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A review by cjmckeon
The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism by David Olusoga
5.0
It is tempting to think of Nazism as an aberration, a peculiar evil that came from nowhere and vanished again in 1945.
But as this excellent book describes, the scientific racism and all-consuming desire for “living space” had deeper roots in German - and European - politics. Not only that, but the same beliefs that would lead to genocide in Europe had been given their trial run in South-West Africa with attempts to wipe out the Herero and Nama people and the creation of what may have been the world’s first death camp.
Compelling and shocking, this book is an important one in understanding what happened under imperialism and why.
But as this excellent book describes, the scientific racism and all-consuming desire for “living space” had deeper roots in German - and European - politics. Not only that, but the same beliefs that would lead to genocide in Europe had been given their trial run in South-West Africa with attempts to wipe out the Herero and Nama people and the creation of what may have been the world’s first death camp.
Compelling and shocking, this book is an important one in understanding what happened under imperialism and why.