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German Namibians
German Namibians (German: Deutschnamibier; Afrikaans: Duitse Namibiërs) 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 from Josef Frederiks II, a chief of the local Oorlam people, and founded the city of Lüderitz. The German government, eager to gain overseas possessions, annexed the territory soon after, proclaiming it German South West Africa (German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Small numbers of Germans subsequently immigrated there, many coming as soldiers (German: Schutztruppe), traders, diamond miners, or colonial officials. In 1915, during the course of World War I, Germany lost its colonial possessions, including South West Africa (see History of Namibia) to the Western Allies; after the war, the former German colony was administered as a South African mandate. Roughly half of the German settlers were allowed to remain and, until independence in 1990, German remained one of the three official languages of the territory, alongside Afrikaans and English.[citation needed]
Today, English is the country's sole official language, but about 30,000 Namibians of German descent (around 2% of the country's overall population) and possibly 15,000 black Namibians (many of whom returned from East Germany after Namibian independence as well as the German reunification) still speak German or Namibian Black German, respectively.
German Namibians retain a fully-fledged culture in German within Namibia, with German-medium schools, churches, and broadcasting. Television, music and books from Germany are widely popular in the community. Often German Namibian youth attend university or technical school in Germany. This is despite the fact that in most areas and in Windhoek, the broader lingua franca is Afrikaans while English is now often the sole language used in many other spheres such as government or on public signs and product packaging. Unlike in South Africa, German Namibians have not been absorbed into the larger Afrikaans- and English-speaking communities. However, two thirds of all German Namibians are fluent in Afrikaans and are either familiar with English or can speak it fluently. German and Afrikaans (along with its parent language Dutch) are closely related Germanic languages.
The first Germans in Namibia were missionaries, initially sent through the London Missionary Society and then later also the Rheinish Missionary Society. Both institutions worked closely together towards the end of the 18th century, as the Rheinish Missionary Society did not yet have any established facilities in Southern Africa. From 1805 the Albrecht brothers, followed by a number of other missionaries, settled in South West Africa. They engaged in cultural work, but also laid the groundwork for later colonisation.
Later traders arrived and after the landing of the ship Tilly in Lüderitz Bay in 1883, a rising number of German officials, settlers, workmen and soldiers. After South West Africa was officially declared a German colony in 1884, as well as receiving recognition by England, an increasing number of migrants arrived from Germany. This migration flow reached its high point during the first Lüderitz diamond discoveries.
Migration stagnated after the end of World War I, when Germany lost all sovereignty over its colonies in the Treaty of Versailles. The governance of South West Africa was transferred to South Africa by the League of Nations. During the subsequent 'South-Africanisation' of South West Africa, around half of the remaining 15,000 German residents were deported with their farms being handed over to South Africans. This so-called 'degermanisation' policy only changed after the London Agreement of 23 October 1923, according to which the remaining Germans were afforded British citizenship. German immigration as well as the spread of the German language were also expressively encouraged. In all, 3,200 Germans took up the opportunity of acquiring citizenship.
At the start of World War II, South Africa aligned itself to the United Kingdom by a slim majority, and on 6 September 1939 South Africa officially declared war on Germany and the Axis. In 1939 those in South West Africa of German origin were put under house or farm arrest and then in 1940 transferred to South Africa to be interned in camps, where they would remain until 1946. From 1942, their British citizenship, afforded to them in 1923, was revoked.
The Apartheid policy of South Africa came under increasing criticism and resulted in the founding and strengthening of the black resistance movement, including in South West Africa. At this time relations between the South African government and the German population were warming, leading to an increase in migration from Germany being viewed more favourably.
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German Namibians
German Namibians (German: Deutschnamibier; Afrikaans: Duitse Namibiërs) 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 from Josef Frederiks II, a chief of the local Oorlam people, and founded the city of Lüderitz. The German government, eager to gain overseas possessions, annexed the territory soon after, proclaiming it German South West Africa (German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Small numbers of Germans subsequently immigrated there, many coming as soldiers (German: Schutztruppe), traders, diamond miners, or colonial officials. In 1915, during the course of World War I, Germany lost its colonial possessions, including South West Africa (see History of Namibia) to the Western Allies; after the war, the former German colony was administered as a South African mandate. Roughly half of the German settlers were allowed to remain and, until independence in 1990, German remained one of the three official languages of the territory, alongside Afrikaans and English.[citation needed]
Today, English is the country's sole official language, but about 30,000 Namibians of German descent (around 2% of the country's overall population) and possibly 15,000 black Namibians (many of whom returned from East Germany after Namibian independence as well as the German reunification) still speak German or Namibian Black German, respectively.
German Namibians retain a fully-fledged culture in German within Namibia, with German-medium schools, churches, and broadcasting. Television, music and books from Germany are widely popular in the community. Often German Namibian youth attend university or technical school in Germany. This is despite the fact that in most areas and in Windhoek, the broader lingua franca is Afrikaans while English is now often the sole language used in many other spheres such as government or on public signs and product packaging. Unlike in South Africa, German Namibians have not been absorbed into the larger Afrikaans- and English-speaking communities. However, two thirds of all German Namibians are fluent in Afrikaans and are either familiar with English or can speak it fluently. German and Afrikaans (along with its parent language Dutch) are closely related Germanic languages.
The first Germans in Namibia were missionaries, initially sent through the London Missionary Society and then later also the Rheinish Missionary Society. Both institutions worked closely together towards the end of the 18th century, as the Rheinish Missionary Society did not yet have any established facilities in Southern Africa. From 1805 the Albrecht brothers, followed by a number of other missionaries, settled in South West Africa. They engaged in cultural work, but also laid the groundwork for later colonisation.
Later traders arrived and after the landing of the ship Tilly in Lüderitz Bay in 1883, a rising number of German officials, settlers, workmen and soldiers. After South West Africa was officially declared a German colony in 1884, as well as receiving recognition by England, an increasing number of migrants arrived from Germany. This migration flow reached its high point during the first Lüderitz diamond discoveries.
Migration stagnated after the end of World War I, when Germany lost all sovereignty over its colonies in the Treaty of Versailles. The governance of South West Africa was transferred to South Africa by the League of Nations. During the subsequent 'South-Africanisation' of South West Africa, around half of the remaining 15,000 German residents were deported with their farms being handed over to South Africans. This so-called 'degermanisation' policy only changed after the London Agreement of 23 October 1923, according to which the remaining Germans were afforded British citizenship. German immigration as well as the spread of the German language were also expressively encouraged. In all, 3,200 Germans took up the opportunity of acquiring citizenship.
At the start of World War II, South Africa aligned itself to the United Kingdom by a slim majority, and on 6 September 1939 South Africa officially declared war on Germany and the Axis. In 1939 those in South West Africa of German origin were put under house or farm arrest and then in 1940 transferred to South Africa to be interned in camps, where they would remain until 1946. From 1942, their British citizenship, afforded to them in 1923, was revoked.
The Apartheid policy of South Africa came under increasing criticism and resulted in the founding and strengthening of the black resistance movement, including in South West Africa. At this time relations between the South African government and the German population were warming, leading to an increase in migration from Germany being viewed more favourably.