German Government: In memory of the victims of the extermination order
On 2 October 2024, the German ambassador to Namibia, Thorsten Hutter, laid a wreath at the genocide memorial in Windhoek. It is located at the Alte Feste, which was built during the German colonial era in 1890.
With this gesture, Hutter commemorated the victims of Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha’s extermination order against the OvaHerero. Trotha issued the order on 2 October 1904 – exactly 120 years ago.
The text of the German Embassy’s Facebook post reads:
“In memory of the victims of General von Trotha’s extermination order.
We bow our heads.
We will not forget.
(C) German Embassy Windhoek
Ambassador Hutter laying a wreath at the Genocide Memorial”
- The German Embassy’s Facebook post of 2 October 2024 on the commemoration of the extermination order of 2 October 1904 (last checked in October 2024)
- See also the German Government’s response of 25 September 2024 to questions on the commemoration of the extermination order of 2 October 1904
- Background to Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha’s extermination order of 2 October 1904