63-1906

1906	Von Lindequist allows "white" settlers political representation in the Governor’s Council. Governor Von Lindequist visits Usakos, 1906 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks The copper mine at Tsumeb is opened (the company OMEG representing mainly British and German capital: first director is Gustav Gathmann, followed by Gustav Duft). Until 1909 mining is conducted in an open pit. Annual production begins with some 15 000 t of ore and reaches a maximum of 70 000 t before World War One. The construction of the first copper smelter in Tsumeb starts. The smelter is completed in 1907. Operational costs are extremely high because the charcoal for the smelter is imported from Germany. Later, charcoal consumption is reduced by the addition of iron ore from Kalkfeld. Otjiwarongo is founded as a future railway junction (surveyed by Gustav Thomas). A heliograph link is established between Outjo and Okaukuejo. Albert Voigts buys the farm Voigtsgrund (between Mariental and Maltahöhe) and builds there the largest dam in SWA so far. The leader of the Rhenish Missionary Society, Gottlob Haussleiter, expresses during a Colonial Congress at Berlin that the authorities in German SWA should distinguish between guilty and innocent indigenes and should put a stop to the mass killings of prisoners of war. He further expresses that the mission should show respect for the human value of the defeated peoples, as well as restore in them a faith in their future. He furthermore emphasises the importance of educating "black" people so that they could have a greater share in shaping the future of the territory. This attitude by the Rhenish Missionary Society leads, however, to frequent clashes between the missionaries and "white" farmers who are inclined to regard the Mission’s "useless" instruction as a hindrance to "blacks" executing their daily tasks.
05.01.	The battle of Duurdrift South is fought between Jakob Marengo and the Germans under Captain Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck. German War Cemetry at Koës: One of the many Casualties in the Kalahari Sand Dunes during the German Nama War in the Kalahari from 1904 to 1912: Hardap Region: April 2003 Copyright of Photos: Dr. Klaus Dierks
01.02.	A local telephone network is established in Karibib.
03.02.	Witbooi Chief Isaak surrenders to the Germans under Lieutenant Pabst at Nunub. After the Witbooi defeat many Nama are deported by the Germans to the northern part of the Police Zone while surviving Ovaherero are brought to the south to satisfy requirements for farm labour there (against the conditions of surrender as agreed by the Germans (Von Estorff) in which it is promised that the Witbooi Nama may stay in Gibeon). For the Witbooi Nama, this means deportation first to Windhoek, from where many are brought to the concentration camp on Shark Island near Lüderitz. Others are deported to the German colonies Togo and Cameroon, with heavy loss of life. Some Witbooi Nama manage to return to Gibeon in the following years. The bulk, however, including the sons of Hendrik Witbooi, can only return with the change of colonial power following the South African military occupation in 1915.
11.02.	The battle of Namtob is fought by Ovaherero Chief Andreas with Cornelius Frederiks against the Germans under the command of Richard Volkmann. Andreas escapes into the Namib Desert where he probably dies of thirst.
14.02.	The battle of Norechab, at the road between Ramansdrift and Warmbad, is fought between Johannes Christian and Friedrich von Erckert, with heavy losses for the Germans.
15.02.	Five steam cranes come into operation on the wooden jetty in Swakopmund.
17.02.	Christian Goliath of Berseba, an ally of the Germans, tries unsuccessfully to persuade Cornelius Frederiks to surrender at Chamasis, west of Berseba.
03.03.	Cornelius Frederiks finally yields to German supremacy (Richard Volkmann) at Heikoms. Frederiks dies on Shark Island near Lüderitz in 1907. His decapitated body is used by the German "geneticist" Eugen Fischer to prove his racial theories of the superiority of the German race.
08./09.03.	The battle of Wasserfall at the Oranje River is fought by Johannes Christian, Jakob Marengo and Abraham Morris against the Germans under Beyer.
11.03.	Marengo is involved in a skirmish at Pelladrift.
12.03.	Jakob Marengo is defeated by the Germans under Friedrich von Erckert and Alexander von Hornhardt in the battle of Kumkum. Marengo escapes in the direction of the Great Karas Mountains.
13./14.03.	Headman Fielding of Cornelius Frederiks’s community is defeated in the Little Karas Mountains but continues to fight. War Cemetry at Holoog Station: Railway Line: Grünau-Seeheim Copyright of Photos: Dr. Klaus Dierks
21.03.	Marengo and Christian attack the German military post at Jerusalem. After the encounter the two leaders decide to split forces. Christian turns westwards, while Marengo moves north.
26.03.	Jakob Marengo attacks a German supply convoy near Ukamas.
30.03.	The Roman Catholic Church stands with unquestioned patriotism on the side of the German troop and their conduct of war. Father Nachtwey submits the whole mission personnel to the military high command.
05.04.	Marengo is engaged in a skirmish with the Germans (Lieutenant von Mielczewski) on the road between Nababis and Ukamas.
08./09.04.	The battle of Fettkluft is fought by Jakob Marengo and Abraham Morris with Johannes Christian against the Germans under Heuck, with heavy losses for the Germans.
