The biography of the German colonial officer Erich von Schauroth and, based on epistolary sources, his views on Africans during the suppression of the Nama uprising in 1904-1907 are reconstructed. Erich von Schauroth is considered a typical representative of the autonomous social and intellectual officer community. It is concluded that the views of von Schauroth fit into the colonial discourse traditional for his time: the willingness to endure the African service in the name of the German Empire was combined with paternalism in relation to local residents and a sense of superiority over these people. This superiority led to the strengthening of racist attitudes. At the same time, due to the fierce resistance offered by the Nama rebels, this career military officer began to see in the natives not only the features of animals, but also the features of people who deserve respect. As a result, ethnic stereotypes were gradually replaced by foreign policy and cultural ones, which contributed to the formation of respective images.
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