Tribal leaders from Namibia became well received at a ceremony held in Berlin in late September with the purpose of reconciliation. Germany felt the need to atone for its actions during the time when Namibia formed up German South West Africa, a territory under German colonial rule. The issue that became the focal point for the Namibian delegation in Berlin was the German holding of 20 human skulls. These remains belonged to some of the Namibians who were rounded up in camps and starved to death after a failed uprising against colonial authority in the early 1900s. The skulls were later shipped to Germany where they became research objects for anthropologists whose perspective was clearly shaped by the racial theories of the time. By conducting research on the skulls the anthropologists hoped to confirm the belief that some people were intellectually inferior in comparison to Germans, a doctrine which later supported the rise of Nazism among other factors. By returning the skulls to the Namibian delegation the two countries seek to revitalize the bilateral dialogue and openly discuss historical injustice.
The condemnation of racial hierarchies and the belief in the supposed inferiority of some people and individuals is what could be expected from the German state, considering its modern history. But the fact is that doctrines from the past might be more resilient than people would like to prefer, no matter how repulsive they may be in a democratic society. Standardized tests designed to assess intelligence for example were used by American psychologists in the early 20thcentury to find out the level of intelligence among immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. Without any consideration for the fact that the immigrants had just landed ashore after an arduous sea voyage and normally had no understanding of the English language the psychologists came to the conclusion that they had no more wits than an average twelve year-old child. With this in mind some politicians believed that the mental quality of the American people was gradually being undermined and advocated a more restrictive policy for the reception of immigrants. The use of tests to assess intelligence in order to discover supposed intellectual differences between nations and individuals might seem preposterous for modern day observers, but tests are still in use for the purpose of deciding whether a child with special needs is to begin a regular school or a school with special education. A school where the education suits the needs of the individual pupil is likely to be perceived as a needed institution in the society, but several cases where children have been wrongly conferred to special schools have during recent years been reported from Sweden. One of these cases tells the tale of two brothers in the Swedish municipality of Vellinge who where put in special school after what they retrospectively considered to be an incorrect evaluation of their mental development. The Sjöholm brothers where brought to the attention of Swedish media in spring 2011 and their story is only one among many where children have tragically been assessed incorrectly after performing intelligence tests.
The historical connection between the doctrine of racial differences of early 20thcentury and modern day procedures to assess intelligence among people with special needs shows institutions’ inclination for path dependency, even though the purpose of intelligence assessment has changed over time. Old patterns of thought may take considerable amounts of time to change and may even recur from time to time. It is therefore probably a wise decision by the German and Namibian governments to come to term with their past and actively discuss its implications for today’s world. With awareness of the genesis of procedures in modern society mistakes such as the one that struck the Sjöholm brothers might be avoided.
An article from BBC News about the visit of the Namibian delegation to Germany can be accessed from the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15127992
Daniel Nykvist
