Theodor Gotthilf Leutwein (9 May 1849 – 13 April 1921) was a German military officer and colonial administrator who served as

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

and governor of

German Southwest Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

from 1894 to 1905.

Life and career

Leutwein was born in Strümpfelbrunn in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. He joined the

Baden Army The Baden Army () was the military organisation of the German state of Baden (state), Baden until 1871. The origins of the army were a combination of units that the Badenese margraviates of Margraviate of Baden-Durlach, Baden-Durlach and Margravia ...

in 1868, served in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and afterwards was taken over into the Prussian Army. Following several promotions he achieved the rank of major in 1893. In 1894 he replaced

Curt von François Curt Karl Bruno von François (2 October 1852 – 28 December 1931) was a German geographer, cartographer, Schutztruppe officer and commissioner of the German colonial empire, imperial colonial army of the German Empire, particularly in German So ...

as commander of the

Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa The Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa () was the official name of the military formation that maintained the Imperial German rule in its colony of German South West Africa. The Schutztruppe are held responsible for numerous atr ...

(Imperial Security Troop). His personal goal in the colony was to create "colonialism without bloodshed". During his tenure there, Leutwein created a decentralized administration with three regional centers (

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

Otjimbingwe Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. Otjimbingwe has approximately 8,000 inhabitants and belongs to the Karibib electoral constituency. Otjimbingwe was an important settlement in South West Afr ...

and

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

). The construction of the first railroad between Windhoek and the seaport of

Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...

was built during his rule. In 1899 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, rising to the rank of colonel in 1901.Biographies of Namibian personalities
by Klaus Dierks His policies with the native Africans, which he called the "Leutwein System", was a mixture of diplomacy, "divide-and-rule" and military coercion. His relationship with the indigenous Nama and

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Nama genocide * Herero chat, a species of bird ...

tribes were tenuous at best. Conversely, he was often criticized by German colonists as being too lenient with the Africans. In 1904 an uprising by the Herero was the beginning of the end of his colonial leadership. Soon after the uprising began

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

replaced Leutwein with the notorious General

Lothar von Trotha Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxer Rebelli ...

. In May 1904 he admitted that the Germans had not taken one Herero prisoner, following an inquiry by the

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Reichstag deputy

August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...

. In 1906, Leutwein published an autobiography, "''Elf Jahre als Gouverneur in Deutsch-Südwestafrika''" ("Eleven Years as Governor in German South West Africa"), an historical account of his career in German Southwest Africa. He died in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leutwein, Theodor 1849 births 1921 deaths People from Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis Colonial people of German South West Africa German Empire politicians Military personnel of the Grand Duchy of Baden Schutztruppe personnel Major generals of Prussia Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War