essay on afrikaner nationalism

Afrikaner Nationalism Essay For Students in English

Table of Contents

Introduction

Assuring and preserving Afrikaner interests was the primary objective of the National Party (NP) when it was elected to power in South Africa in 1948. After the 1961 Constitution, which stripped black South Africans of their voting rights, the National Party maintained its control over South Africa through outright Apartheid.

Hostility and violence were common during the Apartheid period. Anti-Apartheid movements in South Africa lobbied for international sanctions against the Afrikaner government following the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, which resulted in the deaths of 69 black protestors (South African History Online).

Apartheid was not adequately representing the interests of Afrikaners, according to many Afrikaners who questioned the NP’s commitment to maintaining it. South Africans refer to themselves as Afrikaners both ethnically and politically. Boers, which means ‘farmers,’ were also referred to as Afrikaners until the late 1950s.

Afrikaner Nationalism Essay Full Essay

Although they have different connotations, these terms are somewhat interchangeable. The National Party represented all South African interests prior to Apartheid as a party opposing British imperialism. Therefore, nationalists sought complete independence from Britain not just politically (White), but also economically (Autarky) and culturally (Davenport).

Afro-African, black, colored, and Indian were the four main ethnic groups in South Africa during this time period. At the time, the ruling class was made up of white people who spoke Afrikaans: they claimed blacks and coloreds were brought over for work involuntarily during settler-colonialism, so they did not have a history or culture. Therefore, Afrikaner nationalism served as a preservationist ideology (Davenport) for the white heritage.

South African History

Increasing participation of Indian people in government and politics indicates that Afrikaner nationalism is becoming more inclusive as Indians are recognized as South Africans.

During Apartheid, white South Africans spoke Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch. As an official language of South Africa, Afrikaner has become an increasingly common term to describe both an ethnic group and its language.

The Afrikaans language was developed by the poor white population as an alternative to the standard Dutch language. Afrikaans was not taught to black speakers during Apartheid, which resulted in it being renamed Afrikaner instead of Afrikaans.

The Het Volk party (Norden) was founded by D.F. Malan as a coalition among Afrikaner parties, such as the Afrikaner bond and Het Volk. The United Party (UP) was formed by J.B.M. Hertzog in 1939 after he broke away from his more liberal wing to form three consecutive NP governments from 1924 to 1939.

Black South Africans were lobbied successfully for more rights during this period by the opposition United Party, which eliminated racial segregation into separate spheres of influence known as Grand Apartheid, which meant whites could control what blacks did in their segregated neighborhoods (Norden).

National Party

South Africans were classified into racial groups based on their appearance and socio-economic status under the Population Registration Act enacted by the NP after defeating the United Party in 1994. In order to build a strong base of support for its political party, the NP joined forces with the Afrikanerbond and Het Volk.

It was founded in 1918 to address inferiority complexes created by British imperialism (Norden) among Afrikaners by “ruling and protecting” them. It was exclusively white people who joined the Afrikaner bond since they were only interested in shared interests: language, culture, and political independence from the British.

Afrikaans was officially recognized as one of the official languages of South Africa in 1925 by the Afrikaner bond, which established the Afrikaanse Taal-en Kultuurvereniging. Also, the NP began supporting cultural activities such as concerts and youth groups in order to bring Afrikaners under one banner (Hankins) and mobilize them into a cultural community.

There were factions within the National Party that were based on socioeconomic class differences, rather than being a monolithic body: some members recognized that they needed more grassroots support to win the 1948 elections.

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Afrikaner Nation

By promoting Christian nationalism to South Africans, the National Party encouraged citizens to respect rather than fear their differences, thus gaining votes from Afrikaners (Norden). The ideology could be considered racist since no equality was recognized between races; rather, it advocated controlling the region assigned to blacks without integrating them into other groups.

As a result of Apartheid, black and white residents were segregated politically and economically. Because whites could afford better housing, schools, and travel opportunities, segregation became an institutionalized socioeconomic system that favored rich whites (Norden).

By gaining the Afrikaner population vote in 1948, the National Party slowly came to power despite early opposition to Apartheid. They officially established Apartheid one year after winning the election, as a federal law allowing white South Africans to participate in political representation without the right to vote (Hankins).

In the 1950s, under Prime Minister Dr. NP, this harsh form of social control was implemented. By replacing English with Afrikaans in schools and government offices, Hendrik Verwoerd paved the way for the development of an Afrikaner culture where white people celebrated their differences rather than hid them (Norden).

A mandatory identification card was also issued by the NP to blacks at all times. Due to the lack of a valid permit, they were prohibited from leaving their designated region.

A system of social control was designed to control the black movement by white police officers, causing natives to be afraid of traveling into areas that were assigned to other races (Norden). As a result of Nelson Mandela’s refusal to submit to minority rule by whites, his ANC became involved in resistance movements against Apartheid.

Through the creation of bantustans, the nationalist movement maintained Africa’s poverty and prevented its emancipation. Despite living in a poor region of the country, southern Africa people had to pay taxes to the white government (Norden) because bantustans were lands specifically reserved for black citizens.

As part of the NP’s policies, blacks were also required to carry identity cards. In this way, police were able to monitor their movement and arrest them if they entered another race’s designated area. “Security forces” took control of townships where blacks protested unfair government treatment and were arrested or killed.

Besides being denied representation in Parliament, black citizens received significantly fewer educational and medical services than whites (Hankins). Nelson Mandela became the first president of a fully democratic South Africa in 1994 after the NP ruled apartheid-era South Africa from 1948 to 1994.

A majority of NP members were Afrikaners who believed that British imperialism had “ruined” their country after World War II due to British imperialism (Walsh). Also, the National Party used ‘Christian Nationalism’ to win Afrikaner people votes by claiming that God created the world’s races and must therefore be respected rather than feared (Norden).

Nevertheless, this ideology could be viewed as racist since it did not recognize equality between races; it merely argued that blacks should remain independent within their assigned regions rather than integrate with others. Due to the NP’s complete control over Parliament, black Citizens were not oblivious to apartheid’s unfairness but were powerless to address it.

As a result of British imperialism after the first world war, Afrikaners overwhelmingly supported the National Party. This party sought to create a separate culture where whites would have sole responsibility for government. Architect of apartheid Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd promoted intense segregation between blacks and whites during his Prime Ministership between 1948 and 1952.

The Nordics believed that differences should be embraced rather than feared because there are irreconcilable differences in which one group will always dominate. Although Hankins suggested black citizens remain in their bantustans rather than integrating with other cultures (Hankins), he failed to recognize these ‘irreconcilable’ groups as equals.

In addition to requiring blacks to carry identity cards, the NP passed laws to make them do so. The police were able to monitor their movements more easily as a result. If caught crossing into an area designated for another race, they were arrested.

Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president (Norden) on April 27th, 1994, marking the end of apartheid. In his speech after becoming president, Mandela explicitly stated that he had no intention of disparaging Afrikaners. He instead sought to enhance the positive aspects while reforming “the less desirable aspects of Afrikaner history” (Hendricks).

When it came to apartheid’s sins, he advocated Truth and Reconciliation rather than retribution, allowing all sides to discuss what happened without fear of punishment or retaliation.

Mandela, who helped create the new ANC government after losing the election, did not dissolve the NP but rather promoted reconciliation between Afrikaners and non-Afrikaners by bringing Afrikaner culture and traditions to the forefront of racial reconciliation.

Despite their ethnicities, South Africans were able to watch rugby games together because the sport became a unifying factor for the nation. The black Citizens who played sports watched television, and read newspapers without fear of persecution were Nelson Mandela’s hope for them (Norden).

Apartheid was abolished in 1948, but Afrikaners were not fully eliminated. While the interracial sport does not necessarily mean the NP is no longer ruling the country, it does bring hope for future South African generations to be able to reconcile with their past rather than live in fear.

South African blacks are less likely to perceive whites as oppressors because they are more involved in Afrikaner culture. Once Mandela is out of office, it will be easier to achieve peace between blacks and whites. Aiming to build better relationships between races is more important now than ever before, as Nelson Mandela will retire on June 16th, 1999.

