“German Colonial Genocide in Namibia: Swakopmund” – Film screening and film talk

German Colonial Genocide in Namibia: Swakopmund

in cooperation with Filmhaus Nürnberg im KunstKulturQuartier and medico international e.V.

Swakopmund was the most important seaport in ‘German South West Africa’. The Hamburg shipping company Woermann set up its headquarters there in 1894. People and goods came ashore there – especially weapons and soldiers for the war against the local population. After the German extermination orders against all Ovaherero and Nama, the survivors of the first genocidal mass killings were herded into concentration camps and subjected to brutal forced labour. Two of these camps were in Swakopmund. Today, mass graves here bear witness to the colonial extermination – but also to the economic profit of German colonists, which continues in today’s Namibia.

SWAKOPMUND is the latest film research by the Forensic Architecture collective, in which they tell the story of the cruel colonial legacy of Germany, Namibia and the OvaHerero and Nama peoples under the title ‘Erased Memories, Disrupted Futures’. Using a unique aesthetic, they combine scientific measurements, historical documents and oral testimonies from the descendants of the survivors of the German genocide to create digital reconstructions of the colonial environment. They bring the landscapes to life and recreate the horror that continues to this day. The films give the descendants a voice that people elsewhere tried to deny them. The films also tell of the conditions that threaten to erase the colonial legacy forever.

On 4 December 2024, Forensic Architecture will be awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm for its artistic-forensic oeuvre.

Following the film, Laidlaw Peringanda (Swakopmund Genocide Museum) and Mark Mushiva (Forensis/Forensic Architecture) will discuss the struggle for justice between Namibia and Germany in the face of German colonial crimes with moderator Julia Manek (medico international).

Countries: United Kingdom/Namibia/Germany
Year: 2024
Principal Investigator: Eyal Weizman
Run Time: 29 min
Language: English with German Subtitles