10.04.	Von Estorff shifts his headquarters to Blydeverwacht, together with Lieutenants Erich Friedrich von Schauroth and Von Alten. Jakob Marengo continues his attacks on the Germans at Oas.
14.04.	A skirmish takes place at Narudas ("Robber Henrick’s Place") between the Germans and Marengo.
18.04.	Before Jakob Marengo, in the face of superior German forces, escapes to the British Cape Colony, he is encountered in a skirmish at Klipdam at the border between SWA and the Cape Colony.
20.04.	The battle of Wittmund is fought between Johannes Christian and the Germans under Heuck.
26.04.	A post office is opened in Otjiwarongo.
04.05.	Marengo surrenders to British Cape Police after being defeated by Captain Richard Bech’s troops in the battle of Van Rooysvley in the Cape Colony, with a loss of 23 of his soldiers. He is transferred by the British to the railhead at Prieska and from there to Cape Town, to the Tokai prison.
05.05.	The battle of Gawachab at the Chamob (Löwen) River is fought between Johannes Christian and the Germans under Cruse.
19.05.	Johannes Christian defeats the Germans in the skirmish of Gais. The German commander Lieutenant Engler is killed.
21.05.	Johannes Christian attacks the Germans at De Villierspütz. The German suffer losses.
22.05.	A post office is opened at Kalkfontein Süd (present-day Karasburg).
23.05.	The battle of Dakaib is fought by Abraham Morris with Johannes Christian against the Germans under Major Erich Rentel. The Germans suffer heavy losses.
24.05.	Johannes Christian attacks the Germans under the command of Lieutenant Karl Fürbringer in Tsamab, southwest of Heirachabis. The skirmish ends with the total loss of the Germans.
25.05.	Morris and Christian are defeated by Rentel in the battle of Nugais at the Ham River.
30.05.	The railway line between Aus and Lüderitz reaches the Grasplatz station. Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: Station Grasplatz: 24 km from Lüderitz: August 2002: From 2003 onwards the Line will be rebuilt Copyright of Photos: Dr. Klaus Dierks
June	New stamps for German South West Africa are issued (now with watermark "yacht Hohenzollern"). They are valid until 1919 (from 1915 onwards in Germany only). They are used throughout SWA with the exception of the Caprivi Strip (as from 1909). The Caprivi Strip with the station Schuckmannsburg on the Zambezi River remains without any postal installation, so that all mail has to be posted via Sesheke in present-day Zambia and directed via Livingstone and Cape Town.
01.06.	A post office is opened at Okasise. The Witbooi Nama Hendrik Samuel Witbooi, grandson of the old Hendrik Witbooi, is born.
03./04.06.	Major von Freyhold defeats Johannes Christian in the battle of Sperlingspütz. However, the Germans suffer heavy losses: two officers and eight soldiers are killed and one officer and seven men are wounded.
20.06.	Warmbad is attacked by the Bondelswarts ( !Gami-#nun) under Johannes Christian. One day later Gabis is attacked. The Cemetery in Warmbad: Skirmish on the Road between Warmbad and Kalkfontein Süd: 20.06.1906 Copyright of Photos: Dr. Klaus Dierks On June, 21st 1906, Gabis, west of Warmbad, is attacked by !Gami-#nun Leader Johannes Christian Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks
01.07.	The post office at Hatzamas is closed.
04.07.	The OMEG railway line reaches Otavi. On the final stretch to Tsumeb the line has to cross the Bobos Mountains at a steep gradient.
16.07.	The Roman Catholic mission station in Omaruru is re-established.
23.07.	Johannes Christian and Abraham Morris attack Uhabis.
August	The OMEG railway line reaches Tsumeb.
02.08.	A Roman Catholic mission station is established at Okombahe.
06.08.	Johannes Christian attacks Alurisfontein.
08.08.	A law is enacted providing for the expropriation of the land and cattle of "dissident tribes" (Ovaherero, Swartbooi, Topnaar, Witbooi Nama, Kai\|\|khaun (Red Nation), Bethany Nama, Fransman Nama, Veldschoendragers and Bondelswarts). This means that south of the Red Line only the Rehoboth Baster and the Berseba (Hai-khauan) community keep their land, while the Dama - whom the Germans consider as having no land rights - are given some land as a grant, but not as their property. (This ordinance is further enacted on 08.05.1907). However, these ordinances made no provision for the confiscation of Khauas Nama property as prescribed in the Imperial Ordinance of December 1905. Also the peace and protection treaty of March 1894 is still valid.
18.08.	The battle of Noibis at the Naraob Mountains is fought between Christian and the Germans under Captain Siebert, with heavy losses for the Germans.