Under Nelson Mandela’s administration, Afrikaners once again felt comfortable with their status in society because the white government was brought into the 21st century. President Jacob Zuma is almost certain to be reelected to South Africa’s top job in 2009 as the leader of the ANC (Norden).

Conclusion,

Since the NP had a plurality of power based on support from Afrikaner voters, they were able to retain control over Parliament until they lost their election; thus, whites were worried that voting for another party would lead to more power for blacks, which would lead to a loss of white privilege due to affirmative action programs if they voted for another party.

Long & Short Essay on Rainy Season in English

Afrikaner Nationalism and White Politics, 1910–1948

Department of History, Stellenbosch University

Published: 22 May 2023
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This chapter unpacks the dynamics of Afrikaner nationalism during the first half of the twentieth century. It includes dimensions such as the historiography of Afrikaner nationalism, the ways in which the movement was mobilized, gender relations, the reification of history, and the manner in which events impinged on developments. The trajectory of Afrikaner nationalism was not a simple, linear process, but several inter-Afrikaner tensions had to be negotiated. It finally points out that at the time of the watershed election of 1948, apartheid was not necessarily a fixed concept and its implications only emerged later.

Afrikaner Nationalism: “Building a Volk”

As a cultural and political phenomenon, a specifically ethnic and narrowly defined Afrikaner nationalism undoubtedly left its mark on twentieth-century South African history. This is about the only uncontroversial statement that can be made in connection with Afrikaner nationalism. There are divergent interpretations concerning the origins of Afrikaner nationalism, the nature and contents thereof, and the way in which it was manufactured, as well as the precise correlation between Afrikaner nationalism and socioeconomic developments.

Much of the historical writing in Afrikaans dealing with Afrikaner nationalism presents it as an unproblematic concept. Afrikaner nationalism is naturalized to the extent that it is seen, in a mechanical fashion, as the automatic outcome of South African history. The weakness in this approach is that that which must be studied is accepted uncritically as a natural given entity. The result is a tautological argument with very little explanatory value: “Afrikaners are nationalistic because they are Afrikaners.”

Liberal, mainly English-speaking historians were more critical toward Afrikaner nationalism. Ironically, though, their basic point of departure did not differ much from that of their Afrikaner counterparts. With Afrikaner historians they shared in analytical terms the unproblematic acceptance of the concept of volk as well as the idealistic notions of the growth of nationalism. The only substantial difference is that whereas some English-speaking historians generally denounced nationalism, often in value-laden terms, Afrikaner historians viewed it as a positive phenomenon.

Subsequent studies tend to pay greater attention to the material basis of Afrikaner nationalism. It is also seen as the cultural and political product of intense ideological labor. While the precise mix of material, cultural, and political factors is a matter of debate, there is nevertheless a degree of consensus that “ethnic or clan affiliation does not survive because it’s an innate characteristic of people and families or of their culture; it survives, or more accurately is recreated or reconstituted, because it is functional to the conditions of peoples’ present lives.” 1

In line with such an approach, Afrikaner nationalism is seen in general terms as a broad social and political response to the uneven development of capitalism in South Africa, which meant that certain groups, including a substantial number of Afrikaners, were left behind. It was within a context of increasing urbanization and secondary industrialization during the period between the two world wars, as well as the continuing British imperial influence in South Africa, that Afrikaner nationalism made headway. Important ideological building blocks in this process were the following: the promotion of a common language, the emphasis on what was perceived to be a common past, and the unity of a common sense of religion.

Prominent in the construction and direction in which Afrikaner nationalism was pushed was the Afrikaner middle class, comprising, for example, ministers of religion, teachers, academics, journalists, farmers, and certain elements in the civil service. Many leading middle-class Afrikaners in the 1930s and 1940s belonged to a secret organization called the Afrikaner Broederbond, which ceaselessly endeavored to promote the exclusive interests of “true” Afrikaners on behalf of the volk . To unite rural people and urban people, rich and poor; political idealists; and pragmatists under the banner of Afrikaner nationalism called for sustained ideological labor on several levels over a number of years.

One of the important concerns was the level of impoverishment among a sizable proportion of Afrikanerdom. This destitution can be traced back to rudimentary farming during the pioneering days of the Boer republics and poor agricultural conditions in large parts of the Cape Colony. It was, however, the wholesale British destruction of Boer homesteads and cattle during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 (South African War) that ultimately contributed to widespread poverty. The situation was compounded by increasing class tensions as wealthier landowners who had the resources to survive the war started to buy up farms from their less fortunate brethren. Increasingly, the more structural vulnerable, including so-called bywoners who had lost their land or never possessed land, worked as White farmhands and had to bear the brunt of displacement.

While a serious drought in 1916 added to the woes of those on margins, it was the depression of the early 1930s that was a hammer blow, forcing an unprecedented number of Afrikaners off the land and into the cities. Many of them lacked the necessary skills to assert themselves in the new and competitive urban milieu and were relegated to relatively low-paid positions. For example, almost 40 percent of urbanized male Afrikaners found themselves in the following occupations in 1939: manual laborer, mine worker, railway worker, and bricklayer. 2 According to the report of the Carnegie Commission, which inquired into White poverty in 1932, almost 200,000 to 300,000 could be classified as very poor. The cold statistics, however, did not reflect the profoundly human story of suffering and humiliation. A contemporary church commission sketched the lot of the new urban Afrikaner in the following empathic terms:

He was looked down upon, he had to come with his hat in hand, he had to be satisfied with the crumbs which fell from the tables of the rich. To make any sort of progress, however little, he had to beg the English oppressor and had to obey his every command. Any job that was offered him, however humiliating, dangerous and lowly paid it might have been, he had to accept with gratitude. He and his family had to be satisfied with the worst living conditions in the dirty ghettoes. The door to well-paid occupations was firmly closed. His erstwhile independence was reduced to humiliating servitude and bondage. 3

Part of the rationale in the flight to the cities was that a family could benefit from the wage-earning potential of women that was largely absent in the countryside. Single rural women also followed that route. Demanding factory work at breadline wages, which was claimed, was sapping the physical energies of these women and also threatened their moral convictions, leading to sexual immorality. 4

Urbanization hardly relieved rural poverty. It remained particularly acute in the Northern Cape with its nomadic trekboers, in the Bushveld area of the Transvaal, in the Karoo and Little Karoo with its struggling peasant farmers and bywoners , and in the Southern Cape where former independent woodcutters were fighting a rearguard action against rapacious wood merchants.

In middle- and upper-middle-class circles there were serious concerns that not only did the poor reflect badly on Afrikaners per se; but, as they sank further into poverty, their links to nationalist politics might also become increasingly tenuous as they explored what were considered foreign ideologies promising salvation to the marginalized. In short, impoverished Afrikaners had to be rescued for the volk .

In this respect, a range of Afrikaner networks and organizations could be drawn upon to play their part in general upliftment. These included the Broederbond (the Brotherhood), an organization with tentacles across the country and whose male members were sworn to secrecy; financial institutions like Sanlam, an insurance firm, and a bank like Volkskas were touted as premier Afrikaner establishments that could be relied upon to work in the best interests of all Afrikaners. An umbrella body like the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings saw to it that all Afrikaner cultural forms took a decidedly nationalistic turn. In the Broederbond as well as in other circles, a strategy combining ethnic cultural and political mobilization allied with the promotion of volkskapitalisme (capitalism in the interest of the volk ) was seen as solution to the problem. Moreover, ethnic mobilization encompassed a strong appeal to status and psychological needs in providing a greater sense of “belonging,” assuaging feelings of inferiority engendered by an overwhelming English culture. 5 These were important initiatives in securing the future of the volk.

