Happy New Year - scene on a postcard from German South West Africa (Namibia) (photo: National Archives of Namibia)

 

The 20th century began badly for Namibia. Many of the German settlers had become frustrated at what they regarded as slow progress in providing them with sufficient land. The governor, Leutwein, resisted their demands for strong measures to seize more land, but in early 1904 a combination of settlers and some sympathetic military officers provoked a revolt amongst the Hereros in Okahandja. Fighting spread to most of the German farms and towns, but Leutwein and chief Samuel Maharero calmed the situation. Expecting that there would be negotiations to settle the issue peacefully, most of the Hereros withdrew from contact with the Germans, settling down around the Waterberg to await developments.

Scenes from Okahandja: German war graves from the 1904-05 conflict (left) and the German-era railway station (right)

However, in Berlin the authorities responded to right-wingers who urged that the rebellious natives should be taught a lesson and that their land should be opened up for settler expansion. As a result, instead of beginning negotiations, the Germans enhanced their military capacity in Namibia. Most significantly, General Von Trotha was sent to replace Leutwein. In August 1904, having completed their preparations, the German forces attacked the Hereros at the Waterberg. After desperate fighting, the Hereros - men, women, and children - retreated eastwards into the dry Sandveld of the Kalahari, away from water and sustenance. Two months later, Von Trotha issued his notorious order that all Hereros should be exterminated. A fence was constructed to keep the Herero survivors from the water holes, which were guarded by soldiers. Later, when the 'extermination order' was rescinded after protests in Germany, the surviving Hereros were rounded up to be interned in concentration camps, where they were used as slave labour on public and private projects. The same fate befell the Oorlam/Namas of the south when they rose against the Germans and were defeated in turn. The most fortunate of all the survivors were the few thousand Hereros who made it to safety in Botswana (then British Bechuanaland). These survivors included Samuel Maharero.

This was the third occasion within a relatively short period of time that colonial powers had used concentration camps. The first camps were established by the Spanish in Cuba and the second instance was the camp system that the British established in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902). In both of these cases, the camps were designed to confine non-combatants, mainly women and children, so that they could not provide aid and succour to the combatants. While there were numerous deaths in the camps in South Africa, the evidence suggests that these were caused by callous indifference by the British military authorities rather than the result of a policy of extermination. However, the Namibian case was different: the camps were operated specifically to provide slave labour, with no concern for the welfare of the inmates. Indeed, there is evidence that in some camps the conditions were deliberately designed so that most of the inmates were certain to die. For instance, this was the case at the notorious Shark Island camp at Luderitz, which housed captured combatants from the conflict in the south.

 

The 'Reiterdenkmal', the monument to German soldiers killed in 1904-06 (left), and the 'Alte Feste' ('Old Fort'), a bastion of German colonial control (right): both in Windhoek.

 

It has been estimated that by the time the camps were closed in 1909, more than three-quarters of the Herero and Nama people had died in the short space of less than five years through warfare, through privations, and through exhaustion during slave labour. As sites for slave labour and extermination, the concentration camps in Namibia were forerunners of the notorious extermination centres that the Nazis operated during the Holocaust. The connection is not accidental, as the two cases are directly connected by persons who were involved as well as by ideological influences.

German-era map of Luderitz inner harbour, showing Nama and Herero prison camps on Shark Island (marked N and H for this display) (Acknowledgement to the National Archives of Namibia)

Now that huge tracts of land were unoccupied, settlers poured in and the colonial population increased swiftly. Herero and Nama people who were not employed by the settlers were restricted to living in 'native reserves', mostly in isolated and barren regions. These 'reserves' represented only a small fraction of the land that the indigenous people had lost.

In 2004, there was a belated but courageous sequel to these events when, at a centennial commemoration at the Waterberg, Ms Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German Minister for Cooperation, made a public apology, quoting the Lord's Prayer to ask forgiveness for the crimes the Germans committed against the Herero - one of the few cases in history when a politician has admitted error or fault! This notwithstanding, at the time of writing, representatives of the Herero people have initiated legal and political actions against Germany for reparations for the genocide.

