SWAPO and the appropriation of history. Memory politics and resulting conflicts of remembrance in the post-colony

Abstract

This paper illustrates the significance of memory culture in the post-colony. The analyses of the “Independence Memorial Museum” in Windhoek will show different aspects of Namibian memory culture and how the SWAPO dominated government uses history to define a national Namibian identity – an approach that leads to tensions between the government and several communities, like the Nama and the German-speaking Namibians. Their conflicts with the state will be discussed in the cases of the Witbooi Bible and the Bismarck Street, and shown how they are connected with questions about property, heritage, and identity in the post-colonial setting.