In a strongly patriarchal Afrikaner society, it was often men who took the lead in nationalistic and cultural projects. The role of women can, however, be easily underestimated. The notion of the self-sacrificing volksmoeder was an integral element in the national ethos. It was the volksmoeder who had to transmit the appropriate aspirations and ideals to the young and who had to provide a home environment in which Afrikaner ideals could be cherished. In addition, her influence was not to be restricted to the household only; she was also expected to play an active supportive role in the promotion of wider nationalistic politics. Although not all Afrikaner women followed the script that had been written for them, the notion of the volksmoeder was nevertheless seen as a role model worthy for young Afrikaner girls to emulate. As a result, the continued incorporation of women into a male-dominated nationalism was assured. The volksmoeder ideal meant that women could gain social recognition only as participants in the lives of their husbands and children; plotting their own course outside the prescribed framework was distinctly frowned upon. The powerful hold of the volksmoeder ideal is evident from the fact that it had resonance even among working-class women who had joined socialistically inclined trade unions under non-Afrikaner leadership, such as the Garment Workers’ Union under Solly Sachs. Working-class women who adopted the symbols and rhetoric of the volksmoeder then proceeded to redefine it for themselves. It was only then, they felt, that they could claim legitimacy as full members of society. 6

Trade unionism was an important field for Afrikaner cultural entrepreneurs. Afrikaner workers had to be organized within a nationalist context and had to be weaned from the existing trade unions dominated by English speakers. Broederbond Afrikaner unions like the Spoorbond and the Afrikaner Bond van Mynwerkers were established to look after the specific interests of Afrikaans speakers on the railways and in the gold mines. The Spoorbond was relatively successful, but the Afrikaner Bond van Mynwerkers met with considerable opposition from the already established Mine Workers’ Union. The Mine Workers’ Union had come to an agreement with the mine owners that the Afrikaner union would not be recognized and that only members of the predominantly English-speaking union would be employed. Thus, Afrikaans speakers were compelled to work as “reformers” within the framework of the often-corrupt Mine Workers’ Union. This gave rise to considerable tension to such an extent that the secretary of the Mine Workers’ Union, Charlie Harris, was shot by an outraged Afrikaner in 1939. To establish an organized Afrikaner influence in the mines was more difficult than originally anticipated.

A marked feature of the way in which Afrikaner nationalism was constructed was the emphasis being placed on history. The past that presented itself was preeminently that of the nineteenth century: the Great Trek, the Anglo-Boer War, and the concentration camps during that war. These events were cast in near religious terms with Afrikaners as God’s chosen people, destined to bring civilization and Christianity to the southern tip of Africa.

Of particular significance in molding an Afrikaner identity during the 1930s were the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek in 1938. The Great Trek, which assumed pride of place in Afrikaner history, was commemorated by nine ox wagons, slowly making their way from Cape Town to the north. It turned out to be an unprecedented cultural and political theater; feverish crowds dressed in period Voortrekker garb welcomed the procession as it approached the towns and cities. Streets were named after Voortrekker heroes; men and women were moved to tears by the spectacle; young people were married alongside the vehicles; couples christened their babies in the shade of the wagons (many infants were given names derived from the Great Trek, such as Eeufesia and Kakebeenwania ). Although this “second Trek” had been carefully orchestrated by Afrikaner cultural entrepreneurs, even they were taken aback by the tumultuous response to the event.

This symbolic trek paralleled the economic trek of Afrikanerdom from a debilitating depression that had reduced large numbers to the ranks of poor Whites. For many former platteland Afrikaners who now found themselves in an urban environment, the centenary trek, symbolically rooted in an ideal and heroic rustic past, gave powerful expression to longings for a better, more prosperous future and to a nostalgia for a fast-eroding rural social order. At the heart of the 1938 celebrations lay the perception that Afrikaners were strangers in their own land, victims of British-rooted capitalism and an alien political culture, and that a solution lay in unified economic, political, and cultural action. And, indeed, as fractured as Afrikanerdom may have been in class terms, the 1938 celebrations served as a powerful binding agent and represented a truly unique moment of cross-class ethnic mobilization. In the celebrations and in the evocation of the heroic struggles of their forebears, Afrikaners saw themselves mirrored in history and drew inspiration from it for survival and for the future.

In evaluating the place of the celebrations in the development of Afrikaner nationalism, it is perhaps best viewed as an important populist phase. It had all the rhetoric of populist movements: “struggle,” “survival,” and “salvation.” It also displayed most of the features of populism: a moralistic rather than a programmatic content; a romantic, consciously anti-intellectual, and deliberately declassed leadership; an overt alienation from the centers of political and economic power; the launching of cooperative economic ventures, involving the small man, such as the Reddingsdaadbond ; and a strong nostalgic element in drawing upon an idealized past in attempts to help shape the present and the future. It is probably true to say that in the long term, the foundations for Afrikaner unity were laid during the centenary celebrations. 7

The Women’s Monument, erected in honor of the women who perished during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902, was another prominent heritage marker. The monument was erected approximately three kilometers south of Bloemfontein. It consists of a thirty-five-meter obelisk; adjoining it is a statue of a woman holding a dying child, supported by another woman gazing resolutely into the distance. On either side, two bas-relief panels depict women being herded into a concentration camp, clutching their few paltry possessions, and an emaciated child dying while a woman kneels at the bedside. The whole monument stands in a circular enclosure. Situated between some small hills against the background of a vast open veld, the monument blends in with the natural surroundings; the landscape itself becomes part of the monument, reinforcing the idea of the Boer people as a rural nation. The monument was largely funded by public subscription.

Despite enthusiasm for the monument, political messages of nationalist intent did not overtly dominate proceedings with the opening ceremony of the monument in 1913. Deliberate attempts were made to elevate the occasion to a spiritual level and not to turn it into an Afrikaner political rally, promoting ethnic exclusivity. Afrikaner political life and religion were, however, often intertwined. Underneath the surface, a vast reservoir of unexpressed emotions swirled that could be channeled along nationalistic lines of common suffering, humiliation, and a need for retribution at a later stage.

What was muted in 1913 became shriller and more strident in the 1930s and 1940s. Cultural entrepreneurs, including ministers of religion and teachers, regularly used the monument as a symbol to drive home nationalistic messages. Author Marq de Villiers, who went to school in Bloemfontein during this period, recalls that they were taken annually to the monument:

We understood viscerally as children that the monument was not merely a stone expression of the evil that outsiders do; it is a symbol of how the volkseie [that which is integral to the volk] is fundamental to a people’s identity: outsiders, people outside the burgerstand [ volk who were foreign to the fundamental thought patterns of the people, will always try to do you harm. The only solution is tight solidarity. 8

Although the Women’s Monument became a focal symbol of ethnic allegiance, it did not attain the same status as the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. The cornerstone of the Voortrekker Monument was laid on December 16, 1938, at the height of the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek. Eleven years later, on December 16, 1949, after the historic victory of the National Party in 1948, the Voortrekker Monument was inaugurated with great fanfare. It was conceived and constructed during an intensively nationalistic period that made the meaning attributed to it unambiguous. In contrast, the Women’s Monument did not bear the mark of nationalism and had to “grow” into the movement; its meaning had to be reassigned. Moreover, the Great Trek represented a preeminently successful period in Afrikaner history with the establishment of independent Boer Republics in the interior, while the South African War, despite the endurance of the bitter-enders and the sacrifices of the women, ultimately represented defeat; it constituted a period of suffering that would serve as a constant reminder of past grievances and therefore did not lend itself to celebration.

Another important factor in the construction of Afrikaner nationalism, as already alluded to, was the confluence of religion as practiced by Afrikaans churches and its alignment with the volk. Religious thinking morphed into a form of civil religion. Afrikaans churches drew heavily on theologies that originated from the Netherlands. It was especially inspired by Calvinism with its emphasis on divinely separate silos or structures in society that gave rise to a notion, though challenged occasionally, that Afrikaners had a religious duty to maintain existing arrangements. The Dutch Reformed Church became known as the volkskerk (church of the volk). This rigid thinking contributed to and foreshadowed later apartheid thinking, in the sense that black people were regarded as comprising separate ethnic units. Missionary work likewise proceeded from the assumption of White trusteeship claiming to represent what was considered in the best interests of black people.

Religion aside, the growth and role of Afrikaans as a public language during this period acted as a nationalist binding agent. In 1925, Afrikaans was declared an official language, alongside English and replacing Dutch. This step provided a platform for the development of what turned out to be a vibrant literary culture and the gradual establishment of Afrikaans as a higher-order scientific language at university level. Afrikaans stood central in the collective endeavors of cultural entrepreneurs. It had a homogenizing effect permeating virtually all Afrikaans circles, from school to pulpit and the world of commerce and technology. Other than White Afrikaans speakers, such as “colored” people, were, however, largely neglected in this process. 9

Evolving Political Dynamics

Although White political parties represented only a relatively small section of the total South African population in an all-White parliament, their rivalry and jockeying for position are of interest as at the time parliament was still the cockpit of power. The unification of South Africa in 1910 confirmed the legitimacy of that position with South Africa as a dominion of Britain.

