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

Landeshauptmann 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 Tyrol an ...

and governor of

German Southwest Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) 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. With a total area of ...

from 1894 to 1905.

Life and career

Leutwein was born in Strümpfelbrunn in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

. He joined the Baden Army in 1868, served in the Franco-Prussian War and afterwards was taken over into the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

. Following several promotions he achieved the rank of major in 1893. In 1894 he replaced Curt von François as commander of the

Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa The Imperial Schutztruppe for German South west Africa (german: Kaiserliche Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was the official name of the military formation that maintained the German Empire in its colony of German South West Africa. The ...

(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 in 20 ...

, Otjimbingwe and

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History Befo ...

). The construction of the first railroad between Windhoek and the seaport of Swakopmund 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 Namaqua 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 Namaqua Genocide * Herero chat, a species of b ...

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 (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

replaced Leutwein with the notorious General Lothar von Trotha. 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 political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

Reichstag deputy

August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist politician, writer, and orator. He is best remembered as one of the founders of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (SDAP) in 1869, which in 1875 mer ...

. 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.

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