German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. With a total area of 835,100 km², it was one and a half times the size of the mainland German Empire in Europe at the time. The colony had a population of around 2,600 Germans.
German rule over this territory was punctuated by numerous rebellions by its native African peoples, which culminated in a
campaign of German reprisals from 1904 to 1908 known as the
Herero and Namaqua genocide
The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...
.
In 1915, during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, German South West Africa was invaded by the Western Allies in the form of South African and British forces. After the war its administration was taken over by the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
(part of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
) and the territory was administered as
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
under a
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
mandate. It became independent as
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
on 21 March 1990.
Early settlements
Initial European contact with the areas which would become German South West Africa came from traders and sailors, starting in January 1486 when
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
explorer
Diogo Cão
Diogo Cão (; -1486), anglicised as Diogo Cam and also known as Diego Cam, was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most notable navigators of the Age of Discovery. He made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, explori ...
, possibly accompanied by
Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim (6 October 1459 – 29 July 1507), also known as and by various forms of , was a German textile merchant and cartographer. He served John II of Portugal as an adviser in matters of navigation and participated in a voyage to W ...
, landed at
Cape Cross
Cape Cross (Afrikaans: ''Kaap Kruis''; German: ''Kreuzkap''; Portuguese: ''Cabo da Cruz'') is a headland in the South Atlantic in Skeleton Coast, western Namibia.
History
In 1484, Portuguese navigator and explorer Diogo Cão was ordered by K ...
. However, for several centuries, European settlement would remain limited and temporary. In February 1805, the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
established a small mission in Blydeverwacht, but the efforts of this group met with little success. In 1840, the London Missionary Society transferred all of its activities to the German
Rhenish Missionary Society
The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Protestant missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and it ...
. Some of the first representatives of this organisation were
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (1812–1864) was a German missionary and linguist who worked in southern Africa, now in the region of Namibia. He founded the missionary station and town of Rehoboth and together with Carl Hugo Hahn set up the first ...
(who arrived in October 1842) and
Carl Hugo Hahn
Carl Hugo Hahn (1818–1895) was a Baltic German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life. Together with Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, he set up the first Rhenish mission station to the Here ...
(who arrived in December 1842). They began founding churches throughout the territory. The Rhenish missionaries had a significant impact initially on culture and dress, and then later on politics. During the same time that the Rhenish missionaries were active, merchants and farmers were establishing outposts.
Early history
On 16 November 1882, a German merchant from
Bremen,
Adolf Lüderitz
Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz (16 July 1834 – end of October 1886) was a German merchant and the founder of German South West Africa, Imperial Germany's first colony. The coastal town of Lüderitz, located in the ǁKaras Region of southern N ...
, requested protection for a station that he planned to build in South West Africa, from
Chancellor Bismarck. Once this was granted, his employee, Heinrich Vogelsang, purchased land from a native chief and established a settlement at
Angra Pequena
Angra may refer to:
Places
* Bay of Angra (Baía de Angra), within Angra do Heroísmo on the Portuguese island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores
* Angra do Heroísmo, a municipality in the Azores, Portugal
* Angra dos Reis, a municipa ...
which was renamed
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.
The town is known for its colonial architecture, includ ...
.
On 24 April 1884, he placed the area under the protection of
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
to deter possible encroachment by other European powers. In early 1884, the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
visited to review the situation. A favourable report from the government, and
acquiescence
In law, acquiescence occurs when a person knowingly stands by without raising any objection to the infringement of their rights, while someone else unknowingly and without malice aforethought acts in a manner inconsistent with their rights. As a ...
from the British, resulted in a visit from the
corvettes and . The German flag was finally raised in South West Africa on 7 August 1884. The German claims on this land were confirmed during the
Conference of Berlin
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...
. In October, the newly appointed
Commissioner for West Africa,
Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal (; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surgeon and explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His missio ...
, arrived on the .
[ Chapter 4.1 Initial Period of German South West Africa (SWA): 1884-188]
''Chronology'' 1884 Section
/ref>
In April 1885, the ''Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft für Südwest-Afrika'' (German Colonial Society for Southwest Africa, known as DKGSWA) was founded with the support of German bankers (Gerson von Bleichröder
Gerson von Bleichröder (22 December 1822 – 18 February 1893) was a Jewish German banker.
Bleichröder was born in Berlin. He was the eldest son of Samuel Bleichröder, who founded the banking firm of S. Bleichröder in 1803 in Berlin. Ger ...
, Adolph von Hansemann
Adolph von Hansemann (27 July 1826 – 9 December 1903) was an Imperial German businessman and banker.
Life
Born in Aachen in 1826 to German banker and railroad entrepreneur David Hansemann, Adolph Hansemann developed an early interest in busin ...
