Swakopmund – Deutschlands Duisburg-Marxloh in Namibia

It is quick when he is in Germany: Bauten aus der Kaiserzeit reihen sich a Fachwerkhäuser – and that’s in Namibia. Auch die Straßennamen klingen vertraut: In the Bismarckstraße steht das für einen Hamburger Spediteur 1894 erbaute Woermannhaus. A second time, Ecke Garnison- und Bahnhofstraße, come to the Alten Amtsgericht vorbei, dem ehemaligen Kaiserlichen Bezirksgericht. Das Hohenzollernhaus, one of the most important residences of the German colonial lords, gilded as Wahrzeichen der Stadt. A spazier walk through the Namibian coastal area of ​​Swakopmund once ends up in the lost heath.

Urlauber has the Wahl style of the traditional Hotel Hansa, of Hotel Eberwein in Kolonialstil, of the German Pension Haus or of Hotel Zum Kaiser. When the German Bier vom Fass is served in the Brauhaus, Eisbein, Schweinshaxen and Knödel are served. Im Wohnhaus Am Zoll läuft im Fernsehen de “Tagesschau”. The Adler-Apotheke is no longer interested in the German Buchhandlung, the Evangelische Kirche, the German Kindergarten, the Goldschmiede Engelhard who visits the Hofmeyer Schülerheim.

In the German colony of Namibia (1884-1915) the damals were nor Deutsch-Südwestafrika concerned with the German culture of the 25th German Vereine, which led the Männergesangs- and Karnevalsvereine in Swakopmund. There are no other cities that are in the German colonial world, nor those of the whole world. The city lying on the Atlantic with its prominent beach promenade is one of the most beautiful places of the “southern Nordseebad”.

Namibia’s “German City”

It is an estimate that not even once a turnover of 2.6 million Namibian Germans are. Of the approximately 67,000 inhabitants of Swakopmund, around 1,200 Germans would have to travel. The city is a safari stopover for tourists. For the Black Mehrheit, it is still not a dominant cultural dominance of the colonial lords, who have had a great merit here for 120 years, anyway.

In the Namibia-Deutschen Geführten Café Anton, das in de Erdgeschoss des Hotels Schweizerhaus liegt – einst das Messehaus der deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft – erzählt der Namibia-born Single German Auswanderer, Raimar von Hase, von a Gesprächskreis, der den Dialog zwischen Weißen und Schwarzen Namibiern fördern wants. For four years, the German leaders met with the American Schwarzer Volksgruppen, among the Herero and Nama – the possibilities of the Genozids.

The Deutsche Reich schlug seinerzeit Aufstände gegen seine Kolonialherrschaft brutal nieder. Während des Herero-und-Nama-Kriegs (1904-1908) kam es zu einem Massenmord, der als erster Genozid im 20. Jahrhundert gilded. Historiker treasures, which were estimated at 75,000 Herero and Nama. The Bundesregierung and the Regierung of Namibia have for a long time been about a vorgelegte Aussöhnungsabkommen, the Finanzhilfen Deutschlands for Entwicklungsprojekte in Namibia at a height of 1.1 billion euros. A Verabschiedung der Erklärung can no longer be used. Nachkommen der Herero and Name became a treatise that was not interesting, Kritik auf sich Ziht.

Announcement by Conversation

Von Hases Familiengeschichte is eng mit der Kolonialzeit verknüpft. Sein aus Ostwestfalen stamender Großvater Wanderte 1910 in das damage Deutsch-Südwestafrika aus, erwarb Farmland en baute eine Viehschik auf. Von Hase übernahm sie später. Tausende Schafe, aber auch Kühe and Ziegen have yielded. Schuldgefühle is not true, it says. “Dafür lies das zu lang zurück.”

The Marine Monument, prominently placed in front of the Stadtmuseum and Leuchtturm, is located at the Café Anton. The Marine Expeditionary Corps of the German Protective Forces began working in 1904 in the Lower Landing of the Nama and Herero Aufstands. On a massive Felssockel is the knitting of a German soldier, the rifle of the Stadtzentrum of Swakopmund, it was more for the Luftlinie, on a Massengrab of the Herero and Nama am stadtrand richtigt ist. Make sure that an AfD politician is on the edge of a delegation trip for business, but a Kranz in the thinking process is not so important.

It was likely that the German state service was a larger part of the Geschichte, is for the Nachfahren der Nama and Herero a Schlag in his Gesicht. If you think about it, says Laidlaw Peringanda, an activist, for the Schaffung von Genozid-Gedenkstätten in Swakopmund. More protest can be made against the idea of ​​the representatives of the Nama and Herero who are stopped by the police. A question is with the other color.

Preference for Memorial States

The 49-Jährige lived in a small Backsteinhaus in an Armenviertel am Stadtrand, where the Wüste began. There is a Genozid Museum here, the first in the countries. This is the Bezeichnung „Museum“, which you think about, while the Räumlichkeiten give an impression of the Quadratmeter. The best results from historical copies of photographs and a handful of historical books. “I would like to say that if you are passionate about it, you are willing to learn from the experience,” said Peringanda. Auch für interkulturellen Austausch will be there.

Zu Peringandas Vorfahren heard Herero anyway Nama. Sein Urgroßvater kämpfte gegen deutsche Truppen während des Völkermords and starb später im Konzentrationslager von Swakopmund, together with others Mitgliedern signaler Familie. Peringanda vermutet, dass ihre overreste in de unmarkierten Massengräbern am Stadtrand von Swakopmund verscharrt since – on die sich de Gewehrspitze de deutschen Marine-Soldaten richtet.

If you are dealing with a cart field, then focus on the pflegten, the city of Friedhof is confronted with a number of German lies. Thousands of sand dunes line up one after the other. A city of marble grab stones served as large stones ​​from the roadside as nameless markers. Only at the beginning of the field a sharper memorial stone is pointed at the thousands of children, women and men, the background of the German verübten gewalt starben.

Respect and worth fail

The city administrator marks the Gräber on the official Friedhof, wässere Sträucher, listens to the Wege. If you are one of the institutions of mass provision, there is no one, click Peringanda. Four times a year the Sandhügel moves with a Gruppe volunteer Helfer in his own action. But that work is müßig. There is a strong wind in the Küstenstadt. Peringanda said of Hundespuren im Sand: “Die Gräber sind seicht. Sie buddeln nach Knochen.”

Peringanda wishes for more respect, love and food. Weiße and Schwarze left in Swakopmund haphazardly. The fear of the change is on the Deutsch-Namibier-tief, it says. “We are going to find solutions for each other and find a friendly relationship.” That is also in Raimar von Hases Sinne: Miteinander zu spoken, since the first writing in Richtung Versöhnung. (dpa/mig) Serial Lead Article