Schuckmannsburg

Schuckmannsburg is a village in the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia with a population of about 800. It lies in Caprivi Region.

Location

Schuckmannsburg lies at the far eastern end of the Caprivi Strip, about 1 km south of the river Zambezi and about 65 km east of Katima Mulilo, which is today the region's administrative seat, a rôle once performed by Schuckmannsburg when Namibia was a German colony. Schuckmannsburg's coördinates are coord|17|32|42|S|24|50|52|E|. It is 852 m above sea level. [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/WA/28/Schuckmannsburg.html]

Owing to the way that Africa was carved up by the European powers in the 19th century in their so-called "Scramble for Africa", Schuckmannsburg lies right near several other countries, Zambia just to the north, Botswana about 30 km to the south and Zimbabwe about 50 km to the east. Angola is also only about 80 km to the west.

History

Schuckmannsburg was founded on 7 February 1909 by Captain Kurt Streitwolf as "Imperial Residence in the Caprivi Strip". Its namesake was the then Governor of German Southwest Africa, Bruno von Schuckmann. The purpose of founding this place in such a remote area was to visibly take ownership, on the colonial administration's behalf, of the Caprivi Strip, which had formally been part of German Southwest Africa since 1890. The Imperial Resident Streitwolf, who had at his command three German junior officers as well as a few Askaris as assistant policemen, put up buildings, mapped the area, and consolidated the administration.

In 1911, Victor von Frankenberg und Proschlitz took over the Resident's post, thereafter known, however, as District Chief. In late September 1914, he surrendered Schuckmannsburg without a fight to an advancing detachment of the British South Africa Police from Southern Rhodesia which was cooperating with a detachment of the Northern Rhodesia Police (NRP). Captain Eason then became the new administrator. [http://www.icj-cij.org/cijwww/cdocket/cbona/cbonajudgment/cbona_cjudgment_opinions_19991213/cbona_cjudgment_19991213_Dissentingopinion_Parra.htm]

Lieutenant O'Sullevan of the NRP said that the Caprivi had

the largest, most vindictive, and venomous mosquitoes I have seen ... in the wet season it is a swamp and unhealthy; in the dry weather the heat is terrific, whilst the sand is deep and uncomfortable to walk in

German rule ended in Southwest Africa (Namibia) as Germany was stripped of its colonies after the First World War by the Treaty of Versailles, and Schuckmannsburg also lost its political importance in 1937 when its administrative functions were shifted to Katima Mulilo. Many buildings were even taken apart then so that the bricks could be reused in the new regional seat.

chuckmannsburg today

The village nowadays consists of wooden cabins and a few less sturdy buildings. The only intact relic of German colonial building is a little brick house with a floor area of about 12 m².

Literature

* Rainer D.K. Bruchmann: "Schuckmannsburg", Kuiseb-Verlag, Windhuk 1997, ISBN 99916-703-7-8

* Edward Paice: "Tip and Run: the untold tragedy of the Great War in Africa", 2007, ISBN 0297847090, page 33

External links