), industrialists ( Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck) and politicians (Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
mayor Johannes von Miquel
Johannes von Miquel (19 February 1828 – 8 September 1901) was a German statesman.
Biography
Born Johannes Franz Miquel at Neuenhaus, Kingdom of Hanover on 19 February 1828 as a descendant from a French family that had emigrated during the Fre ...
). DKGSWA was granted monopoly rights to exploit mineral deposits, following Bismarck's policy that private rather than public money should be used to develop the colonies. The new Society soon bought the assets of Lüderitz's failing enterprises, land and mineral rights. Lüderitz drowned the next year while on an expedition to the mouth of the Orange River
The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
. Later, in 1908, diamonds were discovered. Thus along with gold, copper, platinum, and other minerals, diamonds became a major investment.
In May, Heinrich Ernst Göring
Heinrich Ernst Göring (31 October 1839 – 7 December 1913) was a German jurist and diplomat who served as colonial governor of German South West Africa. He was the father of five children including Hermann Göring, the Nazi leader and comman ...
was appointed Commissioner and established his administration at Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...
. Then, on 17 April 1886, a law creating the legal system of the colony was passed, creating a dual system with laws for Europeans and different laws for natives.
Over the following years, relations between the German settlers and the indigenous peoples continued to worsen. Additionally, the British settlement at Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...
, a coastal enclave within South West Africa, continued to develop, and many small farmers and missionaries moved into the region. A complex web of treaties, agreements, and vendettas increased the unrest. In 1888 the first group of ''Schutztruppe
(, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
n''—colonial protectorate troops—arrived, sent to protect the military base at Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...
.
In 1890, the colony was declared a German Crown Colony, and more troops were sent. In July of the same year, as part of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty
The Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty (german: Helgoland-Sansibar-Vertrag; also known as the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890) was an agreement signed on 1 July 1890 between the German Empire and the United Kingdom.
The accord gave Germany control of ...
between Britain and Germany, the colony grew in size through the acquisition of the Caprivi Strip
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a s ...
in the northeast, promising new trade routes into the interior.
Almost simultaneously, between August and September 1892, the South West Africa Company Ltd (SWAC) was established by the German, British, and Cape Colony governments, aided by financiers to raise the capital required to enlarge mineral exploitation (specifically, the Damaraland concession's copper deposit interests).
A veterinary cordon fence was introduced in 1896 to control rinderpest
Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthog ...
by restricting population and livestock movement. Later known as the '' Red Line'', it became a political boundary with police protection concentrated south of the line, while northern areas were controlled though indirect colonial rule using traditional authorities. This led to different political and economic outcomes for example between the northern Ovambo people
The Ovambo people (), also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Kwaluudhi, Kolonghadhi, Mbalantu), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama) the biggest of the Aawambo sub-tribes are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Afric ...
compared to the more centrally located Herero people.
German South West Africa was the only German colony in which Germans settled in large numbers. German settlers were drawn to the colony by economic possibilities in diamond and copper mining, and especially farming. In 1902 the colony had 200,000 inhabitants, although only 2,595 were recorded as German, while 1,354 were Afrikaners and 452 were British. By 1914, 9,000 more German settlers had arrived. There were probably around 80,000 Herero, 60,000 Ovambo Ovambo may refer to:
*Ovambo language
*Ovambo people
* Ovamboland
*Ovambo sparrowhawk
The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the famil ...
, and 10,000 Nama, who were referred to as Hottentots.
Rebellion against German rule and genocide of the Herero and Namaqua
Through 1893 and 1894, the first "Hottentot Uprising" of the Nama and their leader Hendrik Witbooi occurred. The following years saw many further local uprisings against German rule. Before the Herero and Namaqua genocide
The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...
of 1904–1907, the Herero and Nama had good reasons to distrust the Germans, culminating in the Khaua-Mbandjeru rebellion. This rebellion, in which the Germans tried to control the Khaua by seizing their property under cover of European legal views of property ownership (criticised at home for being no real reform of the notion of collective tribal ownership). This led to the largest of the rebellions, known as the Herero Wars (or Herero genocide) of 1904.
Remote farms were attacked, and approximately 150 German settlers were killed. The ''Schutztruppe
(, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
'' of only 766 troops and native auxiliary forces was, at first, no match for the Herero. The Herero went on the offensive, sometimes surrounding Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...
and 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 202 ...
, and destroying the railway bridge to Osona
Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of Osona. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of ...
. Additional 14,000 troops, hastened from Germany under Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Lothar von Trotha
General 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 Boxe ...
, crushed the rebellion in the Battle of Waterberg
The Battle of Waterberg (Battle of Ohamakari) took place on August 11, 1904 at the Waterberg, German South West Africa (modern day Namibia), and was the decisive battle in the German campaign against the Herero.
Armies
The German Imperial For ...
.