The ramifications of this became apparent with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. As a dominion, South Africa was automatically at war with Germany but could choose to what extent it was prepared to participate. The South African Party, which spearheaded the new Union Government under General Louis Botha as prime minister and General J. C. Smuts, voted in favor of Britain’s request to invade and secure the neighboring German South West Africa (modern-day Namibia). The campaign was successful, but the decision to invade had a backlash among certain Afrikaners.

A sizable section of Afrikaner voters regarded it as ill advised to do Britain’s bidding so soon after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 and to attack a German colony while Germany had expressed some sympathy for the Boer republics during the Anglo-Boer conflict of little more than a decade ago. Febrile circumstances led to an armed uprising in August 1914 of some 11,000 men, mainly in the Free State and Transvaal. The rebellion, which was poorly planned, was quickly quelled by government forces. Its leaders consisted of well-known Afrikaner nationalists, but also a retinue of opportunistic poor Whites who regarded the rebellion as a chance to improve their positions should the rebellion be successful and they be rewarded for their services. Although the rebellion was a dismal failure, it did leave in its wake a set of new nationalist martyrs (in part as a result of Smuts’s perceived callousness in dealing with some rebels) who could be invoked for future nationalist mobilization. General J. B. M. Hertzog, another stalwart from the Anglo-Boer War, who had broken off from the Botha cabinet in 1912 to form the National Party in January 1914, sympathized with the rebels but was careful not to express open support for extra-parliamentary armed protest. 10

General J. C. Smuts, who succeeded Botha as premier after the latter’s death in 1919, managed to estrange himself further from Afrikaner voters through a ruthless suppression of the 1922 strike of White workers on the Witwatersrand. Among the strikers were a fair number of Afrikaners. The 1924 election saw Hertzog coming to power in a coalition with the Labour Party to form the “Pact government.” It gave the National Party, which was the senior partner in this agreement, a firm platform to promote its causes, and the following years were marked by the gradual institutionalization of nationalist ideology and a rapid growth of Afrikaner cultural organizations.

The economic crisis of the Great Depression of 1929 to 1933, compounded by one of the worst droughts the country had ever experienced, prompted yet another political arrangement. The crisis reached such proportions that Smuts and Hertzog in the interest of the greater good decided to merge their two parties (South African Party and National Party) into the United Party. A strong central party, spanning language differences, was required to address the country’s economic ills. Hertzog was to be party leader and Smuts his deputy. Political fusion did not carry the approval of all concerned. D. F. Malan, a Cape nationalist who was of the opinion that “true” Afrikaner interests were not being served by the United Party, broke away in 1934 to form the “Purified National Party,” to distinguish it from Hertzog’s earlier National Party. Gradually, though, after some reinventions, it reverted back to the name National Party, a party that, over time, was destined to play a major role in South African politics.

The personal prestige of Smuts and Hertzog did much to counter fissiparous and fractious elements in the United Party. Hertzog as a champion of Afrikaans causes worked ceaselessly to achieve parity between Afrikaans- and English-speakers in all fields. In a nutshell, his political philosophy can be reduced to three basic elements: equality between all Whites; an insistence, under the slogan “South Africa first,” that South African interest should take precedence over that from Britain; and racial segregation. Fusion was for him an embodiment of his two-stream policy, comprising English and Afrikaner interests in equal measure. Likewise, fusion fit in well with Smuts’s philosophy of the holism of creating expanding spheres of influence and cooperation. In addition, with the incorporation of Hertzog’s nationalists, Smuts was able to broaden his Afrikaner support base considerably. He hoped that such unity as had been achieved would become more durable and put an end to the incessant and, to Smuts, often petty political bickering.

The United Party could claim significant economic advances under its stewardship. Ultimately, though, despite some outward signs of stability, it proved to be a rather brittle union. Matters came to a head with the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Unlike the constitutional arrangement during the time of World War I, South Africa could now choose whether or not it was prepared to enter the war on the side of Britain. The cabinet was divided with Smuts and Hertzog taking diametrically opposing views. On September 4, 1939, the issue was debated in parliament; outside parliament the public waited in suspense to hear whether South Africa would join the fray. Hertzog argued that if South Africa did support Britain, it would be an indication that a certain section of the population was more concerned about British than South African interests. This would have run counter to the policy he had been pursuing in the United Party as it would have compromised the country’s independence and freedom. Smuts in turn deftly outlined the international situation and the possible ramifications of what he considered an ill-fated policy of neutrality. South Africa’s interests would not be served by remaining neutral, he argued. On the contrary, he claimed, in a worldwide conflagration it could only be to the country’s benefit to align itself unambiguously with Britain. It could not afford to stand alone. Smuts won the day, but it was a close call with a margin of thirteen votes separating Smuts and Hertzog. The outcome also marked the beginning of the end of Hertzog’s political career, while Smuts literally soldiered on.

The decision to enter the war was a disappointment for many Afrikaners. It had the effect of boosting extra-parliamentary organizations. One such organization was the Ossewabrandwag (Oxwagon Sentinel). The Ossewabrandwag, established soon after the 1938 Voortrekker Centenary, promoted itself as a cultural organization intent on keeping the “spirit of ’38” alive. It claimed to stand aloof from the sordid squabbles of party politics. Petty political differences were prone to divide Afrikanerdom, and therefore the organization had to guard against divisions generated by the dynamics of party politics.

The movement, with its emphasis on a cultural heritage, grew apace. Membership claims of between 300,000 and 400,000 in 1941 were probably only a slight exaggeration. The strength of its appeal lay in its ability to promote kulturpolitiek (culture politics) which allowed for full individual expression and participation. The advantage of this strategy is well explained by authors Roberts and Trollip:

The OB succeeded because it seemed to offer every man – and at first also to every woman—the chance of an individual and ponderable contribution to the great task of unifying the Afrikaner nation. At “braaivleisaande” [barbeque evenings] and “jukskei” [tenpin] meetings, at the local “kultuurvereniging” [cultural club] and even on occasion at church, Afrikaners could meet in that Trekker dress which was to be the uniform of the movement, and feel a sense of community of culture, of common heritage, of organised progress towards a great goal—a feeling which they did not always (or even, perhaps, often) experience within the framework of their political parties. 11

The leader of the Ossewabrandwag was Dr. Hans van Rensburg, a former administrator of the Free State. As the movement grew, and as it seemed possible in the early stages of World War II that Germany might well emerge as the victors abroad, the Ossewabrandwag became more outspoken and styled itself along more explicitly militaristic lines. This was particularly evident in the formation of an elite corps, the Stormjaers (Stormtroopers). They constituted a semi-military wing of the Ossewabrandwag and committed acts of wartime sabotage. They were also involved in some street thuggery and assaults on soldiers who had volunteered to fight abroad.

The Ossewabrandwag had clearly become more than a mere cultural organization. It had now entered the political fray. Van Rensburg described himself as “leader of disciplined Afrikanerdom” and openly advocated an authoritarian one-party state. This was to set him not only on a collision course with the Smuts government—approximately 2,000 Ossewabrandwag men were placed in internment camps for antiwar activities—but also with the National Party.

Despite an initial cordial relationship between the Ossewabrandwag and the Gesuiwerde National Party, the party as the political voice of Afrikanerdom became somewhat perturbed as it watched with growing unease how the Ossewabrandwag encroached on what the nationalists regarded as their territory. Increasingly, the Ossewabrandwag came to represent a threat to the nationalist leadership. Attempts and agreements to try to delineate a political field for the party and a separate cultural sphere for the Ossewabrandwag proved to be futile; each group interpreted such undertakings to suit their own purposes.

