Forty years prior to the Holocaust, German colonial troops in German Southwest Africa (known today as Namibia) murdered up to 80000 Herero and 20000 Nama, and caused many more thousands to perish in the desert and as slave laborers in concentration camps. During the last decade, a fierce debate has emerged regarding the Herero and Nama genocide and its meaning within German 20th-century history, particularly the extent to which it can be seen as a precursor to Nazi crimes. This book examines the relationship between colonialism and the Holocaust, and situates Nazi crimes firmly within the global history of mass violence. Zimmerer documents the development of an argument that has changed the way we view the Holocaust by pointing to continuities and parallels, thereby offering a fresh, postcolonial perspective on the Third Reich.

Jürgen Zimmerer is Professor of History at the University of Hamburg.