In a profound display of contrition, the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, admitted his deep “shame” over the colonial-era atrocities his nation subjected onto Tanzania. The Maji Maji rebellion emerged as one of the dark chapters in this narrative as German forces claimed nearly 300,000 lives during this uprising, in the early 20th century.
Standing within the solemn walls of a museum placed in Songea, the ground zero of the rebellion, President Steinmeier spoke on behalf of his countrymen. “Immense sorrow cloaks me as I seek forgiveness for the horrors inflicted by the Germans on your forefathers here,” the president stated.
Tracing the cruel hands of history, he highlighted the shared past between Tanzania and Germany. Back in the day, a policy implemented by German rule forced the indigenous population into cotton farming for export, thus sparking the violent Maji Maji rebellion.
Tanzania, identified as Tanganyika back then, was an integral piece in the jigsaw of German East Africa. The current day territories of Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of Mozambique were under the same umbrella.
Eyeing a path towards “communal processing” of the past, President Steinmeier expressed his vision of a shared future between Germany and Tanzania. He pledged to take these grim tales to his homeland to raise awareness about this shared history.
Hamburg University’s history professor, Jürgen Zimmerer, pointed out the “colonial amnesia” that had clouded German minds until recently. “The sheer brutality and engulfing racism of the colonial regime failed to resonate with the German public,” he noted.
The president took measures to bridge the past and the present, meeting descendants of Chief Songea Mbano, one of the Maji Maji leaders who was executed in 1906. An icon of national pride in Tanzania, efforts were promised by the German authorities to locate and return his remains, which were among thousands of “trophies” brought back from the colonies.
Germany’s willingness to retrace its history and acknowledge the hard lessons has been taking shape. Unveiling his plans to recognize and restore Tanzanian cultural property after a meeting with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, President Steinmeier pledged active cooperation in spearheading this initiative.
Notwithstanding these steps, Tanzanian historian Mohamed Said felt the apology fell short, articulating that the infrastructure of their life, their farms were razed, lived were uprooted in a campaign to stifle their fight. “This would be unacceptable in the present context, likely leading to court cases,” he opined.
Germany had taken strides in accountability just last year when it formally admitted to committing genocide during its occupation of Namibia and pledged financial aid exceeding €1.1bn (£940m; $1.34bn).
This sequence of remorse and reparations seems to be taking root globally with the British monarch, King Charles, acknowledging the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” during their freedom struggle. However, a formal apology from the UK for this horror is still pending formalization by its government ministers.
