How the Germans Became Brutal Colonizers

Germany’s colonial empire didn’t last long—but its brutality was unforgettable. In just three decades, the German Empire established colonies in Africa, Oceania, and Asia—seizing land, crushing resistance, and committing the first genocide of the 20th century against the Herero and Nama peoples in what is now Namibia. Tens of thousands, including women and children, were driven into the desert to die. Survivors were imprisoned in concentration camps. This video uncovers the shocking violence of Germany’s short-lived colonial project—and how its racist ideologies would later resurface in Germany’s Nazi regime. Historian Jürgen Zimmerer explains how these colonial crimes echo into the Holocaust and beyond. Why has this genocide remained so little known? And what would justice look like—more than a century later, for the descendants of those who survived? Script: Jaime González Arguedas & Laura Iglesias San Martín Video Editing: Mariano Ramírez Gisbert  Host: David Levitz  0:00 Intro 1:19 LATE TO THE GAME 6:42 LIES 20:20 RESISTANCE 33:05 GUILT and … REDEMPTION? #dwhistoryandculture #dwanaliza #dwhistoryexplained For more visit: https://www.dw.com/en/culture/s-1441 Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G