200 Germans took up the opportunity of acquiring citizenship. At the start of World War II, South Africa aligned itself to the English by a slim majority, although the country did not intervene in the war. In 1939 those in Southwest Africa of German origin were put under house or farm arrest and then in 1940 transferred to South Africa to be interned in camps, where they would remain until 1946. From 1942 their British citizenship, afforded to them in 1923, was revoked. The Apartheid policy of South Africa came under increasing criticism and resulted in the founding and strengthening of the black resistance movement, including in Southwest Africa. At this time relations between the South African government and the German population were warming, leading to an increase in migration from Germany being viewed more favourably. Communities Most of the current German Namibians are descendants of farmers, officials, craftsmen and relatives of the so-called Schutztruppe (protection troops) as well as descendants of the migration waves following both of the world wars. Since around 1980, an increase in tourism has led to a rise in ownership of holiday and retirement homes by Germans. many Germans in Namibia are small and medium entrepreneurs. Many German-speakers live in the capital, Windhoek (), and in smaller towns such as Swakopmund, Lüderitz and Otjiwarongo, where German architecture, too, is highly visible. Many German Namibians are prominent in business, farming, and tourism or as governmental officials. For example, the first post-independence mayor of Windhoek, Björn von Finckenstein, is a German Namibian. The interests of the community are frequently voiced through Africa's only German-speaking daily, Die Allgemeine Zeitung. The Goethe-Institut in Windhoek lobbies on behalf of the German community. The legacy of German colonisation in Namibia can also be seen in the Lutheran Church, which is the largest religious denomination in the country. Many place names in Namibia carry names of German origin. The main road in the capital city, Windhoek retained the name Kaiserstrasse ("Emperor Street") until Namibian independence in 1990. Decline The percentage of the population of Namibia formed by Germans has declined recently, spurring speculation that the overall number of German Namibians is decreasing. But the decline in the percentage of German Namibians is mainly due to their low birth rates and the fact that other Namibian ethnic groups have higher birth rates and bigger families. Unlike other southern African white groups, emigration to Europe, Australia or North America is not common. German Namibians tend to emigrate instead to South Africa. According to the 2001 Census, only 1.1% of all Namibian households use German as a home language (3,654 households), which is much less than that for Afrikaans (39,481 or 11.4%) or English (6,522 or 1.9%). As per the 2011 census, 0.9% of all Namibian households used German as a home language (4,359 households), as compared to 10.4% using Afrikaans (48,238) and 3.4% using English (15,912). German is spoken by only 0.3% of the rural Namibians as compared to 1.7% of the urban Namibians. The maximum concentration can be found at Erongo (2.8%), Khomas (2.6%) and Otjozondjupa (1.4%). Education Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek, a German international school, is in the country's capital, Windhoek. List of German Namibians Dieter Aschenborn (1915–2002), Namibian painter Uli Aschenborn (born 1947), South African-born Namibian animal painter Chris Badenhorst (born 1965), South West African-born former Springbok test rugby union player Monica Dahl (born 1975), Namibian swimmer Klaus Dierks (1936–2005), German-born Namibian government minister Till Drobisch (born 1993), Namibian road bicycle racer Kerstin Gressmann (born 1994), Namibian tennis player Otto Herrigel (1937–2013), Namibian lawyer, businessman, and politician Erik Hoffmann (born 1981),