Germany–Namibia relations
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Germany–Namibia relations are the bilateral relationship 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 betwe ...
and
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 ...
. This relationship is of particular importance as Namibia was colonized and occupied by the German Empire in the 19th century. There is also a community of approximately 30,000
German Namibians German Namibians (german: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia fr ...
residing in Namibia today. Both nations are members of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
. Culturally, both countries are part of the Germanosphere.


History


Pre-colonial relations

First contacts between people of the two countries took place when German missionaries were hired by 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 ...
to commence working in Southern Namibia during the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.


German South West Africa and Herero and Namaqua genocide

During the Scramble for Africa, while present-day Namibia was occupied by
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 betwe ...
and known as ''
German South West 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 ...
'', the United Kingdom occupied
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 ...
and incorporated the port area to its possession in the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
. In 1890 the British government apportioned 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 ...
to the Germans. This would give Germany access to the
Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
and its other East African territories, and it would give up its claims on
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
(which was transferred to the United Kingdom). Between 1904-1908, Germany commenced a genocide against the Herero and Namaqua people of Namibia. The genocide began in 1904 after a Herero and Nama rebellion over German seizures of their land and cattle. In retaliation, the German military administration led by
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 ...
called for the extermination of the population in response.Germany officially recognises colonial-era Namibia genocide
/ref> Tens of thousands Herero and Namaqua people were killed during the genocide. 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 ...
, troops from South Africa invaded and occupied the territory. After the war, with the signing of the
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 ...
, Germany was forced to transfer its territory to 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 ...
in 1920, which at the time was a self-governing dominion 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 ...
.Namibia profile - Timeline
/ref> The territory would be called ''South West Africa'' for the next 70 years.


Namibian independence and post-independence relations

In 1966, SWAPO launched an armed struggle against South African occupation which became known as the
South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Ango ...
. In 1989 hostilities ceased in Namibia and in March 1990, Namibia became an independent nation. Namibian independence coincided with German reunification in October of that same year with both nations establishing diplomatic relations. In March 1998, German President
Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...
paid an official visit to Namibia.Namibia: A timeline of Germany's brutal colonial history
/ref> In August 2004, German minister for development,
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 ...
, recognized Germany's historical and moral responsibility for the genocide of the Herero and Nama people after 100 years. As a result, Germany decided to provide development aid to Namibia. In September 2011, the German government returned skulls from colonial-era killings to Namibia. More skulls and bones are returned during separate ceremonies in 2014 and 2018. In 2015, negotiations start between the German and Namibian governments regarding an official apology and aid money. In 2016, the German government recognized the mass murder of Herero and Nama by German troops as genocide in an official document. In May 2021, the both countries announced that an agreement has been reached in which Germany recognizes the atrocities committed against the Herero and Nama people in the early 1900s as genocide. The German government pledged to spend €1.1 billion over 30 years for infrastructure and development aid in Namibia. The payments do not include reparations.


Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements such as an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital (1996) and an agreement on the promotion of investments (1997).Germany and Namibia: Bilateral relations
/ref>


Tourism and transportation

Approximately 120,000 German visitors visit Namibia each year. There are direct flights between
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 it ...
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 ...
with
Eurowings Discover Eurowings Discover is a German airline headquartered in Frankfurt. It is owned by the Lufthansa Group and serves leisure destinations around the Mediterranean, North America and the Caribbean from its bases at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airpor ...
.


Trade

In 2018, trade between both nations totaled €200 million Euros. Germany's main exports to Namibia include: machines, food products, electro-technical products, electronics, chemical products, automotive products, measurement and control technology. Namibia's main export products to Germany include: non-ferrous metals, food products, raw materials (except fuels), automotive products, machinery, leather products and natural oils.


Resident diplomatic missions

* Germany has an embassy in
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 ...
. * Namibia has an embassy in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.Embassy of Namibia in Berlin
/ref> File:Windhoek-269058 1920.jpg, Sanlam Centre (left) hosting the Embassy of Germany in Windhoek File:Platanenallee 36, Reichsstraße 17 (09096391) 001.jpg, Embassy of Namibia in Berlin


See also

*
German Namibians German Namibians (german: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia fr ...
*
Embassy of Germany, Windhoek The German Embassy in Windhoek is Germany's diplomatic mission to Namibia. It is located at Sanlam Centre, 145 Independence Avenue (Windhoek), Independence Avenue in Windhoek. The current German ambassador is Herbert Beck. See also * Foreign rela ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germany-Namibia Relations
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 ...
Bilateral relations of Namibia Relations of colonizer and former colony