In January 1904 the Herero and Namaqua genocide began in the German colony German South West Africa . With a total of about 15,000 men under Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha , this uprising was prostrated until August 1904 . Most of the Herero fled to the almost waterless Omaheke , an offshoot of the Kalahari Desert . From Trotha had them locked down and the refugees chased away from the few water spots there , so that thousands of Herero along with their families and cattle herds died of thirst . The hunted in the desert , let Trotha in the so-called '' Vernichtungsbefehl '' , " Annihilation Command " : Trotha 's warfare aimed at the complete annihilation of the Herero ( " I believe that the nation must be destroyed as such " ) and was supported in particular by Schlieffen and Kaiser Wilhelm II . His approach is therefore considered to be the first genocide of the twentieth century . Trotha 's action sparked outrage in Germany and abroad ; at the instigation of chancellor Bernhard von Bülow , the Emperor lifted the order of annihilation two months after the events in the Omaheke . Trotha 's policy remained largely unchanged until its revocation in November 1905
Herero and Namaqua genocide
Herero and Namaqua genocide
War of annihilation