Prisoners of the 1904-05 conflict	A postcard: German forces defend a position	War propaganda, 1904-05

Although the people of the central and southern areas of the country suffered grievously from these events, the inhabitants of the northern regions, which are known colloquially as Owamboland, Kavango, and Caprivi, were not directly affected, because they had not been colonised. However, fighters from the southern kingdom of Ndonga did attack the German fort at Namutoni, forcing the garrison to withdraw.

There was a grimly ironical sequel to the genocide, when, as colonists poured in to occupy the vacant land, it became clear that so many of the former inhabitants had died that there was not enough labour to serve the expanding economy. Consequently, the German administration concluded agreements with kings and headmen of Owamboland and Kavango for labourers to work in the colony for fixed periods, after which they would return home. In years to come, the South African administration further formalised this 'contract labour system', turning these areas into isolated, under-developed sources of never-ending, cheap labour to support the colonial economy. This had a negative effect on the 'homelands', as at any one time thousands of able-bodied men were absent from their families, homes, and communities, unable to fulfil their roles as husbands, fathers, and farmers, amongst others.

German troops in Windhoek (left) and the prison camp in Windhoek, next to the fort (right) (photos: National Archives of Namibia)

When the First World War started in 1914, troops from the newly founded Union of South Africa invaded German South West Africa on the side of the British Empire. As an historical curiosity, it can be noted that it was ironic that former Boer generals such as Botha and Smuts, who had fought vigorously against Britain only twelve years earlier, were now leading a pro-British invasion. Cut off from their homeland and from sources of supplies, the German troops were forced back relentlessly and eventually surrendered near Tsumeb. South Africa then administered Namibia as a captured territory.

When the war ended, all German citizens with official connections, such as soldiers and civil servants, were sent back to Germany, together with those who chose voluntary repatriation. Within a short time, the number of German citizens in the colony had fallen to less than half the pre-war level.

In terms of the Treaty of Versailles, all of the German colonies became mandated territories under the League of Nations. South West Africa was mandated to Great Britain, which then handed it over to South Africa to administer. The South African authorities decided to use the tracts of vacant land that they inherited to address a pressing issue at home, namely the so-called 'poor white problem'. These were white people, mainly Afrikaners, who had vacated the land for various reasons, such as drought and lack of space, and were now living in poverty in the cities. Accordingly, during the 1920s, hundreds of farms were given to white settlers from South Africa.

The indigenous inhabitants of the central regions were hugely disappointed, as they had had been led to expect that most of the land would be returned to them. This disillusionment, fuelled by poverty and oppression, eventually led to protests and growing opposition, such as representations to the United Nations and to the liberation war, with the eventual outcome of independence for Namibia in 1990.

Now it was the turn of Owamboland to come under direct colonial control as South African officials and troops moved into the territory soon after the surrender of the German forces. The best known incident of this phase of colonial extension involved Mandumeya Ndemufayo, the young King of the Kwanyama, by far the largest of the Wambo groups. At that time, Oukwanyama - the territory of the Kwanyama - straddled what is today the border between Namibia and Angola. In 1915, Mandume moved his capital southwards after losing territory to the Portuguese in a three-day battle. In 1917 the South Africans decided to remove Mandume from power and he was killed - or perhaps committed suicide - when the Kwanyama fighters were defeated. Legends and controversy still surround King Mandume: the most pervasive belief, enduring but uncorroborated, is that the victors cut off his head and brought it to Windhoek to display amongst their spoils of battle.

Another well known clash between the colonialists and a traditional ruler in Owamboland occurred in 1932 when King Iipumbu ya Tshilongo, King of the Kwambi, was involved in a disagreement with the Finnish mission concerning a ruler's sexual rights over young women, who were increasingly converting to Christianity. Seizing the pretext, the South Africans bombed the royal homestead from the air and, when Iipumbu surrendered, banished him to the neighbouring territory of Kavango.

King Mandume and retinue with South African officers (left) and South African airmen with Kwambi councillors (right) (photos: National Archives of Namibia)

The South Africans administered Namibia largely for the benefit of the white colonists. For instance, all white children received free education of good quality at state schools, while non-white children could only attend mission schools, which were founded and maintained by the communities. Thus, whereas all white children were given an education, irrespective of their parents' financial positions, scores of thousands of non-white children in poor communities could not attend school at all. In addition, the administration only provided partial funding for mission schools, and then only up to the fifth grade at the most.