There was an intense rivalry among the entrenched leaders of the party and the new ambitious architects of the Ossewabrandwag . The battle for the soul of Afrikanerdom was on. In opposing the Ossewabrandwag , D. F. Malan projected the party as offering more in the field of realpolitiek than the Ossewabrandwag could deliver. Following the party down the parliamentary route, Malan argued, was the only realistic proposition for ensuring that Afrikaners stay in the race for power. Those Afrikaners who put their faith in the more fanciful ideas of the Ossewabrandwag were not only abandoning establishment politics but also instrumental in actually dividing Afrikanerdom itself. The Ossewabrandwag , Malan warned, was leading Afrikanerdom down a cul-de-sac. It was the party that rightfully occupied the central place in Afrikaner political life, and it was best positioned to lead them into the promised land.

Furthermore, to offset the popular appeal of the Ossewabrandwag , Malan and his lieutenants also decided to reorganize the party to make it more accessible to grass-roots members. The size of the party units was decreased, making it possible for even the smallest grouping of Afrikaners to form their own political cell. The aim was to educate the ordinary member in the political faith; “he was to be made to feel that he counted for something in the deliberation of his chiefs.” 12

Apart from such restructuring, Malan was also aided by events in Europe. As the prospects of a German victory receded, enthusiasm for the Ossewabrandwag began to wane in South Africa. Under a changed set of circumstances, Ossewabrandwag leaders found it difficult to recast their rhetoric and to extol the supposed virtues of authoritarian dictatorship. Even for their most ardent followers, the message of the Ossewabrandwag began to appear somewhat hollow. With Germany out of the picture as the possible outside liberator of Afrikanerdom, the parliamentary route of Malan made more sense. In 1943, the party could confidently claim that it was the dominant political representative of what it regarded as true Afrikaners.

Certain elements in extra-parliamentary movements that had flourished during this time indulged in authoritarian rhetoric. Some authors, critical of later Afrikaner race policies, were quick to equate the post-1948 apartheid state with the Nazi state of the 1930s and 1940s. Given the universal opprobrium heaped upon the Nazis and the general scorn evoked by apartheid, the analogy was a tempting one, and one that could moreover be readily understood and appreciated abroad. Such a one-to-one equation, however, obscures more than it reveals. Although some right-wing Afrikaners did identify with Nazi Germany in terms of realpolitik , Nazi influence in South Africa was rather limited. The affinities between Afrikaner nationalism and German national-socialism appeared to be mainly that of mutual ideological sympathy rather than deep-seated structural similarities. Afrikaner nationalists differed from their German counterparts in terms of their belief in the doctrine of Christian-nationalism as opposed to the crude pseudo-scientific social Darwinism of the Nazis; Afrikaners felt no need to exterminate what they considered the inferior races; and although Afrikaners respected strong leaders, there was no cult of the Führer. Afrikaner nationalism owed its characteristics and thrust more to the evolvement of a specific historical ideology and the localized material conditions of the times than to the adoption of an ideology that originated outside the country. Likewise, whereas Afrikaner nationalism undoubtedly harbored some authoritarian tendencies, its origins were more homespun than imported.

The United Party did well to see the war out. Ironically, though, it was somewhat less adept at dealing with peacetime conditions and dislocations. Certain weaknesses and lapses in the domestic administration of the Union in the post-1945 period gave the opposition issues to exploit for electoral gain before the 1948 election. Voters made much of bread-and-butter concerns such as the shortage of meat, the unavailability of white bread, the rate of inflation, and the government’s dismal housing record. To compound matters, it was said that the government’s immigration program had brought numerous British immigrants into the country and that they had taken homes and employment away from Afrikaners, and that the intention was also to swamp Afrikaners at the polls with a growing number of English speakers. The United Party found it difficult to counter these accusations with an adequate political response. The party was further left in a quandary as how to deal with nationalist propaganda, peddling “black peril” scares; accelerated black urbanization during the war years had given rise to this White rallying call and the incumbent government proved ineffective in countering race-inspired charges.

The National Party victory of 1948 was a close affair. While the United Party was expected to win reasonably comfortably, the nationalists, after drawing in some coalition partners, assumed power with a margin of five seats. The results have often been viewed as a watershed in South African history, and it was labeled “the apartheid election.” Yet despite the National Party’s scare tactics, it did not have a fully formulated blueprint for apartheid policy which it started to implement mechanically after 1948. Much of it was ad hoc and had to be negotiated in the face of different Afrikaner and other competing interests. 13 Besides this, it also has to be seen in the light of what went before. As one historian has succinctly pointed out, apartheid “differed in degree and direction, rather than in kind, from the policies that went before.” 14

Certainly, for the majority of voteless South Africans at the time, the election was not seen as all that crucial. Admittedly, some feared an intensification of discriminatory measures, but they also realized that the issue was more deep-seated and wide-ranging than any White election could reveal. Albert Luthuli, later to become president of the African National Congress, responded to the 1948 elections as follows:

For most of us Africans, bandied TRH Davenport about on the field while the game was in progress and then kicked to one side when the game was won, the election seemed largely irrelevant. We had endured Botha, Hertzog and Smuts. It did not seem much of importance whether the Whites gave us more Smuts or switched to Malan. 15

1 Timothy Keegan , Facing the Storm: Portraits of Black Lives in Rural South Africa (London: Zed Books, 1989), 148 . For concise perspectives on Afrikaner nationalism, see Colin Bundy , Re-making the Past: New Perspectives in South African History (Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 1985), 8–66 ; Shula Marks and Stanley Trapido , eds., The Politics of Race, Class and Nationalism in Twentieth Century South Africa (London: Longman Group, 1987), 16–19 ; and for more detailed analyses, T. Dunbar Moodie , The Rise of Afrikanerdom: Power, Apartheid and the Afrikaner Civil Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985) ; Herbert Adam and Hermann Giliomee , The Rise of Afrikaner Power (Cape Town: David Philip, 1985) ; Dan O’Meara , Volkskapitalisme: Class, Capital and Ideology in the Development of Afrikaner Nationalism, 1934–1948 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) ; Hermann Giliomee , Afrikaners: Biography of a People (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 2003) .

O’Meara, Volkskapitalisme, 82.

3 J. R. Albertyn , ed., Kerk en stad: Verslag van kommissie van ondersoek oor stadstoestande (Stellenbosch: Pro-Ecclesia Drukkery, 1945), 216–217 .

4 P. Bonner , “South African Society and Culture, 1910-1948,” Cambridge History of South Africa 2 (2011): 292 .

5 Heribert Adam and Hermann Giliomee . The Rise and Crisis of Afrikaner Power (Cape Town: David Philip, 1979), 155 .

6 Elsabé Brink , “Man-Made Women: Gender, Class and the Ideology of the ‘Volksmoeder’,” in Women and Gender in South Africa , edited by Cheryl Walker , 288 (Cape Town: David Philip, 1990) .

7 Albert Grundlingh and Hilary Sapire , “From Feverish Festival to Repetitive Ritual? The Changing Fortunes of Great Trek Mythology in an Industrialising South Africa, 1938-1988,” South African Historical Journal 21, no. 1 (1989): 19–38 .

8 Marq de Villiers , White Tribe Dreaming: Apartheid’s Bitter Roots as Witnessed by Eight Generations of an Afrikaner Family (New York: Penguin Books, 1989), 237 .

9 Hermann Gilomee , Die Afrikaners van 1910–2010: Die opkoms van ‘n moderne gemeenskap (New York: Penguin Books, 2011), 24 .

10 Albert Grundlingh and Sandra Swart , Radelose Rebellie? Rasionaal van die 1914 Rebellie (Pretoria: Protea Boekhuis, 2009) .

11 Michael Roberts and A. E. G. Trollip , The South African Opposition (London: Longmans, Green, 1945), 74 .

12 Ibid. , 81.

13 Deborah Posel , “The Meaning of Apartheid before 1948: Conflicting Interests and Forces within the Afrikaner Nationalist Alliance,” Journal of Southern African Studies 14, no. 1 (1987) .

14 T. R. H. Davenport , South Africa: A Modern History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987), 254.

15 Albert Luthuli , Let My People Go (New York: HarperCollins, 1987), 97 .

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How Afrikaner identity can be re-imagined in a post-apartheid world

Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Pretoria

Disclosure statement

Christi van der Westhuizen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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This article is a foundation essay. These are longer than usual and take a wider look at a key issue affecting society.

