Words Cannot Be Found: German Colonial Rule in Namibia : An Annotated Reprint of the 1918 Blue Book (Sources on African History, 1) (Sources on African History, 1)

405 Pages·2003·3.31 MB·English

by  Jan-Bart Gewald

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WORDS CANNOT BE FOUND
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SOURCES FOR

AFRICAN HISTORY

Volume 1
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WORDS

CANNOT BE

FOUND

German Colonial Rule in Namibia:

An Annotated Reprint of the 1918 Blue Book

BY
JEREMY SILVESTER and JAN-BART GEWALD
BRILL
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2003
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This co-publication with the National Archives of Namibia in the Republic of Namibia was made
possible by the African Studies Centre in Leiden, The Netherlands.
19
African Studies Centre National Archives
of Namibia
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Text design by Vocking in Vorm (Utrecht); cover photography by Ivo Romein (Gouda).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
South-West Africa. Administrator’s Office.
[Report on the natives of South-West Africa and their treatment by Germany]
Words cannot be found : German colonial rule in Namibia : an annotated reprint of
the 1918 Blue Book / by Jeremy Silvester and Jan-Bart Gewald.
p. cm. – (Sources for African history, ISSN 1570-8721 ; v. 1)

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 90-04-12981-2 (pbk.)

1. Indigenous peoples–Namibia–Government relations. 2.

Namibia–History–1884-1915. I. Silvester, Jeremy. II. Gewald, Jan-Bart. III. Title IV.

Series.

DT1603.S68 2003
323.1’6881’09034–dc21
2003044435
ISSN 1570–8721
ISBN 90 04 12981 2
© Copyright 2003 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal
use is granted by Brill provided that
the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright
Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910
Danvers MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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SOURCES FOR

AFRICAN HISTORY

1. J. Silvester and J.-B. Gewald. Words Cannot be Found. German Colonial Rule in
Namibia: An Annotated Reprint of the 1918 Blue Book. 2003.
ISBN 90 04 12981 2
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CONTENTS
Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

List of Illustrations xi

Footsteps and tears: an Introduction to the Construction and Context

of the 1918 ‘Blue Book’ xiii

REPORT ON THE NATIVES OF SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
AND THEIR TREATMENT BY GERMANY
Preface 7

