The National Archives of Namibia, in collaboration with Basler Afrika Bibliographien, has launched two books titled: Writing Windhoek: Multiple Representations of the City and A Symbol of a People's Determination: The Windhoek Old Location, History and Photographs.
The book aims to strengthen the public understanding of Windhoek's history through research, memory and visual storytelling.
The publications are contributions by Dr Ellison Tjirera and Henning Melber that provided a deeper insight into Windhoek's urban history.
The book 'Writing Windhoek: Multiple Representations of the City' contains five chapters that explore different perspectives of Windhoek as an evolving urban space.
" I just didn't wake up and say, 'I want to write about it. It was, on the one hand, to fulfil a particular requirement, but there was also a secondary reason, which was about my own curiosity about the city that I got to know because I had to come to you now. So I have been a village gun all my life. I came to you now in 2004, and then that's really when I got to experience it. But with time it became an obsession that led to a PhD thesis. So this is where I'm trying to take you to in terms of where the book came from. So this book is largely a product of my PhD thesis," informs author Dr Tjirera.
Meanwhile, 'A Symbol of a People's Determination: The Windhoek Old Location, History and Photographs' contains 109 pages and is centred around historical narratives and photographic documentation that capture the life experiences of residents of the Old Location during the apartheid era.
The book presents historical accounts alongside rare photographs documenting everyday life, forced removals, and the resistance that followed.
The Director for the National Library and Archives Service is Sara Negumbo who adds, "They are layered with stories, with silences, with aspirations and also with contradictions. Through multiple representations this work encourages us to reflect on how "Windhoek" has been written, how it has been spoken about, how it can be remembered and also just to reinterpret across time. The second publication is a symbol of a people's determination, the "Windhoek" Old Location by Dr Henning Melba and Dr Dieter Henricks. This publication takes us into a defining chapter of Namibia's history, the story of the old location, which is not merely a historical account but a testimony of resilience, resistance and their collective identity."
The two books contain historical academic contributions that are preserving the country's urban heritage and encouraging people to reflect on the past and how it affects society today.