20.08.	The Germans under Captain von Bentivegni defeat the Nama at the Uhabis River.
22.08.	Johannes Christian is defeated in the battle of Aos at the Back River, but he continues fighting.
September	The Ovaherero prisoner-of-war camps at Otjihaenena (Okatumba) and Omburo are closed. New camps are established at Otjosongombe at the Waterberg (missionary Olpp) and Okomitombe near Gobabis (missionary Diehl). In the camps Ovaherero leaders and men of fighting age, allegedly involved in complicity in the war, are systematically sought out, tried in court martials and executed, usually by hanging. In some cases the missionaries are allowed to minister to some of these unfortunates. Missionary Meier, who was deeply affected by one particular incident in 1905, describes in great length the final days of Zacharias Kukuri, the former Chief of Otjosazu. In the days leading up to his execution, Kukuri’s arms were bound behind his back, even though he suffered from smallpox. When finally he was lead to the gallows, the noose was laid around his neck. "And then - never will I forget that moment - the unheard happened, as he fell the noose slipped, and the wretch fell to the ground. ... Soon however two soldiers were there, they lifted him up, and then a little to the side, on orders of the major who led the proceedings, he was shot." The camps are closed in 1908. Henceforth all Ovaherero over the age of seven years are forced to carry metal identification discs around their necks. The Roman Catholic Church begins with vocational training for prisoners-of-war.
09.09.	The first group of 1 700 people of the Veldschoendrager (5Hawoben), the Witbooi Nama (*Khowesin) and the Bethany Nama (!Aman) arrives on the Shark Island concentration camp, who were earlier ordered by Governor Von Lindequist to be incarcerated there. The Nama, who had initially surrendered to the Germans, in the hope of retaining their dignity and assets, are instead sent to this infamous prison island.
12.09.	The post office at Owikokorero is closed.
06.10.	The Rhenish missionary, Laaf, writes to the Rhenish Missionary Society in Germany the following about the Shark Island prisoners: "A large number of people [Nama] are sick, mostly from scurvy, and every week between 15 and 20 people die. Just as many of the Herero are perishing, so that one can make a weekly estimate of 50 deaths." Little over two months later, Laaf is writing another letter: "The mortality among the Nama is frightening high. There are often days where up to 18 people die. Today the [Witbooi Nama] Samuel Isaak [who had surrendered to the Germans at Berseba in November 1905] told Brother Nyhoff: 'Dat Volk is gedaan' [the community is doomed]. If it continues like this, it will not take long before the entire community is completely killed off." In December alone 263 prisoners die - an average of 8,5 per day, excluding fatalities among the Ovaherero prisoners. Of the 573 Nama survivors, 123 are deemed to be so ill that they would likely die in the near future.
09./17.10.	The first Governor’s Council holds its inaugural meeting.
12.10.	The post office at Kubub is closed, and the opening of a post office at Aus is delayed for a day for the railway line from Aus to Lüderitz to be completed. Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 185: West of Aus: Removal of old German "Krupp-Rails", nearly 100 Years old: View to the West: Direction Garub: Progress to Date: September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 189 + 400: West of Aus: Old German Steel Bridge: Progress to Date: September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 190: West of Aus: The old German Steel Sleepers are stacked: View to the West: Progress to Date: September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 195: West of Aus: Station Ausweiche, where the steep Ascent to Aus Nek commences: September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 200: Border between Farming Area west of Aus and the "Diamond Sperrgebiet": September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks Aus to Lüderitz Railway Line: km 252: End of Contract at Haalenberg": September 2002 Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks
20.10.	Attendance at school is made compulsory (for "whites" only)(amended on 28.10.1911 to include also children which live further than 4 km from the next school).
24.10.	Chief of Staff von Moltke agrees to transfer the state railway line from military to civil command.
01.11.	The railway line from Lüderitz to Aus (140 km long) is officially opened.
05.11.	Bondelswarts Chief Cornelius Stürmann (not to be confused with the Griqua Skippers (Shepperd) Stürmann, the Witbooi "prophet") surrenders to Captain Siebert in Lifdood. This surrender leads to peace negotiations with Colonel von Deimling in Lifdood (21.11.).
12.11.	The OMEG railway line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb is officially opened. With the completion of the Otavi railway line, the telegraph system is extended from Usakos to Tsumeb (with a branch line to Grootfontein, which is opened on 24.12.1908). In the south the telegraph system is expanded from Keetmanshoop to Ramansdrift via Warmbad and Kalkfontein Süd (260 km). Due to the high transport costs the construction costs climb to Mark 1 100/km. This provokes the member of the German Reichstag, Matthias Erzberger, to lively debate.
16.11.	Chief Fielding of the Bethany Nama is defeated at the Nuob River mouth (where it meets the Oranje River), but he escapes.
28.11.	A post office is opened in Tsumeb.
13.12.	In Germany various colonial scandals and the uprisings in SWA create internal reverberations. The Reichstag is dissolved after the Government fails to secure the passage of an additional budget for German South West Africa. The so-called "Hottentot" elections (09.01.1907) usher in a phase of colonial reform, but this is effectively boycotted by the German settlers in SWA. Funding for the southern railway line from Aus to Keetmanshoop (226 km) is approved by the newly-elected Reichstag.
23.12.	The "Christmas Peace" between the Nama (Bondelswarts) under Johannes Christian and the Germans under Von Estorff and Captain Eberhardt von dem Hagen is announced in Ukamas, with Father Johannes Malinowski as mediator. The Bondelswarts are allowed to settle near Warmbad.

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