Namibia tribe offered apology for 1904 German massacre
The european descendants of Lothar von Trotha, a brutal German military commander who instigated the mass slaughter of thousands of Herero people, have met with their representatives to apologise for the actions of their ancestor.
Representatives of the von Trotha family visited the chiefs of six Herero royal houses Omaruru, in central Namibia following an invitation from the Herero Supreme Chief Alfons Maharero, the grandson of Samuel Maharero who led the wars against the German incursion in 1904, to express regret and shame for the actions of their ancestor. In his address to the Herero people, Wolf-Thilo von Trotha said; "We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed of the terrible events that took place 100 years ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time. We say sorry, since we bear the name of General Lothar von Trotha. We however do not only want to look back, but also look to the future”.
During the course of their visit, Chief Maherero highlighted the currently outstanding reparations due from the German government. He said "We demand a dialogue with the present German government to obtain restorative justice," In response to this issue, Wolf-Thilo von Trotha later told the AFP news agency that "[o]ur family cannot become involved in the demand for reparations from a government”. Ulrich von Trotha, another family member, also stressed that the family were on a private visit.
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Representatives of the von Trotha family visited the chiefs of six Herero royal houses Omaruru, in central Namibia following an invitation from the Herero Supreme Chief Alfons Maharero, the grandson of Samuel Maharero who led the wars against the German incursion in 1904, to express regret and shame for the actions of their ancestor. In his address to the Herero people, Wolf-Thilo von Trotha said; "We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed of the terrible events that took place 100 years ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time. We say sorry, since we bear the name of General Lothar von Trotha. We however do not only want to look back, but also look to the future”.
During the course of their visit, Chief Maherero highlighted the currently outstanding reparations due from the German government. He said "We demand a dialogue with the present German government to obtain restorative justice," In response to this issue, Wolf-Thilo von Trotha later told the AFP news agency that "[o]ur family cannot become involved in the demand for reparations from a government”. Ulrich von Trotha, another family member, also stressed that the family were on a private visit.