Investigation reveals threats to Shark Island
Forensis and Forensic Architecture (FA) have released findings of a new investigation into Shark Island, a former concentration camp in Namibia, where Germany plans to set up a green hydrogen plant.
The study found potential mass grave sites and highlighted that the Namibian government’s plans to expand the port of Lüderitz will erase parts of the camp and vital traces of colonial history.
“The integrity of the archaeological record at Shark Island is doubly threatened. The site of the camp where between 1 000 to 3 000 Herero and Nama prisoners died has been a campsite for many years, and key parts of the camp’s topography have been built over by tourist facilities. Our analysis shows that this port expansion will erase archaeological traces of the historical concentration camp, while the identified mass graves are feared to be in the path of new infrastructure for a major green hydrogen project - proposed by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, whose majority shareholder is the German company Enertrag SE,” Forensis and FA said in a statement.
The researchers noted that existing modern infrastructure - including tourist facilities, monuments to German colonists, roads and commercial infrastructure - have been built over the former concentration camp, compromising Shark Island’s historical significance. The proposed extension of Lüderitz port in Robert Harbour poses further imminent risk to the site, they said, disturbing the resting place of many Nama and Ovaherero people who died there.
This ‘rushed’ expansion is partly driven by the urgency of German green energy demands, the researchers noted. The investigation found that the outskirts of Lüderitz are scattered with numerous grave sites, likely the interments of former inmates of Shark Island. According to ground penetrating radar scans, at least one of these grave sites is likely to contain mass graves.
Protect its sanctity
Since 2022, Forensis and FA have collaborated with the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) and the Nama Traditional Leadership Association (NTLA) to research the 1904-1908 German genocide.
The project investigated the concentration camp, which was operational between 1905 and 1908. The investigation brings together oral history, archival material, 3D digital modelling and cutting-edge archaeological analysis to reconstruct the camp’s layout and operation in unprecedented detail.
The OTA and NTLA have condemned the plans to expand the port, emphasising that Shark Island is crucial for remembering the Nama and Ovaherero genocide. “Shark Island epitomises a landscape and a history of immeasurable human suffering. It must be recognised as a place of world heritage, evidence of the cruel and methodical denial of the human dignity of the Nama and Ovaherero people during Germany’s first genocide. Any further interference with this landscape is a continued and calculated denial of our humanity.”
The groups added: “As descendants of the deceased, we demand that all further industrial or leisure activities around Shark Island be stopped immediately. We demand that the relevant authorities work with us to protect the sanctity of Shark Island at any cost”.
[email protected]
The study found potential mass grave sites and highlighted that the Namibian government’s plans to expand the port of Lüderitz will erase parts of the camp and vital traces of colonial history.
“The integrity of the archaeological record at Shark Island is doubly threatened. The site of the camp where between 1 000 to 3 000 Herero and Nama prisoners died has been a campsite for many years, and key parts of the camp’s topography have been built over by tourist facilities. Our analysis shows that this port expansion will erase archaeological traces of the historical concentration camp, while the identified mass graves are feared to be in the path of new infrastructure for a major green hydrogen project - proposed by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, whose majority shareholder is the German company Enertrag SE,” Forensis and FA said in a statement.
The researchers noted that existing modern infrastructure - including tourist facilities, monuments to German colonists, roads and commercial infrastructure - have been built over the former concentration camp, compromising Shark Island’s historical significance. The proposed extension of Lüderitz port in Robert Harbour poses further imminent risk to the site, they said, disturbing the resting place of many Nama and Ovaherero people who died there.
This ‘rushed’ expansion is partly driven by the urgency of German green energy demands, the researchers noted. The investigation found that the outskirts of Lüderitz are scattered with numerous grave sites, likely the interments of former inmates of Shark Island. According to ground penetrating radar scans, at least one of these grave sites is likely to contain mass graves.
Protect its sanctity
Since 2022, Forensis and FA have collaborated with the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) and the Nama Traditional Leadership Association (NTLA) to research the 1904-1908 German genocide.
The project investigated the concentration camp, which was operational between 1905 and 1908. The investigation brings together oral history, archival material, 3D digital modelling and cutting-edge archaeological analysis to reconstruct the camp’s layout and operation in unprecedented detail.
The OTA and NTLA have condemned the plans to expand the port, emphasising that Shark Island is crucial for remembering the Nama and Ovaherero genocide. “Shark Island epitomises a landscape and a history of immeasurable human suffering. It must be recognised as a place of world heritage, evidence of the cruel and methodical denial of the human dignity of the Nama and Ovaherero people during Germany’s first genocide. Any further interference with this landscape is a continued and calculated denial of our humanity.”
The groups added: “As descendants of the deceased, we demand that all further industrial or leisure activities around Shark Island be stopped immediately. We demand that the relevant authorities work with us to protect the sanctity of Shark Island at any cost”.
[email protected]
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