Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | Documentation

Genocide is not created or perpetrated in a vacuum. It is generally preceded by key decisions and acts and the plan for its conduct is usually mapped out ahead of time, whether in fits or starts or as a well-orchestrated process. Many perpetrators have left revealing and detailed documents that delineate—some extremely clearly, others not so clearly or under the cover of euphemism—the genesis and evolution of a genocidal process.

German Genocide of Hereros in Southwest Africa

In 1904 German military and government officials documented all aspects of the uprising of the Hereros of southwestern Africa and the colonial reaction to the uprising, including genocidal actions against the Hereros. Die Kämpfe der deutschen Truppen in Südwesafrika, published in 1907, is considered to be the "major source for the military operations of the Germans. [It] ...