Part One: Natives and German Administration 19

Part Two: Natives and the Criminal Law 247

Appendices 321

Bibliography 357

Index 361
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PREFACE
On Sunday 6 April 2003, after conducting a church service in the informal
settlement of Babilon, on the outskirts of Windhoek, I went to see a “house” of
a council member of the congregation, which had just burned to the ground. As
we were observing the ashes and ruins of what had once been their home, the
wife said something striking which is still in my mind: Where does one start
now? she asked. I just looked at her without knowing what to say. This is my
reaction now, after reading the Blue Book, especially the statements under oath
that reveal one long nightmare of suffering, bloodshed, tears, humiliation and
death. In one of the statements under oath, Hosea Mungunda states: “…it was
one continuous ill-treatment…” Yes, it certainly was! I read this book with
tears and anger but also with a strengthened determination that we should make
sure that these things do not happen again in Namibia and that we should
commit ourselves to justice, peace and reconciliation for our country and
beyond. This we do for our own sake and for the sake of generations yet
unborn.
The re-publication of the Blue Book of 1918 is an invaluable gift from a period
in which we have mostly one-sided or vague accounts of what really happened
during that time. This book offers a better and more comprehensive under-
standing of the liberation struggle and the suffering of the Namibian people.
What it clearly shows is that the brave struggle for liberation started in 1904
against a very brutal, imperial, and savage power. It is the continuation of this
very same struggle, which erupted at different times during the course of the
last century, that resumed in 1959 and culminated in independence in 1990. It
is important that when this very important aspect in the history of our country
is recounted and taught, that we start from the very beginning.
For the sake of the present and the future it is important to know where we are
coming from. The foundation of our independence lies in the tears and blood,
the determination, bravery and vision of our forbearers. The railway on which
we today comfortably travel in our trains was literally built with and on the
blood, suffering and death of our mothers and fathers. People who know this
will jealously protect what they have today. Racism, corruption, crime and
violence cannot be tolerated with such an invaluable heritage for which we paid
so dearly. The vision for justice, peace and a harmonious society is not only
ours but also that of the many thousands who were brutally wiped out by the
colonial powers. I firmly believe that, in honour of these brave women and men
whose blood waters our freedom, we should completely reject racism,
tribalism, corruption, crime and any form of violence, and stand up together in
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viii PREFACE
a concerted effort to remove all of these evils from the face of Namibia, as we
did with colonialism.
In the name of the many people in Namibia and elsewhere who will appreciate
the re-publication of the Blue Book and also on behalf of our children and the
coming generations, I wholeheartedly thank Dr. Jan-Bart Gewald (University
of Leiden) and Dr. Jeremy Silvester (University of Namibia) for the work they
did to uncover “the footprints and tears, blown over by the sand.” The
Introduction to the Construction and context of the 1918 “Blue Book”, and
their extensive research in this regard is very helpful to the understanding and
support of this remarkable book. In the same vein I also pay homage and
respect to the spirit of Major T.L. O’Reilly, the Military Magistrate based in
Omaruru at that time, for his commitment to justice and for his tireless efforts
to provide humane treatment for the devastated people of Namibia during that
period.
It is indeed for my family and I, on behalf of my grandparents and great-
grandparents who were part of this ordeal, a great honour to be part of the re-
publication of the Blue Book and with it the resurrection of the voices of our
forefathers. I am looking forward to the day of the launch of this book. For me
that day will be holy, as was the day of independence. Yes, on that day in 1990
we shed tears of joy that, at last, the dark night of humiliation and death was
over and that the sun was rising in all its beauty and splendour. But we also
cried when we remembered the thousands of sons and daughters of Namibia
who had suffered and died while resisting this brutal force of humiliation,
slavery and injustice.
May God bless Namibia and her children.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Z. Kameeta

Windhoek, April 2003
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The re-publication of the Blue Book has taken far more time than we ever
anticipated, and it would have taken even more time if a number of people had
not provided the selfless help and assistance which they did.
Werner Hillebrecht, of the National Archives of Namibia, provided us with
ongoing general assistance ranging from the scanning of photographs through
to discovering the original glass plate negatives of the photographs that graced
the Blue Book. Casper Erichsen, as a fellow historian and friend, supported us
in all manner of means, from acting as chaffeur through to being prepared to
engage with the past. Mandhavela Khasera provided us with invaluable
assistance with initial proof-reading of the scanned text, whilst Lovisa Ndaoya
and Lovisa Nampala scanned the text.
On a personal level we would like to thank a few people for providing
emotional support and hope for the future, in contrast to the depressing and
damaging material which we were dealing with. We would like to explicitly
express thanks to Gertie and Kasai, and to our children Meta, Shelley, and
Sieme in whom we see our shared futures.
We have noted in the introduction that we see this re-publication as a memorial
to those Namibians who died and suffered as a result of the Namibian War. At
times our work on this re-publication has been brought to a temporary halt on
account of the sheer immensity of what was being said. Yet, these very same
intensely unsettling words ensured that we did not break off from our work. To
have done so would have been to insult the past. It is thus with deep respect for
those who have come before us and whose suffering is described in such
graphic detail in this book that we give thanks.
We would also like to thank the Publications Committee of the African Studies
Centre for generously providing a guaranteed subsidy which allowed for the
co-publication at a reasonable price of this re-publication in the Republic of
Namibia.
Time and again the students that we have taught, in Germany, Namibia, and the
Netherlands, have urged us to carry on, to bring to the fore the past. A past
which had become obscured and all but lost. Thus, in conclusion we would
wish to dedicate this re-publication to the young historians of Namibia. They
hold within their hands the key to a better future.
Jeremy Silvester and Jan-Bart Gewald