Der vermessene Mensch: Die Dokumentation (2024)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Der vermessene Mensch: Die Dokumentation is a documentary film which premiered on German television (ZDF) in 2024.

 

It is a companion to the historical drama Der vermessene Mensch which premiered in 2023. In 2024, it was shown on ZDF.

 

This film covers the history of the German-Namibian conflict as well as the aftermath: the legacy of German colonialism.

 

Here is some basic information this film:

 

** Writer and director: Jörg Müllner

** Narrator: Moritz Pliquet

** Historical advisor: Jonas Kreienbaum

** Language: German

** Subtitles: German

** Run time: 44 minutes

 

Several persons are interviewed in this film. Here are the names of the participants. Listed in alphabetical order:

 

** Julia Binter – professor for critical and heritage studies, University of Bonn

** Larissa Förster – professor of ethnology

** Franzina Isaak – a member of the Nama tribe

 

** Ngutjiua Hijarunguru-Kutako – a member of the Herero tribe

** Marcella Katjijoua – a member of the Herero tribe

** Mutjinde Katjiua – chief of the Herero tribe

 

** Jonas Kreienbaum – a German historian

** Ulrike Loetzsch – Anatomische Sammlung der Universität Jena

** Sima Luipert – a member of the Nama tribe

 

** Vetera Tjirumatua Mungendje – a spiritual leader of the Herero tribe

** Laidlaw Peringanda – founder and director of Swakopmund Genocide Museum

 

Namibia was a German colony for 31 years: 1884-1915. While it was a German colony, it was known as German South West Africa.

 

The German invaders were not welcomed, but in the beginning, there was no organized resistance to the German occupation. There was no war.

 

In 1904, a rebellion began. The first rebels were from the Herero tribe in the north. They were quickly defeated and neutralized. But the rebellion of the Herero tribe was followed by a rebellion of the Nama tribe in the south.

 

The Herero rebels tried to fight a conventional war. This is one reason why it was relatively easy for the German army to defeat them.

 

The Nama rebels had a different approach. They fought a guerrilla war. They would hit a German position and disappear. This is one reason why it was more difficult for the German army to deal with them.

 

The rebellion of the Herero tribe and the Nama tribe lasted four years; from 1904 to 1908. During those years, the German army fought a merciless war against the indigenous population:

 

Before the war, the Herero tribe had ca. 80,000 members. When the war was over, only 15,000 were alive.

 

Before the war, the Nama tribe had ca. 20,000 members. When the war was over, only 10,000 were alive.

 

The loss of life was extremely high. This is the reason why the German policy in Namibia has been described as a war of genocide.

 

General Lothar von Trotha was the supreme commander of the German army in German South West Africa during the beginning of the colonial war (1904-1905).

 

In 1905, he returned to Germany. 

In 1906, he retired. 

He died in 1920.

 

General Lothar von Trotha introduced the policy of extreme violence which has been described as an act of genocide.

 

His policy of extreme violence was in force for only two months in 1904, but what followed when his policy of extreme violence was cancelled was still brutal.

 

The German army created six concentration camps in the African colony; the first concentration camps in German history. Here are the names:

 

** Karibib

** Okahandja

** Omaruru

** Shark Island

** Swakopmund

** Windhoek

 

The first and the worst of the six was probably Shark Island which was located on the coast near Lüderitz.

 

The German concentration camps established in German South West Africa were not death camps. They were not like the camps built by Nazi Germany in Poland.

 

The purpose of placing indigenous peoples in these camps was not to kill them. The colonial administration just wanted to be sure that these people would not be able to continue the war against the German authorities.

 

But many inmates died there, even though they were not sent there to die. Nutrition was poor. Many inmates died of starvation or disease.

 

This film covers the colonial war of 1904-1908. It also covers the aftermath: the legacy of the war and German colonialism.

 

German politicians are aware that the administration of South West Africa is a dark chapter in the history of Germany.

 

German politicians have apologized. Negotiations between Germany and Namibia have been conducted. They are not yet concluded. More are yet to come.

 

The two states are working together trying to find a way towards reconciliation.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

This question is not easy to answer. The film is listed on IMDb but there is no rating. There are no user reviews.

 

What is my opinion?

 

Let me explain:

 

This documentary film is a companion to the historical drama which premiered in 2023. It is obvious to compare the two items with each other.

 

The historical drama runs for almost two hours, while the documentary film runs for only 44 minutes.

 

But the director of the documentary film manages to present an amazing amount of relevant information about the topic in a short time.

 

Many details which are not clear when you are watching the historical drama, become clear when you watch the documentary film.

 

The historical drama focuses on the rebellion by the Herero tribe. The rebellion of the Nama tribe is never mentioned.

