These days the southern African country Namibia seems to be known for its shifting sand dunes. Shifting sands and shifting colours. Till just over a century ago Namibia was a German colony (1884 – 1915), carrying the name Deutsch-Südwestafrika. 

One of the colonial officers was Heinrich Ernst Göring (a son of him rose to fame in the German Nazi rule). Many people left their Heimat to settle in Südwestafrika and their influence and presence is still felt in presentday Namibia. During the colonial rule the different ethnic groups (among them the Herero) did not take lightly to the colonial rule. 

In the period of 1904 – 1910 skulls were collected in the colony and send to a museum in Berlin. In 2011 twenty skulls have been returned. The Dutch historian Leonor Faber – Jonker (1987) did study the history surrounding the journeys of these skulls. When you read this article you will find a link to her thesis.