Day of Action Against Colonial Violence on October 2

On the anniversary of the 1904 extermination order against the Ovaherero, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), together with Göttingen Postkolonial, Witzenhausen Postkolonial, and BiPOC Kassel, is calling for a day of action against colonial violence on Thursday (October 2). Actions will take place in Göttingen, Witzenhausen, and Kassel, with which the organizers want to draw attention to the fact that German colonialism is not a closed chapter in history. Its consequences continue to have an impact today – from monuments and educational institutions to global economic structures such as agricultural trade, resource and energy projects.

The three actions will focus on the voices of descendants and victims of colonial crime, who demand recognition of colonial crimes, reparations and restitution, recognition of the land rights of affected communities, and serious participation by descendants.

As part of the action, the STP is once again calling on the city of Göttingen to rededicate the South West Africa Memorial. “In its current form, the monument continues to commemorate primarily the fallen soldiers of the German colonial troops. Although an additional plaque describes the war against the Ovaherero and Nama as ”one of the greatest crimes in German colonial history," it does not explicitly refer to it as genocide. Such a commemoration is no longer appropriate today," states a letter from the GfbV to Göttingen's mayor, Petra Broistedt. In it, the mayor was invited to participate in the event.

Program

10 a.m.: Göttingen, South West Africa Memorial

• The event will begin with a contextualization of the memorial, followed by a commemorative ceremony with Prince Kamaazengi Marenga, a Namibian poet and descendant of the Ovaherero. The focus will be on political demands made on the city of Göttingen. In advance, the GfbV sent a letter to Göttingen's mayor, Petra Broistedt, calling for the South West Africa Memorial to be rededicated in close cooperation with the communities affected.

1 p.m.: Witzenhausen, grounds of the former German colonial school

• Continuation of the commemoration at the memorial on the grounds of the former colonial school. Here, too, the focus is on a memorial ceremony with Prince Kamaazengi Marenga and specific political demands on the city. The history of the colonial school has hardly been critically examined to date. Colonial continuities still exist today in research, teaching, schools, and urban society. The activists demand that issues such as land questions and reappraisal be taken seriously and that research be made transparent.

5 p.m.: Kassel, demonstration to mark the start of BUKO 40

• The day of action will conclude with participation in the demonstration to mark the start of the 40th Congress of the Federal Coordination of Internationalism (BUKO 40) – under the motto “Against all colonialism.” International guests will give speeches to broaden the perspective on global continuities of colonial exploitation and resistance.

For questions about the action, please contact Gerrit Hofert from the STP at gl@gfbv.de or 0551 / 49906-27. For questions about content, please contact Laura Mahler, consultant for Sub-Saharan Africa, at l.mahler@gfbv.de or 03051 / 695825-3.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at presse@gfbv.de.