Shark Island, Namibia

Shark Island (German: Haifischinsel) is a small peninsula adjacent to the coastal city of Lüderitz in Namibia. Its area is about 40 hectares (99 acres). Formerly an island, it became a peninsula from 1906 on by the creation of a wide land connection that doubled its former size.

"Death Island" redirects here. For other uses, see Death Island (disambiguation).

Shark Island
Haifischinsel
Peninsula
Shark Island is located in Namibia
Shark Island
Shark Island
Coordinates: 26°38′S 15°09′E
Country Namibia
RegionǁKaras Region
ConstituencyǃNamiǂNûs Constituency
Establishment1904–05
Founded by German Empire

It had been formerly named Star Island by British Captain Alexander during his 1795 surveying expedition.[1]

Concentration camp
Main article: Shark Island concentration camp

The island was site of Shark Island death camp. It was Namibia's first large-scale death camp. Close to 1,800 Nama prisoners arrived in September 1906, including Cornelius Frederiks, one of the strongest Nama military leaders.[1]

Shark Island has been called the "blueprint" for what the Nazis did later. Long before Hitler or the Nazis, the Germans shipped the Nama people to a remote location, where they performed experiments on the Nama and worked them to death.[2]

References
  1. Cassidy, Joseph (2009). Place Names of Namibia A Historical Dictionary. Windhoek: Macmillan Education Namibia Publishers (Pty) Ltd. p. 102. ISBN 978-99916-0-654-5.
  2. Steinhauser, Gabriele (28 July 2017). "Germany Confronts the Forgotten Story of Its Other Genocide". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 September 2021.


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