German Namibians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
German-Namibians (German: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in Namibia. In 1883, a German trader, Adolf Lüderitz, bought (from a local chief) what would become the southern coast of Namibia, and founded the city of Lüderitz. The German government, eager to gain overseas possessions, annexed the territory soon after, and named it South-West Africa (German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Small numbers of Germans subsequently immigrated there, many coming as soldiers (Schutztruppe), traders, diamond miners, or colonial officials. Later, during World War I, in 1915 Germany lost South West Africa (see History of Namibia) and it became a South African mandate. The German settlers were allowed to remain and until independence in 1990, German was one of the territory's official languages.
Today, English is the country's sole official language, but there are about 30,000 Namibians of German descent[citation needed] (around 2% of the country's overall population), and possibly another 15,000 black Namibians who speak German[citation needed], many of whom returned from Eastern Germany after independence[citation needed]. Most German-speakers live in the capital, Windhoek, and in smaller towns such as Swakopmund and Lüderitz, where German architecture is highly visible. Many German Namibians are prominent in the business, farming and tourism sectors but also as government officials. For example, the first post-independence mayor of Windhoek was a German-Namibian. The interests of the community are usually voiced through Africa's only German-speaking daily, die Allgemeine Zeitung. The legacy of the German colonists in Namibia can also be seen in the Lutheran Church, which is the largest religious denomination in the country.
[edit] See also
- Ethnic Germans
- History of Namibia
- German South-West Africa
- Namibia Breweries Limited A German style brewery in Namibia
- Scouts of Namibia#Other Scouting organizations
|
|||||||||||||||||