Earlier von Trotha issued an ultimatum to the Herero people, denying them the right of being German subjects and ordering them to leave the country or be killed. To escape, the Herero retreated into the waterless Omaheke
Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed vi ...
region, a western arm of the Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal d ...
, where many of them died of thirst. The German forces guarded every water source and were given orders to shoot any adult male Herero on sight. Only a few Herero managed to escape into neighbouring British Bechuanaland.
The German official military report on the campaign lauded the tactics:
In late 1904, the Nama entered the struggles against the colonial power under their leaders Hendrik Witbooi and Jakobus Morenga, the latter often referred to as "the black Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
", despite losing most of his battles. This uprising was finally quashed during 1907–1908. In total, between 25,000 and 100,000 Herero, more than 10,000 Nama and 1,749 Germans died in the conflict.
After the official end of the conflict, the remaining natives, when finally released from detention, were subject to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labour, and racial segregation and discrimination in a system that in many ways anticipated apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. The genocide remains relevant to ethnic identity in independent Namibia and to relations with Germany.
The neighbouring British objected to what they regarded as the inhumane German policy. This involved maintaining a number of concentration camps in the colony during their war against the Herero and Nama peoples. Besides these camps, the indigenous people were interned in other places. These included private businesses and government projects, ships offshore, ''Etappenkommando'' in charge of supplies of prisoners to companies, private persons, etc., as well as any other materials. Concentration camps implies poor sanitation and a population density that would imply disease. Prisoners were used as slave labourers in mines and railways, for use by the military or settlers.
The Herero and Namaqua genocide has been recognised by the United Nations and by the Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
. On the 100th anniversary of the camp's foundation, German Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (born 21 November 1942) is a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 1965.
Early life and career
Wieczorek-Zeul (pronounced ''VEE‐choreck TSOIL'') began her career as a teacher 1965 ...
commemorated the dead on-site and apologised for the camp on behalf of Germany. In May 2021, after five years of negotiations, the German government - recognising the Hottentot Rebellion as a colonial genocide - set up a $1.3 billion compensation fund.
Gallery
File:Erichsen Abused San or Nama child prisoners p. 52 v2.jpg
File:Erichsen p.59 v2.jpg
File:Erichsen slave labour p. 83 v2.jpg
File:Erichsen p.92 v2.jpg
File:Sarkin p. 225.jpg
File:Erichsen p.57 v2.jpg
File:Zimmerer+Zeller Genocide in GSWA p.137.jpg
First World War
The news about the start of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
reached German South West Africa on 2 August 1914 via radio telegraphy. The information was transmitted from the Nauen transmitter station
Nauen Transmitter Station (German: ''Grossfunkstelle Nauen'' or ''Sender Nauen'') in Nauen, Havelland district, Brandenburg, Germany, is the oldest continuously operating radio transmitting installation in the world. Germany's first high power rad ...
via a relay station in Kamina
Kamina is the capital city of Haut-Lomami Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Transport
Kamina is known as an important railway node; three lines of the DRC railways run from Kamina toward the north, west, and south-east. The m ...
and Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 in Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
to the radio station in Windhoek.
During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, South African troops opened hostilities with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station on 13 September 1914. German settlers were transported to concentration camps near Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
and later in Pietermaritzburg. Because of the overwhelming numerical superiority of the South African troops, the German Schutztruppe, along with groups of Afrikaner volunteers fighting in the Maritz rebellion
The Maritz rebellion, also known as the Boer revolt or Five Shilling rebellion,General De Wet publicly unfurled the rebel banner in October, when he entered the town of Reitz at the head of an armed commando. He summoned all the town and dema ...
on the German side, offered opposition only as a delaying tactic. On 9 July 1915, Victor Franke
Erich Victor Carl August Franke (21 July 1865 – 7 August 1936) was a German military officer and last commander of the ''Schutztruppe'' in German South West Africa.
Franke was born in Zuckmantel, Austrian Silesia. He was ''Bezirksamtman ...
, the last commander of the Schutztruppe, capitulated near Khorab.
Two members of the Schutztruppe, geography professors Fritz Jaeger and Leo Waibel, are remembered for their explorations of the northern part of German South West Africa, which became the book ''Contributions to the Geography of South West Africa'' (Beiträge zur Landeskunde von Südwestafrika).
Postwar
After the war, the territory came under the control of Britain and then was made a South African League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
mandate. The colony developed peacefully under British rule. In 1990, the former colony became independent as Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, governed by the former liberation movement SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
.
German legacy
Many German names, buildings, and businesses still exist in the country, and about 30,000 people of German descent still live there. German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
is still widely used in Namibia, with the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) ( af, Namibiese Uitsaai-Korporasie, ''NUK'') is the public broadcaster of Namibia. It was established in 1979, under the name South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC).
