Mr Steinmeier was speaking during a visit to a museum in the Tanzanian city of Songea.

The site commemorates the Maji Maji uprising at the start of the last century which was bloodily suppressed by the German authorities.

It's estimated that up to 300,000 people were killed.

Most died a result of the systematic destruction of fields and villages by German troops.

The visit took place on the final day of a three-day tour of Tanzania.