In a post-apartheid context, is a democratic Afrikaner identity possible? Are there other traditions apart from apartheid that can be drawn on in Afrikaner culture that can advance democracy and social justice? These questions are particularly relevant in South Africa, given that in recent years there has been a heightened contestation over Afrikaner identify, driven by a hardening of whiteness.

When the National Party came to power in 1948 politician JG Strijdom , the apartheid prime minister between 1954 and 1958 who was nicknamed the “Lion of the North”, demanded “ eendersdenkendheid ”. The Afrikaans word means a condition of thinking the same. It is a collective term as it necessarily requires more than one person to abide by it.

The directive of eendersdenkendheid was founded in apartheid . Opposition to apartheid was as treasonous as refusing to defend your country during a war, hardliner Strijdom told his white, assumed-to-be male audience.

This demand for conformism to a particular ethnic configuration of heteropatriarchal white supremacism – also known as apartheid – permeated Afrikaner nationalism. State power amplified the authoritarian tendency of conformism in Afrikanerdom. Anyone who did not bend the knee was a “ volksverraaier ”, or traitor to the volk (Afrikaner people).

A democratic Afrikaner identity

In thinking what it means to re-imagine the formerly hegemonic identity of apartheid, namely “the Afrikaner”, and what 22 years of democracy in South Africa should mean for this identity, I want to advance andersdenkendheid – a condition of thinking differently – as the democratic duty of Afrikaners.

Andersdenkendheid refers again to a collective. But it is a countervailing action against conformism in that one adopts a posture of questioning and critical thinking. One then creates a condition of thinking differently to the dominant thinking within a collective, which is literally what andersdenkendheid means.

Certain sections of white Afrikaans-speaking civil society and the media want Afrikaners to think that they all have the same beliefs. They want all Afrikaners to inherently believe that women, black people, lesbians and gays are inferior. They want all Afrikaners to feel so threatened by anyone different to what is regarded as the “norm” that everyone has to suppress their humanity.

But not all Afrikaners are like that. There were those Afrikaners who had the courage to be different, who were the volksverraaiers (traitors to the people) before South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994. Treason in this sense meant rejecting racist and heteropatriarchal oppression and brutalisation.

They are the people who today can show Afrikaners how to once again say “not in my name” when certain organisations pretend to speak on their behalf. Or when certain media corporations pretend to represent “true Afrikaner identity”. The volksverraaiers point the way to full participation in South Africa’s democracy.

A constructed identity

Why was there such a strong emphasis on eendersdenkendheid about apartheid, to the extent that diversion amounted to volksverraad (treason)? As with all identities, Afrikanerness is constructed. It was cobbled together using race, gender, class, sexuality and, importantly, ethnicity.

Afrikanerness was a particularly precarious identity. It wedged a space where it claimed the privileges of dominant Anglo whiteness but also demanded separateness on the basis of ethnicity. However, it did not want to be lumped with black ethnic others because then it would lose the benefits of whiteness.

Therefore Afrikaner nationalism spent the first several decades of the 20th century “purifying” its members.

But seismic changes were under way that would have profound changes.

Militant women, communists and literary dissidents

After the South African War of 1899-1902, Afrikaner nationalist cultural entrepreneurs undertook large-scale political, social and economic work to recruit individuals to their political project. This included emphasising the Afrikaans language over its Dutch predecessor. Class, gender and sexuality were used in the service of whiteness, for example, to “save” thousands of young Dutch/Afrikaans-speaking women under the guise of resolving the “poor white problem” .

These women, who went to work in Johannesburg and Pretoria, were breaking free from the patriarchal Boer family. They were mixing in the diverse communities burgeoning in the multiracial slums of the Witwatersrand. It was an intense scene of ideological battle. Afrikaner nationalism was up against socialism and liberalism.

The troublesome young women organised themselves in the Garment Workers’ Union , described as one of the most militant unions in the years between the two world wars. Leading members Hester and Johanna Cornelius , Anna Scheepers , Katie Viljoen, Dulcie Hartwell and Anna Jacobs created themselves as socialist volksmoeders (mothers of the nation). As Jacobs declared:

We shall take the lead and climb the Drakensberg again.

These socialist volksmoeders serve as a democratic pointer today.

Jacobs drew on the courage and militancy of the Boer women in the face of British imperialism. But she did so in an expansive mode of advancing equalisation. It was a proposition that was anathema to Afrikaner nationalism.

Advocate Bram Fischer similarly serves as a democratic pointer. Fischer, who was part of the legal team that presented the 90-odd accused in the Treason Trial of 1956-1961 and member of the Communist Party , came from “Afrikaner royalty”. He was prosecuted under the Suppression of Communism Act in 1966 .

From the dock Fischer quoted Paul Kruger , the Boer republic president:

With confidence we lay our case open before the whole world. Whether we conquer or whether we die: Freedom shall rise in Africa like the sun from the morning clouds.

Again, Fischer was expanding Kruger’s notion of freedom from British imperialism to a much more encompassing idea.

Fischer was sentenced to life imprisonment and subjected to daily humiliations and harsh treatment in prison.

The poet Breyten Breytenbach faced similar treatment. He had become radicalised when his Vietnamese partner Yolande was denied entry to South Africa on the basis of being “non-white” in the mid-60s. His militant organisation Okhela was short-lived. He was arrested and sentenced to seven years in jail.

In “Confessions of an Albino Terrorist” , Breytenbach describes how his Afrikaner male warden singled him out for abuse. The warden was

a complete marionette, fierce and violent. He opened my door with a brusque gesture… and said ‘Ek is die baas van die plaas [I am the boss around here]. I will make you crawl… You will get to know me yet’. Yes, I did get to know him.

These examples make a specific point. Afrikaner nationalism enforced a particularly totalitarian version of identity in which there was little room to manoeuvre for any individuals. Those who dared to transgress were heavily punished.

Writing during apartheid, author Andre Brink explained that dissidence provoked a vicious reaction from the Afrikaner establishment because it subverted apartheid. A dissident was regarded as a traitor to everything Afrikanerdom stood for, since apartheid had become everything that Afrikanerdom stood for.

In the post-apartheid conditions of a reassertion of white supremacism, the socialist volksmoeders , Fischer and Breytenbach can be used as guides. What sets these so-called traitors or volksverraaiers apart from the volk is their ability to identify with the racialised other through a sense of common humanity.

Mandela’s Poet

Ingrid Jonker , poet and daughter of a National Party politician responsible for censorship, exemplified this. Her poems include “ The child who was shot by soldiers at Nyanga ”, which was read by Nelson Mandela when he opened the first democratic parliament in 1994. Her poem “ I am with those ” features a line: “I am with those […]/ coloured African deprived.”

As the US philosopher Judith Butler reminds us:

One seeks to preserve oneself against the injuriousness of the other but if one was successful at walling oneself off from injury one would become inhuman.

The volksverraaiers lived this truth in the face of a system that dehumanised its outsiders and made its insiders inhuman.

There are again attempts to re-enforce eendersdenkendheid , to narrow down and simplify Afrikaner identities, and to corral Afrikaners into a laager with a view of the world filled with suspicion, fear and arrogance. The volksverraaiers point the way out of this inhumanity. They have done so by claiming the tradition of andersdenkendheid . With that they have provided Afrikaners with a place to build the vibrant democracy that is South Africa.

A version of this paper was first delivered at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies’ Re-imagining Afrikaner Identities Dialogue, Johannesburg, March 10 2016.

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The Spread of Afrikaner Nationalism in South Africa

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Introduction, the great trek: a battle for survival, the ‘poor white problem’, afrikaner nationalism essay conclusion.

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Afrikaner Nationalism Essay

Afrikaner people have, from the initial days felt threatened internal to their borders and externally. Sometimes the threat was real thus existing and other times it was an illusion. The fear of domination rose from the presence of a majority of what they labelled as undeveloped indigenous races all which were non-white (Wilson and Thompson, 365). With this fear rose nationalism. Afrikaner nationalism is a political ideology that was born in the late 19th century around the idea that Afrikaners in South Africa were a chosen people. It was also influenced by anti-British sentiments that grew among Afrikaners especially because of the Boer Wars which did more to unite Afrikanerdom and infuse it with purpose and determination (Wilson and Thompson, 367). The notion that Afrikaners are direct descendants of the Dutch are somewhat distorted. The Afrikaner nationalism places emphasis on the unity of all Afrikaans speaking white people, the Volk (folk – common people), against foreign elements such as blacks, Jews and English speaking South Africans.

