Monumenti, musei e il genocidio degli Herero e dei Nama in Namibia: uno sguardo storiografico

Between 1904 and 1907 the brutal repression of the Herero and Nama revolts against German colonial rule caused what has been defined the first genocide of the 20th century. During the history of Namibia, the memory of this traumatic event has been used to support the struggle for independence from South Africa and to asks for reparations from Germany. At the same time, however, this memory was also set apart by the Herero and Nama communities in occupied Namibia. The analysis of the mnemoscape of present-day Namibia, i.e. of monuments and museums, is very representative in this sense. This paper is an overview of the historical literature on the link between memory and various historical interpretations of the Herero and Nama genocide and of their connections with the “memory landscape” of present day Namibia.