stages of the legal process of coming to terms with the injustices of the Herero War that have been achieved to date. On this basis, the successes and failures, motivations, and obstacles of the legal reappraisal of the wrong and the responsibility of the Federal Republic of Germany under international law will be discussed.