Another factor that held Afrikaner people together was that of Calvinism. Religion played an instrumental role in the development of nationalism. The Dutch Reformed Churches of South Africa throughout the 18th century were in a battle against modernism and modernity aligning themselves with views that divided the human race broadly into the elect and the rest (Wilson and Thompson, 371). These spheres led to belief that the State is divinely ordained and created and had to be preserved and protected from liberalism and revolutionary ideas (Wilson and Thompson, 372). Anyone seen to indulge in human rationality was seen as challenging God’s authority. This Christian-nationalistic ideology was tailored to fit Nationalist Afrikaner prejudices. In the 19th century Du Toit put forward the notion that Afrikaners were a distinct nationality with a fatherland (South Africa) and their own language (Afrikaans) and that the Volks’ destiny was to rule South Africa.

Although there was never really an official relationship between the church and party, the church became in a sense the National Party at prayer (Wilson and Thompson, 373). Afrikaners could thus refuse a British designed South Africa which they could co exist with other ethnic groups as a minority (Wilson and Thompson, 373-4). To them, as long as Afrikaner existed, as a minority in a racially and culturally different environment, they could not allow the black majority to develop economically or politically because this would lead to black domination. Afrikaner Nationalism had a personalized political philosophy. The Union of South Africa was created in 1910 (Wilson and Thompson, 377) and eight years after the 2nd Boer War, Hertzog broke ties with prime minister then , and formed the National Party in 1914. The media in those days had a party affiliated with it, hence Nationalist minded Afrikaners persuaded Malan to be an editor of their newspaper and thus he left his position as a church minister. A Cape branch of Hertzog’s National Party was founded in 1915 and Malan was elected as its provincial leader, elected to parliament in 1918.

The National Party came in power in 1924, and Malan was Minister up until 1933 (Wilson and Thompson, 379). In 1934 the United Party was formed out of a merger between Hertzog’s National Party and rival, Jan Smuts with the South African Party. Malan strongly opposed the merger. He and nineteen other members of parliament formed the Purified National Party which he led for the next fourteen years as opposition. Malan also opposed the participation in WW2 which was already unpopular with the Afrikaner population (and led to the split in governing party) this dramatically increased his popularity and he consequently defeated the United party in 1948 in elections (in which only whites and coloreds could vote) (Wilson and Thompson, 380-7).

Malan retired as leader in 1954, and the National Party chose Strydom as successor overriding Malan’s choice of placing Havenga as his successor. Choosing a non-Hertzog path, the National Party chose a path which Afrikaner Nationalism had to follow. Ossewabrandwag movement was formed largely on National Socialist lines which opposed South African entry in WW2 because of South Africa’s fight for independence from British rule. The movement emphasized national unity and was able to integrate a multitude of different nationalist organizations because it lacked a clear ideological profile. Only when leadership began to define ideology and had its own policy from 1941 onwards, did membership decline (Wilson and Thompson, 387).

In the end, Malan outmaneuvered the movement and his rallying cry became that of bringing together all who from inner certainty, belong collectively. Nationalism was taken further at elections of 1953, 1958, 1961 and 1966 until Malan’s ideal had been realized (Wilson and Thompson, 388). However, there remained a small hard core Afrikaners who refused to throw their lot with Afrikaner nationalism thus internal political struggles in the disgruntled and essentially impoverished Afrikaner community. The tide however appeared to be flowing in favour of the more enlightened element in the National Party in the late 1960s (Wilson and Thompson, 390). This began the road to South Africa’s eventual isolation from a world that would no longer tolerate any forms of political discrimination or differentiation based on race only. Afrikaner Nationalism’s attitude to sovereign independence falls in two periods namely, the drive to attain dominion status and independence of South Africa within the Commonwealth of Nations (Wilson and Thompson, 390-1). Hertzog led a freedom deputation in France to advocate for an independent reign of South Africa.

An outcome for this task was a suggestion by the Federal Council of the Nation Party to recast the agenda of principles of the party in such a way that the sovereignty ideal was undoubtedly formulated. The party used constitutional means to be emancipated and handed rights to make decisions about the future of South Africa (Wilson and Thompson, 391). There was agitation from the Nationalist Party and Hertzog resisted it within ranks for secession from Britain after the First World War. Hertzog then entered into an election agreement with the Labour Party (supported by English speakers) and gave assurance that he would not withdraw from the Commonwealth. On the other hand, the Nationalist Party decided on a change of strategy in an effort to alleviate uncertainties of those South Africans that feared republicanism meant the dismissal of all ties of the Commonwealth (Wilson and Thompson, 393).

After WW2, the demand for a return to a Kruger-type republic had been dropped with emphasis placed on South Africa’s relations with the rest of the world. Simultaneously, the internal colour problem had become extraneous in the face of more pressing issues (Wilson and Thompson, 394). Broederbond was a secret, exclusively male and white Protestant organization in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interests. Their role in Afrikaner Nationalism was never possible to establish with exactness. The work of the Bond was to maintain the unification of the Afrikaner members, recognising their language and cultural community (Wilson and Thompson, 395). Neither of the two leading Afrikaners of their day, Hertzog or Smuts, was considered eligible for membership of the Broederbond, for their policy of co-operation with the English speaking section of the population was felt to be inimical to the interests of the Afrikaner nation.

Hertzog and Smuts had opposing opinions about the aims and activities of the organization. Smuts saw the organisation as a danger to the position of the country and the national policy as it only catered for the interests of a single resident and was not concerned in the interests of other inhabitants and the outcome was for Smuts to forbid any individual to become a member of the organisation. Hertzog was well aware of the scheming of the Broederbond behind the scenes, and in a forceful attack on the organization in a speech at Smithfield he stigmatized them as a grave menace to the rest and peace of our social community, even where it operates in the economic-cultural sphere (Wilson and Thompson, 397-8). Hertzog maintained that the establishment of the Bond organisation was caused by the refusing of the fusion of the National and South African Parties. The Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisation (F.A.K) was established in 1929 on Broedebond initiative which was to exercise an influential positive and creative image which impinged on the political sphere.

The educational field was also vital as it was seen as a primary field of work in their attempt to build a nation in order to prevent the de-Afrikanerazation of the young. Division between Afrikaans and English speaking children was to be maintained in their education. An instruction of the mother tongue language secured the goal of the Afrikaner people’s motive to separate the two white groups with different mother tongues (Wilson and Thompson, 398-9). Economically, the F.A.K did significant work before and after WW2. Because of their work, Afrikaner Nationalism had been given further powerful foundation to provide it for the task of governing South Africa as the senior and dominant white partner (Wilson and Thompson, 400). In South Africa race is always equated with the colour of one’s skin. The race policy was implemented by the Afrikaner Nationalism to separate the populations according to their skin colour.

The population Registration Act had definitions for each different race groups namely Whites, Coloureds, the Natives and the Indian person. They asserted that language and traditions are to be in the blood of an individual (Wilson and Thompson, 403). In Nationalism’s black manifesto, Hertzog officially committed South Africa as a white man’s land. When Malan came to power in 1948, he abolished the Natives’ Representative Council claiming that it had become an anti-white forum. A party under chairmanship of Sauer produced a report in time of 1948 election which put in motion the word apartheid (Wilson and Thompson, 406).

The application of segregation will furthermore lead to the creation of separate healthy cities for the non-whites where they will be in a position to develop along their own lines, establish their own institutions and later on govern themselves under the guardianship of the whites. Domination in South Africa was the purpose of the Afrikaner Nationalists to secure the safety of the white man. The survival of the white men meant that white men (White Afrikaners and English speaking whites) had to come together in order to fight the threat of the black people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Wilson, M. and Thompson, L. The Oxford History of South Africa. Oxford University Press.

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History Grade 11 - Topic 4 Source-based Questions

QUESTION 1: HOW WAS AFRIKANER NATIONALISM PROMOTED IN SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE 1930s TO 1940s?