History
Radio was ori ...
operating a German-language radio station and broadcasting television news bulletins in German, while the daily newspaper '' Allgemeine Zeitung'', founded in 1916, remains in publication. Deukom
Deukom is a provider of digital television for the South African market via IPTV or via Satellite television, satellite, using the Astra 4A satellite at Astra 5°E, 5° east. The target group are Germans living in South Africa.
History
The transm ...
, a satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
service, offers television and radio channels from Germany.
In addition, Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
is the predominant Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
denomination in present-day Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
.
German placenames
Most place names in German South West Africa continued to bear German spellings of the local names, as well as German translations of some local phrases.
The few exceptions to the rule included places founded by the Rhenish Missionary Society
The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Protestant missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and it ...
, generally biblical names, as well as:
*Hoornkrans
*Sandfontein
*Stolzenfels
*Waterberg (Otjiwarongo
Otjiwarongo ( hz, beautiful place) is a city of 28,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa.
Otjiwarongo is situated in c ...
)
Planned symbols for German South West Africa
In 1914 a series of drafts were made for proposed Coat of Arms and Flags for the German Colonies
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. However, World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out before the designs were finished and implemented and the symbols were never actually taken into use. Following the defeat in the war, Germany lost all its colonies and the prepared coat of arms and flags were therefore never used.
Flag of Deutsch-Südwest.svg, Proposed flag
Proposed Coat of Arms Southwest Africa 1914.svg, Proposed coat of arms
See also
*List of colonial governors of South West Africa
This article lists the colonial governors of South West Africa. South West Africa was the colonial predecessor of the modern day Republic of Namibia from when the territory was controlled by the German Empire (as German South West Africa) and l ...
*List of former German colonies
This is list of former German colonies owned by states of Germany:
Holy Roman Empire & German Confederation Brandenburg-Prussia
*Groß Friedrichsburg (in Ghana), 1683–1718
* Arguin (in Mauritania), 1685–1721
* Whydah (in present Bénin), ...
*Postage stamps and postal history of German South West Africa
German South West Africa was a German colony in Africa, established in 1884 with the protection of the area around Lüderitz and abandoned during World War I, when the area was taken over by the British.
The postal history of the colony started o ...
* Germans of Namibia
*German Kamerun
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...
*Togoland
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kn ...
* German East Africa
*German African Party
The German African Party (in German: ''Deutsche Afrikanische Partei'') was a small anti-Nazi political party which existed in South West Africa (currently Namibia) from the 1930s through the 1950s.
The German African Party was created on February ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
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Further reading
*Aydelotte, William Osgood. "The First German Colony and Its Diplomatic Consequences." ''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 5#3 (1937): 291-313
Online
* Bullock, A.L.C. ''Germany's Colonial Demands'', Oxford University Press, 1939.
*
* Hull, Isabel. ''Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006
Preview
*Hillebrecht, Werner. "'Certain uncertainties', or venturing progressively into colonial apologetics?" Journal of Namibian Studies, 1. 2007. pp. 73–95. Accessed 6 September 2020
Online
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 1, 2. Auflage, Windhoek 2012,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 2, "Naulila", Windhoek 2012,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 3, "Kämpfe im Süden", Windhoek 2014,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 4, "Der Süden ist verloren", Windhoek 2016,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 5, "Aufgabe der Küste", Windhoek 2016,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 6, "Aufgabe der Zentralregionen", Windhoek 2017,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 7, "Der Ring schließt sich", Windhoek 2018,
*Historicus Africanus: "Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914/15", Band 8, "Das Ende bei Khorab", Windhoek 2018,
*Krömer/Krömer: "Fotografische Erinnerungen an Deutsch-Südwestafrika", Band 1, Fotos und Ansichtskarten aus Kriegs- und Friedenstagen, Windhoek 2012,
*Krömer/Krömer: "Fotografische Erinnerungen an Deutsch-Südwestafrika", Band 2, Orte, Menschen und Geschichte in alten Fotografien, Windhoek 2013,
*Krömer/Krömer: "Fotografische Erinnerungen an Deutsch-Südwestafrika", Band 3, Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Windhoek 2018,
*Reith, Wolfgang: "Die Oberhäuptlinge des Hererovolkes", Von den Anfängen bis zum ungelösten Streit der Gegenwart, Windhoek 2017,
*Reith, Wolfgang: "Die Kaiserlichen Schutztruppen", Deutschlands Kolonialarmee 1889-1919, Windhoek 2017,
External links
Klaus Dierks' chronology of Namibia
* The New Student's Reference Work/German Southwest Africa
Debie LeBeau's Development work on Namibia
"Contributions to the Geography of South West Africa"
from 1920–21 via the World Digital Library
The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.
The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...
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History of Namibia
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
Former protectorates
German colonisation in Africa
Germany–Namibia relations
Former colonies in Africa
1884 establishments in German South West Africa
1915 disestablishments in South West Africa