Another instance of the way in which white people benefited from the colonial system can be seen in the fact that large tracts of land – the commercial farms - as well as most urban business and commercial areas, were reserved for the occupation and use of whites only, as were most of the skilled and higher-level jobs. In 1948, when the Nationalist Party came to power in South Africa, this system was consolidated and extended under the name of 'apartheid'.

One of the most significant ideological principles of apartheid was that each 'population group' had its own, clearly demarcated 'homeland'. As already suggested, the white homeland happened to include most of the best agricultural land, and almost all of the commercial and industrial sites, while most of the black homelands were situated in overcrowded and overgrazed areas with few resources. As 'apartheid' was extended to Namibia, homelands were identified for various 'population groups', such as Namas, Hereros, Owambos, etc. In most cases, the new homelands were identical to the existing reserves. However, in some cases people were relocated to accommodate to new homeland borders. For instance, white farmers were moved out to extend the space of 'Damaraland', while a group called the Riemvasmakers was relocated all the way to northern South Africa. This was not a case of 'ethnic cleansing', but rather a severe and obsessive form of ethnic compartmentalisation, in which one group had a bigger, better, and more better resourced compartment than any of the other groups.

Under the homeland dispensation, all three of Namibia's northern areas - Owamboland, Kavango, and Caprivi - were set aside entirely for use and occupation by their indigenous inhabitants. They were administered by traditional rulers who were appointed by, and overseen by, colonial officials on the spot. Access by outsiders was severely restricted and the inhabitants were generally only allowed out if they were contract labourers. Later, during the 1960s and 1970s, some of the homelands, or ‘Bantustans’ as they became known, were given ‘self-governing’ status. This entailed creating legislative assemblies and local civil services, all under close tutelage of white officials. The grand design behind this elaborate scheming was the notion of ‘separate development’, which meant that different ‘nations’ would develop harmoniously within their own borders and spheres of interest. Needless to say, in Namibia the concept was swept away by independence in 1990, and in South Africa itself the scheme disappeared with the election of the first fully representative government, under the presidency of Nelson Mandela, in 1994.

For Namibians, as for many colonised peoples, the Second World War brought the realisation that colonial powers were not invincible. This sense fertilised the movement for self-realisation and political independence. Secondly, with the demise of the League of Nations, after the war a new organisation, the United Nations, was founded - an organisation that played an ever more important role in the movement towards independence for Namibia.

Concerted opposition to the South African occupation of Namibia first came to world attention with representations to the United Nations during the late 1940s and 1950s. The protests were supported by recently independent colonies such as India and Ghana, which regarded the South African racial policies with particular disfavour. During the1960s, Libya and Ethiopia launched a World Court case to challenge South African control of Namibia. Although the case was defeated on a technicality, it heightened the visibility of Namibia in international affairs.

South Africa had an ambiguous relationship with the United Nations over Namibia. On the one hand, arguing that the Mandate had fallen away with the demise of the League of Nations, South Africa denied that the United Nations had any right of interest in Namibia. On the other hand, as the General Assembly pressed the case of Namibia more and more urgently as time passed, buttressing its resolutions with calls for action, so South Africa had to deal with the United Nations if only to defend itself. This became even more necessary as South Africa’s international position weakened with the collapse of Portuguese control over its colonies – Mozambique bordered South Africa and Angola bordered Namibia – as well as with the weakening position of the white minority government in Zimbabwe. In 1966, the UN General Assembly increased the pressure by declaring that South Africa’s mandate for Namibia was at an end. It established the UN Council for Namibia to secure independence for the country.

 

The memorial in the Old Location cemetery, Windhoek (left); having fun in the Old Location, circa mid-1950s (right) ( right: National Archives of Namibia)

During the 1950s, internal resistance against South African occupation began to increase. In 1959, one of the most infamous incidents took place in Windhoek's Old Location - the residential area for black people - when, as part of the apartheid policy of racial separation, the authorities decided to relocate the inhabitants to the new township of Katutura, which is situated some distance from the city centre. This provoked a series of protest demonstrations, during which the police shot and killed a number of people. The Old Location incident became iconic for Namibian resistance to colonialism and racism, and today the site, which is within the modern suburb of Hochland Park, is preserved as a memorial.

