Hermannsburg Missionaries

The links below list most missionaries sent out to South Africa between 1854 and 1960 by the Hermannsburg Mission. The missionaries were expected to remain in South Africa until they died (but quite a few ended up going back home, especially in this century). The saying goes that on their departure from Germany, they were told: "Farewell. We will not see each other again in this life but we will meet again in heaven."

Many of the early missionaries died after only a few years in South Africa, often leaving no dependents. Others had a large number of children and have hundreds of descendants living in South Africa today.

The data has been divided into the following four tables:

If you need more information on possible descendants of the missionaries, please contact Walter Volker who has put together a database of Natal and other South African Germans.