140th anniversary of the Berlin Africa Conference (November 15)

140 years after the opening of the Berlin Africa Conference (November 15, 1884), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands the German Federal Government to take responsibility for the colonial past and show commitment to come to terms with it: “The conference is a cautionary example of how power interests can override the rights and sovereignty of entire peoples. The colonial takeover of Africa led to countless atrocities, economic exploitation, and profound social trauma – the effects of which can still be experienced today,” stated Laura Mahler, STP expert on Sub-Saharan Africa. “So far, no federal government has yet managed to really face up to history and to recognize the systematic injustices of the colonial rule. However, the Federal Republic of Germany is obligated to advocate for the rights of those who are still suffering from the effects of colonial structures.”
In Namibia, there are still descendants of the survivors of the genocide crimes against the Ovaherero and the Nama, committed by the German colonial power as of 1904. “They have been waiting for an official apology by the German government for decades. They are calling for reparations and direct talks with the affected communities,” Mahler added. “Many of them see the plans for a green hydrogen project in southern Namibia – with German participation – as a continuation of colonial power relations, and they fear that the local population will not be considered. Shark Island, where thousands of people were killed in a concentration camp during the genocide, would be destroyed in the course of expanding the port for the hydrogen project. This would give the lie to all the warm words of apology from Berlin and thwart all efforts towards recognition and reconciliation.”
In Tanzania – which once belonged to German East Africa – tens of thousands of Maasai are currently being forcibly displaced, with support from Germany, in the name of nature conservation. “Actually, the Maasai are being driven out of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro ecosystem to make way for tourism and hunting projects. The German credit institute ‘Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau’ and the Frankfurt Zoological Society are responsible for the financing and implementation of such projects,” Mahler stated. The STP has long been calling for a funding freeze for all projects that contribute to the displacement of the Maasai.
In the course of the Berlin Africa Conference (1884/1885), Germany had established itself as a colonial power. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck wanted to divide Africa among the European powers in order to exploit the resources. Borders were drawn without consideration for ethnic, cultural, or linguistic contexts – causing conflicts and instability that continue to have an effect to this day. The German Federal Government, as the legal successor of the German Empire, shares responsibility and must therefore actively help to improve the situation of those affected.