During the early 1960s, a Namibian resistance movement named the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) was formed. Under leadership of Sam Nujoma, a significant number of young people went into exile, where they were received by sympathetic African countries such as Zambia and were supported by friendly organisations as well as by a number of countries further afield. As the armed struggle grew in intensity, so Communist Eastern Bloc countries began to provide increasing amounts of material and political aid. In addition, in 1976 under the auspices of the UN Council for Namibia, the UN Institute for Namibia was established in Lusaka, Zambia, with the aim of preparing exiled Namibians for administrative and managerial roles in independent Namibia.

Frustrated by the slow progress in the political sphere, in 1966 SWAPO began an armed struggle. The first attempts were abortive and thirty-seven guerrillas and other SWAPO members were captured and tried in South Africa under the notorious Terrorism Act. It was during this trial that one of the accused, Toivo Ya Toivo, made a statement that became famous amongst Namibians who were struggling for independence. Addressing the judge, Ya Toivo said, ‘My Lord, we find ourselves here in a foreign country, convicted under laws made by people who we have always considered as foreigners. We find ourselves tried by a judge who is not our countryman and who has not shared our background. We are Namibians and not South Africans. We do not, and will not in the future, recognise your right to govern us, to make laws for us, in which we have no say…’

Images of Sam Nujoma, first President of Namibia: in 1989, shortly after he returned from exile, about six months before he was elected as president (left) and celebrated on a telephone card in the year that he vacated office (right).

Most of the accused received severe sentences, ranging from twenty years to life imprisonment. They were incarcerated on Robben Island, where they joined South African political prisoners, of whom Nelson Mandela was the most famous.

When Angola became independent, it was much easier for Namibians to leave the country and join SWAPO in exile. Thousands of young people did this. In addition, the armed struggle received a boost because the guerrillas were able to launch attacks into Owamboland and Kavango across a wide common border. With substantial support from the local population, they even made incursions as far south as the commercial farms in the Tsumeb and Grootfontein areas. However, by the mid-1980s the South African forces regained the initiative by establishing a form of cordon sanitaire in southern Angola.

By the late 1970s, a contact group representing five Western countries (Canada, France, Great Britain, the USA, and West Germany) had initiated negotiations to settle the Namibian issue. With the agreement of South Africa and SWAPO, the UN Security Council accepted Resolution 435, which set out the modalities, including a timetable, for independence. At this time, it appeared as if Namibia would be independent within a short time.

However, South Africa adopted stalling tactics, trying to generate a so-called ‘internal solution’ that would undercut SWAPO’s position. This ‘solution’ involved supporting a coalition of ethnically based politicians, many of them prominent in homeland governments, on the pretext that they were the genuine representatives of the Namibian people. The major force in this internal coalition was the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance which became the ‘governing party’ in the two ‘Transitional Governments’ that South Africa appointed in Namibia during the 1980s. Neither of them survived for long, as they were hobbled by internal divisions as well as by the fact that their activities were severely circumscribed by South Africa, which allowed them only limited powers over some internal matters.

Internationally, South Africa was assisted in its stalling tactics by the so-called ‘Cuban linkage’, which referred to the fact that the conservative Reagan administration in the USA demanded that Cuban forces should be withdrawn from Angola before Resolution 435 could be implemented. As the Cubans had been invited by the Angolan government to help protect its territory from South African attacks, the Cubans were unlikely to withdraw while South African aggression continued – a Catch 22 situation that the South Africans exploited to delay implementation of the resolution indefinitely.

After a decade that was marked largely by stalling and by attempts to undercut agreements, in 1988, as the position of the Soviet Union weakened and as South Africa was beset by internal unrest and mounting external pressure, negotiations to settle the Namibian issue resumed in earnest. On 1st April 1989, the resolution was finally implemented; UN administrators, accompanied by supporting police and military contingents, arrived to oversee the transitional process. After an intense period of electioneering, during which more than forty thousand exiles returned home, the election for a Constituent Assembly was held in November 1988. SWAPO won it decisively, but did not achieve a two-thirds majority, which encouraged a conciliatory and collaborative spirit in the assembly. The constitution was finalised in early February 1990, and on 21st March the assembly transformed itself into the first parliament of independent Namibia, with Sam Nujoma as the first president.

The Namibian flag, first raised on 21st March 1990, the date of independence from colonial rule.