Herero Stone, War memorial at Columbiadamm Cemetery, Germany
The Herero Stone is a memorial on the Columbiadamm Cemetery grounds in Berlin-Neukölln. It marks remembrance of events tied to German colonial history and sits among various burial sections with different religious and historical focuses.
The reddish granite boulder was set up in 1907 on the barracks grounds of Kaiser-Franz-Garde-Grenadier-Regiment No. 2 on Urbanstraße, donated by its officers for seven volunteers of the Schutztruppe who died in German South West Africa between 1904 and 1907. In 1973 the Afrika-Kameradschaft Berlin and the Traditionsverband ehemaliger Schutz- und Überseetruppen had it restored, gave it their emblems and moved it to the Columbiadamm cemetery. On 2 October 2009, after years of protest and dispute over wording and victim figures, a black granite plaque commemorating the Herero and Nama victims was laid in the ground before it.
The stone's inscription names seven volunteers of the Kaiser-Franz-Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 2 who died in German South West Africa, and the officers' corps that donated it in 1907 is named above the text. Since 2009 a polished black slab showing the outline of Namibia lies on the ground before it, recalling the Herero and Nama victims. Veterans' associations and far-right groups still lay wreaths here.
The stone stands on the Columbiadamm cemetery in Berlin-Neukölln, with the black Namibia memorial plaque set in the ground to its left. The cemetery is open to visitors daily; the stone and plaque can be reached on foot along the main paths.
The boulder carries two later emblems: the Afrika-Korps association's palm shield reading "AFRIKA 1941 1943" and the stylised Schutztruppenhut of the veterans' association, both added in 1973 when the stone was moved to Columbiadamm.
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