German South West Africa was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
European settlers in German Southwest Africa, c. 1911.
Four German soldiers in a Camel-Schutztruppe patrol, 1906
Nama POWs in 1900
Image: Erichsen Abused San or Nama child prisoners p. 52 v 2
German is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also an official language of Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as a recognized national language in Namibia. There further exist notable German-speaking communities in France (Alsace), the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, Romania and Hungary (Sopron).
Modern High German translation of the Christian Bible by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1534). The widespread popularity of the Bible translated into High German by Luther helped establish modern Standard German.
Bilingual German-English sign at a bakery in Namibia, where German is a national language
Self-reported knowledge of German as a foreign language in the EU member states (+Turkey and UK), in per cent of the adult population (+15), 2005
Swiss German restaurant sign in Andermatt: "Chuchichäschtli", in Standard German "Küchenkästlein"