 

The two tribes used different methods when they opposed the Germans. This fact is explained in the documentary film, but it is not mentioned in the historical drama.

 

Why did General Lothar von Trotha institute his policy of extreme violence in 1904?

 

According to the historical drama, he is an evil person. In the documentary film, the background is explained.

 

Lothar von Trotha had a plan. He hoped to exterminate the Herero rebels in a battle at Waterberg.

 

His plan was to encircle the enemy, so nobody could escape. This would be the end of the rebellion. But his plan failed, because the enemy was not completely surrounded.

 

There was an opening in the back, because one of his officers was too slow to move his troops into position and close the ring around the enemy.

 

This fact gave many rebels a chance to escape though the back door. The general was furious. His masterplan had failed. He had lost face, but he could not admit this fact.

 

This is why he introduced his policy of extreme violence. He wanted to take revenge, because some of the rebels had managed to escape the trap he had laid for them.

 

The native people who survived the battle of Waterberg had to pay when the German general wanted to take revenge.

 

The historical drama is flawed in many ways. Many aspects of the German-Namibian conflict are not explained.

 

When you watch the documentary film, I think you will find the answer to some of the questions you may have after watching the historical drama.

 

The topic is important. The story deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. The following items are available online

 

“Germany admits Namibia genocide,”

BBC News

14 August 2004

 

“Germany officially recognizes colonial era Namibia genocide,”

BBC News

28 May 2021

 

Alfred Hagemann and Jonas Kreienbaum

“The Kaiser, the Berlin Palace and German Colonialism,”

The Humboldt Forum

11 August 2021

 

# 2. Books

 

Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany

By Isabel V. Hull

(2004 = hardcover)

(2006 = paperback)

 

A Sad Fiasco: Colonial Concentration Camps in Southern Africa, 1900-1908

By Jonas Kreienbaum

(2019)

 

The Herero Genocide: War, Emotion, and Extreme Violence in Colonial Namibia

By Matthias Häussler

(2021 = hardcover)

(2024 = paperback)

 

Shark Island:

The First German Concentration Camp

By Katja Lembke

(2024)

 

*****

Swakopmund Genocide Museum

Founded by Laidlaw Peringanda

*****

 

A memorial stone 

Dedicated to the victims of 

the colonial war 1904-1908

placed at Swakopmund cemetary

*****

August Bebel

(1840-1913)

A German politician

A member of the Social Democratic Party

A member of the German parliament 1871-1913

In parliament, Bebel used very strong words 

to criticize the oppression of the Herero people and 

he praised the rebellion as a just war of liberation

*****

 

Der vermessene Mensch (2023)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Der vermessene Mensch is a German historical drama which premiered in 2023.

 

The topic of this drama is the history of Germany and Namibia. The main character is Alexander Hoffmann, a young German scientist, who becomes involved in the German-Namibian conflict in and around the year 1900. More precisely the years from 1896 to 1920.

 

The German title Der vermessene Mensch refers to a project which was eagerly pursued by some German scientists around that time:

 

They liked to measure skulls of European persons and skulls of African persons. Having measured many skulls, they compared them and declared that the European skull was larger than the African skull.

 

They said the European person had a larger brain than the African person. They said this fact proves that Europeans have a higher level of civilization than Africans.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Writer and director: Lars Kraume

** Based on the book Morenga (1978) by the German author Uwe Timm (born 1940)

** Language: German and Otjiherero

** Subtitles: German

** Run time: 116 minutes

** English title: Measures of Men

** German working title: Ein Platz an der Sonne

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Leonard Scheicher as Alexander Hoffmann – a young German ethnologist

** Girley Charlene Jazama as Kezia Kunouje Kambazembi – the Herero tribe

** Peter Simonischeck as Josef Ritter von Waldstätten - a professor of ethnology

** Sven Schelker as Wolf von Crensky – a German lieutenant

** Max Koch as Corporal Kramer

** Alexander Radszun as Lothar von Trotha (1848-1920) – a German general

** Michael Schenk as Ludwig Gustav Adolf von Estorff (1859-1943) – a German major

** Tilo Werner as August Kuhlmann (1871-1945) – a German missionary

** Corinna Kirschhoff as Henriette Hoffmann – Alexander’s mother

 

As stated above, this drama is based on the book Morenga (published in 1978) by the German author Uwe Timm, who was born in 1940.

 

It is a biography of Jacobus Morenga (1875-1907), who is known as the Black Napoleon, because he played an important role in the rebellion against German colonialism from 1904 until his death in 1907.

 

Der vermesseme Mensch is a fictional story placed in a historical context. In this case, the context is the history of Germany and Namibia from 1896 to 1920.

 

While most characters in this drama are fictional, there are some exceptions: General Lothar von Trotha, Major Ludwig von Estorff, and August Kuhlmann.

