Reconfiguring white ethnic power in colonial Africa: The German community in Namibia, 1923–50

Abstract

This article explains the significance of the German community in Namibia from 1923 to 1950, when white minority rule flourished there, and demonstrates how links with Germany enhanced or detracted from their political capital and goals. Beginning with the 1923 South African‐German agreement concerning the status and welfare of that community, and ending with the 1950 Namibian elections, it shows that shifts in the ethnic composition of the Namibian white ruling group reflected more the state of South African‐German relations than the pattern of white‐African relations.