While Germany began colonizing other countries relatively late – in the late 19th century, hundreds of years after other European nations – its colonial empire in Africa and Asia was considered the third largest in 1914.
Germany was forced to abandon its colonies after World War I and, until today, has struggled to confront its colonial past and create a culture of remembrance linked to the atrocities it committed , especially in today’s Namibia. In 2021, he recognized atrocities committed against the Herero and Nama people in what is now Namibia as genocide.
Instead of imposing more trade restrictions on hunting trophies, European countries – and notably Germany – should focus on “dialogue”, Hoffmann said. “People still use old and simplistic speeches because they are easy to sell and justify on a national level,” he said.
“I am convinced that only national laws and their implementation on the ground can really solve the problem,” Hoffmann said, referring to attempts by European countries to solve African problems remotely. “So this indirect route through the retail chains will be difficult because there are others who will buy the trophies,” he said.
Not asking for people’s expertise on issues that primarily concern them “was in principle an authoritarian and simply brazen approach,” Hoffmann said.
There are two species of African elephants: savannah elephants and forest elephants. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers savannah elephants to be endangered and forest elephants to be critically endangered.
Politico
