Discussion:Theodor Leutwein

Even though I am a French national I never learned to spell French correctly since I live in a foreign country, so please bear with me using English. This article seems to be more or less a copy+paste from a chronology written by Klaus Dierks, a former SWAPO member and deceased since last year.

See yourself: http://www.klausdierks.com/Chronology/49.htm

This in turn seems to be inspired by the works of the GDR historian Horst Drechsler, who wrote one of the first modern works on the former German colony, albeit a very biased one, since he wrote for a socialist dictatorship.

It also states that Andries Lambert was sentenced and shot to death on 19.3.1894 for refusing to sign a protection treaty with the German Reich. This is false or at the very least omitting half the story. The Khauas had robbed a tribe under German protection and stolen the livestock and deported many tribesmen. At the same time they murdered a German trademan and mistreated an envoy sent by von Francois, Leutweins precedessor. Leutwein moved into the Khauas settlement wit soldiers and witnesses of the misdeeds. Leutwein offered Andries Lambert clemency in exchange for the return of the robbed goods and rifles and ammunition. Lambert also promised to behave quieter in the future. The same night he tried to flee, was apprehended. The next morning he was trialed and sentenced to death for murder after overwhelming testimony by Betschuanas (the assaulted tribe), the companion of the murdered tradesman and the mistreated envoy. He was shot the 20.03. See: Bley, Namibia under German rule, p. 10f.