Episode 2 - South Africa’s poisoned mandate and SWAPO emerges as the key early struggle movement

By 1914 the German colony had been developing slowly but steadily – but it was very much a backwater even amongst the hazy list of obscure colonies. It was the discovery of diamonds in 1908 near Luderitz in the south of the country that sparked a frenzy of German interest. An avalanche of fortune hunters descended on this desert land in a few months – and if you travel there today the region is dotted with ghostly reminders of that time, buildings disappearing under the weight of shifting sands. The Germans quickly declared this area as “Sperrgebiet” or Forbidden area and the prospectors were chased away. The diamond rush didn’t last long, but nearby Lüderitz had grown large enough to become a sustainable community. That Sperrgebiet however, remains in place. You need a permit on parts of the coast and will find yourself thrown into jail if you try to go diamond hunting. By 1912 the port town already had 1,100 German inhabitants and trade was surging. Two years later the outbreak of the First World War ushered in another period of major change for the residents of South West Africa. As the tension grew between Great Britain and Germany, South West became more significant. In this episode we also take a closer look at how SWAPO emerged from various organisations and entities in the early 1960s - with strong links to the ANC and its armed wing, MK.