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Formerly German South West Africa was given to South Africa by a League of Nations Mandate. It was governed as a de facto extra province by Apartheid South Africa. The arrival of Cubans backing up African desires to rid the area of white colonialism complicated an ever more complicated situation. Gosh with a overstretched draftee army, this could turn into another Vietnam for South Africa. We better Vietnamize, err Namibianize, err localize, the fighting. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

As a de facto extra province, you might expect the area to use South African stamps. The earlier stamps very much resemble South African issues. By the eighties though the stamps were less political with more animals and plants with a smattering of remembrances of very old German achievements in the area. Very much the colony on the way to independence.

Todays stamp is issue A98, a 20 Cent stamp issued by the by then no longer UN recognized South African administration of South West Africa on August 14th, 1981. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations showing local variations of the aloe plant. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 45 cents whether used or unused. There was a functional postal service, which keeps this stamp from being fake. The UN withdrew recognition of the South African administration of now Namibia in 1966.

The Germans arrived in the area in the late 19th century with large numbers of colonists. The Germans discovered diamonds there in 1908. I did a German colonial stamp from that period here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/05/german-sw-africa-the-hottentot-captain-can-disappear-into-the-grass-but-shoot-him-at-the-water-hole/   . During World War I, the South Africans marched in unopposed. Germans and Dutch heritage South African Boers were simpatico. The League of Nations mandated South Africa to rule in 1920. Africans were not involved in any of this and there numbers were greatly reduced after bloody insurrections against the Germans.

The 1950s and 1960s had seen African colonies gain independence and black rule. In 1960 the Belgians gave up in Congo and things went very poorly for Belgian settlers there. Many were killed and robbed based on their race in the first days after independence. Countries south of Congo often had many such white colonists and they resolved to hold onto power to avoid the same fate. Colonial powers like Britain and Portugal did not support this and the new black nations pressed the UN to recognize local black groups as the legitimate government. In 1966 the UN claimed the right to administer South West Africa with an eye toward turning it over to the black organization called Swapo that fielded would be politicians and a guerilla army attacking South African targets.

South Africa fielded a small draftee army inducted from the minority white population. A counter insurgency war in South West Africa was a great strain especially after Portuguese Angola fell to Cuban/Soviet backed communist blacks. The Cubans were mostly black and well armed and made things much more difficult for South Africa. Taking a page from the American book of failure in Vietnam, South Africa attempted to localize the fighting. All black areas were organized into tribal black homelands. They formed a local unit called the Crowbar with South African officers and black soldiers recruited from The African homeland state of Ovamboland. The force was heavily armed and fought in the counter insurgency style of Swapo. The leader was a Rhodesian who had experience in the bush war there. Both sides took to attempting to get the other sides fighters in their family homes off duty. This kept the fighting between blacks.

Cubans meant that South Africa still had to maintain forces there and there were clashes with Cubans in neighboring Angola. This gave the UN an opening to try to get it’s mandate regarding South West Africa recognized. A deal was offered that Cubans would be withdrawn from Angola in return for South Africa withdrawing its Army from South West Africa. This was agreed but then Swapo jumped the gun and sent their army marching into South West Africa. Them and the UN had forgotten about Crowbar. Crowbar pounced on an in the open Swapo and massacred their army. The UN was left begging both sides to put down their arms. Remember Swapo had agreed to come in unarmed but reneged. Being the UN there was no consequence for this and after this last mission Crowbar was disbanded. The first election Swapo won but without sufficient numbers to make a Congo like outcome. Nobody will be surprised that with South Africa and the UN gone now Namibia reverted to a one party state. Swapo’s leader Sam Nujoma, a former train cleaner, was President and received peace prizes in the name of ever peaceful Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. His son Zacky was implicated in corruption as part of the Panama Papers scandal. Of course there were no consequences. With South Africa’s change in government there were no longer any protectors for the black veterans of Crowbar. A truth and reconciliation commission there declared Crowbar to blame for all those hurt in the war in Namibia.

Well my drink is empty. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.