After uprisings in 1903-1904, General Lothar von Trotha ordered the execution of Herero men, and ordered that women and children be driven into the desert. The German administration in Berlin struggled to bring Trotha under control, but allowed him to herd Herero and Nama into concentration camps after suspending the extermination. There, many were worked to death.
About half of the 20,000 Nama died. The exact number of Herero deaths is not certain, but estimated to be between 24,000-100,000. The overwhelming majority were not combatants.
