A Genocidal Mindset: Lothar von Trotha’s Namibia Diary

The diary of General Lothar von Trotha, the military commander during the genocide against Ovaherero and Nama, is an important only recently accessible source that sheds additional light on what happened in Namibia during 1904–05. Along the diary entries, this article follows the progress of the military campaign which led to genocide and gives extensive source quotations. The author further teases out Trotha's sentiments that he sees as proof of a predisposition towards the eventual commitment of genocide. On the one hand, the diary counters earlier views about a premeditated plan for genocide which Trotha supposedly followed; but it also allows to move beyond later interpretations that see the cumulative process of violence which culminated in genocide largely as an outflow of frustration and chagrin with military failure at effecting a decisive battle. Here, Trotha's ideas about the future of a settler colony have to be taken into account. The recent edition of the diary includes Trotha's photo album which allows further insight into his thinking. In conclusion, the article stresses that responsibility resides not with Trotha as a single person, but with the German state whom he represented. This point speaks to the current conflicts about a German apology for the genocide.