 

The fictional character Alexander Hoffmann is inspired by a real historical person:

Leonhard Schultze-Jena (1872-1955)

 

The fictional character Josef Ritter von Waldstätten is inspired by a real historical person:

Felix von Luschan (1854-1924)

 

The drama is divided into three chapters:

 

** Chapter 1 is set in Berlin in 1896

** Chapter 2 is set in Namibia 1904-1906

** Chapter 3 is set in Berlin in 1920

 

What happens in this drama? 

 

I will offer a brief summary. 

 

I do not want to spoil the viewing for anyone, but I have to mention some details in order to explain and justify my rating of the drama.

 

In 1896, there is a grand exposition in Treptower Park in Berlin. The exposition includes a show of people from the German colony Namibia which was at that time known as German South West Africa.

 

This is an example of a human zoo. This type of show was quite common in Europe or the US around that time.

 

The young ethnologist Alexander Hoffmann visits the exposition. He has a special reason to do this. He wants to measure the heads of the people from Namibia.

 

When Alexander meets the group from Namibia, he meets a young woman named Kezia, who is a spokesperson for the group, because she speaks German very well.

 

Alexander is clearly fascinated by Kezia. He has never met a person like her before. He meets her again on more than one occasion before the group returns to Namibia.

 

In 1904, a rebellion against Germany begins in Namibia. When a German ethnologist is invited to go to Namibia in order to observe what is going on and to study the local people - members of the Herero tribe - Alexander also wants to go. He still remembers Kezia. He wants to meet her again. He is allowed to go.

 

Once he is in Namibia, he is caught in the middle between the two sides of the conflict. On one side the indigenous population. On the other side the German army.

 

He has some sympathy for the local people. And he is shocked to see the violence used by the German soldiers. But he has to rely on the German soldiers who offer him protection.

 

While he is in Namibia, he has two different objectives:

 

The first objective is the official purpose of the visit: he is there to study the local people. His study includes the collection of local artifacts and, if possible, some skulls of the local people. German scientists are eager to measure Namibian skulls.

 

His second objective is personal: he wants to find Kezia, but it is not easy for him, because the German colony is in the middle of an armed conflict.

 

After searching for a long time, he learns that she was sent to a concentration camp which is known as Shark Island.

 

This is one of six concentrations camps established in German South West Africa. Here are the names of the other five:

 

** Karibib

** Okahandja

** Omaruru

** Swakopmund

** Windhuk

 

The concentration camp was located on Shark Island off Lüderitz, in the far southwest of the territory which today is Namibia.

 

It was used by the German army during the rebellion of the Herero tribe and the Nama tribe which lasted four years (1904-1908).

 

When he gets there, he enters the camp. He walks through the camp and watches the miserable conditions of the inmates.

 

Eventually, he finds her, but he is shocked to see what she looks like now. He can hardly recognize her. He is so shocked that he turns around and walks away. There is no happy reunion for Alexander and Kezia.

 

In 1920, Alexander is in Berlin. He is now a professor of ethnology. He is teaching his students about the differences between the people of Europe and the people of Africa. By now Kezia is only a distant memory.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 68 percent.

 

Two user reviews are posted on the website. Both offer a rating which is higher than the rating offered by the website. The first review offers 80 percent, while the second review offers 90 percent.

 

IMDb also has links to seventeen reviews written by professional critics. I will mention three of the seventeen reviews; in each case, I will present the basic message:

 

Axel Timo Purr

Artechok

This reviewer says the drama is an important contribution, but it does not go far enough. It is simply a movie which offers some information about the topic

 

Phil Butland

Cinephil

This reviewer says:

“It’s worth seeing, because it addresses an issue which has been largely ignored by the film industry, but it is disappointing in its execution.”

 

Vivien Buchhorn

Critic.de

This reviewer says the German director should have worked with a Namibian director while making this movie. He should have involved the local community in Namibia in this project. But he did not do this.

 

In this drama, the conflict is only seen from the white man’s perspective. The conflict is never seen from the perspective of the local people.

 

The reviewer says the director seems to think a white man is or can be the savior. This approach is unfortunate.

 

In addition, I will mention a review by taz:

 

Andreas Fanizadeh

Die Tageszeitung (taz.de)

26 March 2023

This reviewer says the conflict is always seen from the white man’s perspective.

 

The local people, the Namibians, are mostly anonymous. The only characters with names and some personalities are German. The exception to the general rule is Kezia, but even this figure is rarely seen on the screen. And for a long time, she seems to be forgotten.

 

The reviewer mentions and quotes the German politician Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul who was a member of the German government 1998-2009 (SPD).

 

In 2004, she attended a memorial meeting held in Namibia. Speaking about the war, she said the German army had conducted a war of annihilation.

