Speaker: -

Abstract: »German South West Africa, now Namibia, was under German colonial rule as a "protectorate" from 1884 to 1915, which culminates in 1904 with the execution of Lothar von Trotha's extermination order against the indigenous Herero and Nama ethnic groups, officially recognised as genocide by the Federal Republic of Germany in 2021. The reappraisal of Germany's colonial past is gaining a greater public attention. But little interest was paid to women's experiences of violence, be it those of African women or of German women. However, the first testimonies published as early as 1918 in the Report on the natives of South-West Africa and their treatment by Germany, also known as the Bluebook, remained largely without resonance. Although the authors of historical novels and film-makers have abundant source material at their disposal, women's fates occupy a little space in their works. To close the gap of this "narrative omission” by analysing some significant examples is the aim of our paper«. (Source: International Research Network “Military, War and Gender/Diversity / Militär, Krieg und Geschlecht/Diversität”)

Publication: Letz, Carmen. »Gewalt an Frauen in Deutsch-Südwestafrika: Realität und Fiktion der kolonialen Vergangenheit in historischen Romanen.« Acta Germanica 53 (2025): 26-36. - Bibliographic Entry: Info

Wikipedia: History of Africa: History of Namibia / German South West Africa | History of Europe: History of Germany / German Empire | Literature: Historical fiction | Sex and the law: Sexual violence