GDR Children of Namibia

During the South African Border War, the children of hundreds of Namibian refugees and political exiles were resettled and educated in the GDR from 1979 onwards.

[1] During the South African Border War, SWAPO solicited material assistance from around the globe, which they got in the form of education, health, arms and funds.

Sam Nujoma turned again to the GDR and other socialist countries after the Cassinga massacre and asked again for children to be taken out of the SWAPO refugee camps for safety, support, and care.

Besides medical and general support it was agreed that German should be the medium of instruction for those in pre-primary and primary school.

The education for the SWAPO Pionier aimed to place most of these youths in elite leadership positions for the development of the country once Namibia achieved its independence.

For the GDR children of Namibia, it meant a conflict between two home countries and two cultures, and a fight for two identities.

They started collecting money in the form of donations for an apparent historical expedition from German tourists.

[5][6][7] In the temporary exhibition "Ansichtssache(n) : The German in me is Indirect" at the Humboldt Forum / Ethnological Museum in Berlin traces the history of the "GDR children".

In photo collages and video interviews, some of them and their children look at their biographies, in which African and European perspectives intersect in many ways.