 

While she apologized for the German policy, she emphasized that some Germans had, in fact, opposed this war of oppression in 1904. She explained:

 

“One of the critics was the leader of the party to which I belong, August Bebel. In the German parliament, he used very strong words to criticize the oppression of the Herero people and he praised the rebellion as a just war of liberation.”

 

As you can see, this drama has positive elements as well as negative elements. When I compare positive and negative elements, I have to say that the negative elements are stronger than the positive.

 

The topic is important. The story deserves to be told. But in this case, it is not done well.

 

This drama is not successful. It is disappointing in many ways. It is neither great nor good. It is average. I think it deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).

 

In my opinion, the rating on IMDb is too high, and the two user reviews posted on IMDb are far too high.

 

I understand the negative remarks mentioned by the four reviews summarized above and I agree with them.

 

The four reviews summarized above do not offer a specific rating, but I think they are pointing firmly towards a rating of three stars (60 percent).

 

PS. Lars Kraume (born 1973) is an Italian-born German filmmaker. He is the director or producer or writer of several films, including the following:

 

** The People vs. Fritz Bauer (2015)

** The Silent Revolution (2018)

 

Both items have a positive rating on IMDb. The former has 71 percent, while the latter has 74 percent.

 

In my opinion, the former item deserves 80 percent, while the latter item deserves 100 percent.

 

Since Lars Kraume is the director of two excellent products, it is disappointing to discover that his drama about the history of Germany and Namibia is only an average product.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Film and video

 

Morenga

A historical drama

(1985)

 

Namibia: Genocide and the Second Reich

A documentary film (BBC)

(2005)

 

Der vermessene Mensch:

Die Dokumentation

** Director = Jörg Müllner

** Run time = 44 minutes

This companion to the historical drama was shown on German television (ZDF) in 2024. It is available on the ZDF website until 05 October 2029

 

# 2. The following items are available online

 

“Treptower Park's human zoo,”

The Berliner

29 July 2021

 

Alfred Hagemann and Jonas Kreienbaum

“The Kaiser, the Berlin Palace and German Colonization,”

The Humboldt Forum

11 August 2023

 

# 3. Books in English

 

Genocide in German South West Africa: The Colonial War of 1904-1908 and its Aftermath

By Jürgen Zimmerer and Joachim Zeller

(2007 = hardcover)

(2008 = paperback)

 

The Kaiser’s Holocaust:

The Forgotten Genocide of the Second Reich

By David Olusoga and Casper W. Erichsen

(2010)

 

Germany’s Genocide of the Herero: Kaiser Wilhelm II, His General, His Settlers, His Soldiers

By Jeremy Sarkin

(2011)

 

Savage Worlds:

German Encounters Abroad, 1798-1914

Edited by Matthew Fitzpatrick and Peter Monteath

(2018)

 

Chapter 11 of this volume is about the German Social Democrats and the conflict in Namibia:

“Social Democrats and Germany’s War in South West Africa, 1904-1907”

By Andrew G. Bonnell

(pages 206-229)

 

A Sad Fiasco: Colonial Concentration Camps in Southern Africa, 1900- 1908

By Jonas Kreienbaum

(2019)

 

The Herero Genocide: War, Emotion, and Extreme Violence in Colonial Namibia

By Matthias Häussler

(2021 = hardcover)

(2024 = paperback)

 

The Kaiser and the Colonies

By Matthew Fitzpatrick

(2022)

 

Shark Island:

The First German Concentration Camp

By Katja Lembke

(2024)

 

# 4. Books in German

 

Haut, Haar und Knochen:

Koloniale Spuren in naturkundlichen Sammlungen der Universität Jena

By Larissa Förster and Holger Stoecker

(2016)

 

Völkermord – und was dann?

By Reinhard Kössler und Henning Melber

(2017)

 

Als Nambia noch Deutsch Südwest war

By Reinhard Münch

(2019)

 

Deutschland, deine Kolonien

Edited by Eva-Maria Schnurr and Frank Patalong

(2022 = hardcover)

(2024 = paperback)

 

Die Haifisch Insel:

Das erste Deutsche KZ

By Katja Lembke

(2023)

 

*****

Der vermessene Mensch

A historical drama which premiered

in 2023

 

*****

 

The Italian-born German director

Lars Kraume

(born 1973)

*****

 

The fate of the indigenous population:

Namibian prisoners in chains

*****

 

Cornelius Fredericks

(1864-1907)

played an important role in

the rebellion against

German colonialism 

in Namibia

 

*****

The tombstone of 

Cornelius Fredericks

on Shark Island

*****

 

Jacobus Morenga

(1875-1907)

known as the Black Napoleon

was an important person

in the struggle against

German colonialism 

in Namibia

 

*****