Study Sources 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D and answer the questions that follow.

Refer to Source 1A.

The source below describes the reasons for the rise of Afrikaner Nationalism.

It was resentment (anger) over the unequal distribution of status, wealth, political control and the fear of cultural absorption into an English oriented society, which aroused Afrikaner Nationalism. Their remarkable recovery from defeat has been a decisive fact in twentieth-century South African history, with far-reaching consequences not only for the composition and character of the white elite, but also for those excluded from ordinary civil rights.

The story of Afrikanerdom’s regeneration from the ashes of its 1902 defeat to undisputed (certain) mastery of South Africa is a remarkable one, elaborately romanticised by Afrikaner publicists as a modern version of a minuscule (small) Afrikaner David slaying the British Goliath.

The treks to the cities, coupled with the Boers’ defeat at the hands of the British were the two forces that decisively moulded (shaped) Afrikaner Nationalism. Beginning with the mineral revolution, industrialisation turned the Boers into an urban proletariat (worker) in the employment of a foreign, capitalist class. The fact that English speakers monopolised (controlled) finance, commerce and mining, persuaded Afrikaners that their national and class enemy was one and the same. Afrikaner Nationalism therefore launched a three pronged (split) struggle: cultural, economic and political.

[Accessed on https://www.ecexams.co.za/2020_November_Gr_11_Exemplars.htm ) Accessed on the 25th of August 2021]

According to the source, what are some of the factors which gave rise to Afrikaner Nationalism? (2 x 1) (2)
It was for political control
Resentment over the unequal distribution of status between the Afrikaners and English society
Feared cultural absorption.
Use your own knowledge to name the population group that was excluded from ordinary civil rights in South Africa. (1 x 2) (2)
Black South Africans.
Comment on the meaning of the following statement, “The Afrikaner David slaying the British Goliath”, with regard to the rise of Afrikaner Nationalism. (2 x 2) (4)
It means that Afrikaners had established their separate identity
Various organisation had been established by Afrikaners to promote their political, social and economic rights.
Afrikaners had established themselves as a volk.
Name the TWO factors that decisively moulded Afrikaner Nationalism. (2 x 1) (2)
Their trek to cities.
When the Boers were defeated by the British.

The source below describes how the Band of Brotherhood (Broederbond) contributed in the promotion of Afrikaner Nationalism.

The Afrikaner- Broederbond’s aim is the promotion of the Afrikaners political, cultural and economic interest. The Afrikaner Broederbond is an extremely exclusive, secret Afrikaner nationalist organisation which in a symbiotic (co-operative) relationship with the National Party has played a determining role in the political development of South Africa.

Membership of the Afrikaner Broederbond is limited to men. The Broederbond demands high cultural, family-related, religious, moral and political standards from its members. To qualify, a person must meet the following requirements: he must be a member of one of the traditional Afrikaans churches, must have attended an Afrikaner school, must have married an Afrikaans-speaking wife and he must support the ‘right’ party, the National Party. Definite disqualifications are being divorced and irregular church attendance.

Although the constitution of the Afrikaner Broederbond excludes party politics from its activities, it has become clear over the years that the organisation does have significant political clout (influence). It was increasingly used as a ‘think tank’ and subsequently as “legitimator” of new policy directions undertaken by the National Party. It established numerous support organisations to broaden Afrikaner interest and made it its business to appoint, promote and protect the “right man.” An important strategy is that of gaining control of school committees, school boards, church councils and board of directors in order to achieve its aims.

[Accessed from https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv02424/04lv02730/05lv03188/06lv03190.htm on the 25th August 2021]

1.2.1 What, according to the source, was the aim of the Afrikaner Broederbond? (1 x 2) (2)

Their aim was the promotion of Afrikaner cultural and economic aspirations or interests.

1.2.2 Why, do you think, the Afrikaner Broederbond was regarded as an extremely exclusive, secret Afrikaner organisation? (2 x 2) (4)

The organisation only accepted Afrikaans speaking white people as part of their organisation.
The membership of the Broederbond was extremely secretive as no one really knew who belonged to the organisation.

1.2.3 Comment on why the Afrikaner Broederbond did not remain an anti-political organisation. (2 x 2) (4)

Broederbond members also formed part of the National Party members.
These members held key positions within the National Party.
Members of the Broederbond wanted to political power to remain in the hands of the Afrikaner people.

1.2.4 Quote evidence from the source that indicates not all Afrikaans speaking whites could become members of the Afrikaner Broederbond. (2 x 1) (2)

“ Membership of the Afrikaner Broederbond is limited to men”
“To qualify, a person must meet the following requirements: he must be a member of one of the traditional Afrikaans churches, must have attended an Afrikaner school, must have married an Afrikaans-speaking wife and he must support the ‘right’ party, the National Party”

This source depicts the role played by the National Party in consolidating Afrikaner Nationalism.

https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv02424/04lv02730/05lv03188/06lv03210.htm

The present day National Party emerged from the Purified National Party (PNP). This faction of the original National Party of 1914 was built on deep-seated Afrikaner Nationalism. The birth of the NP was not only the result of a power struggle between English and Afrikaans-speaking communities, but also of an anti-imperialist attitude among Afrikaners. The Afrikaner wanted to play a more significantly political role in society and government. They also had a clear aim to physically, socially and politically separate South African blacks, coloureds and Indians.

The NP was increasingly seen by Afrikaners as the institution which would further their group interest. The party was complemented by cultural, social, economic and religious organisations created exclusively for Afrikaners. Along with Nasionale Pers, the Afrikaner-Broederbond, Sanlam, AVBOB, the Voortrekkers, FAK, Helpmekaar, KWV and Volkskas, the NP became a growing Afrikaner power group. The party organised Afrikaner interest in a coordinated manner, making itself felt in every sphere of South African society.

The year 1938 was important for the PNP for another reason. It was the centenary of the Great Trek and Afrikaner sentiments were heightened as a result. It was also time for Malan to strengthen his racial policies for the benefit of Afrikanerdom and strive for a resurgent (increasing) Afrikaner Nationalism. From now on, mixed marriages would be punishable, to put an end to racially mixed residential areas and to implement both economic and political segregation between whites and “non-whites”. Malan also aimed to guard his country against the outside external influences of capitalism and communism

Accessed from [ https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv02424/04lv02730/05lv03188/06lv03210.htm on the 25 th August 2021]

1.3.1 In your own words, define Afrikaner. (1 x 2) (2)

The unity of a specific language group.

1.3.2 Why, do you think, there was a strong anti-imperialist (British) attitude amongst Afrikaners? (2 x 2) (4)

The Afrikaners had lost their independence to the British.
The Afrikaners wanted to play a more significant role in society and government.

1.3.3 Name any TWO organisations that were exclusively created for Afrikaners. (2 x 1) (2)

Nasionale Pers.

1.3.4 Use your own knowledge to explain how the interests of Afrikaners were promoted by the National Party. (2 x 2) (4)

There were laws that exclusively reserved jobs for white people.
Black people in South Africans were not to have any political rights in ‘white’ areas.
Different racial groups were geographically separated by races.

[Accessed from https://www.ecexams.co.za/2020_November_Gr_11_Exemplars.htm ) on the 25th of August 2021]

1.4.1 What message does the poster convey with regards to the promotion of Afrikaner Nationalism by the National Party? (2 x 2) (4)

It encourages white people to for the National Party in order for political power to remain in the hands of the white minority.
To preserve South Africa for whites only

1.4.2 Name any TWO strange elements that the voters are being warned of. (Use visual clues from the poster to answer the question.) (2 x 1) (2)

Capitalists

1.5 Comparing Sources 1C and 1D. How does the information on the sources support each other regarding the manner in which the National Party played in the promotion of Afrikaner Nationalism? (2 x 2) (4)

In both Source 1C and 1D, it shows that the National Party wanted Afrikaners to dominate South Africa
Both Sources show that the National Party had not tolerance for imperialists as 1C echoes this when it shows Malan’s aims to guard South Africa against outside influences of Capitalism and Communism.
Source 1D further supports this when it the poster shows how the NP was determined to protect South Africa from outside forces.

1.6 Using your own knowledge, combining it with the relevant sources, write a paragraph of approximately SIX line (+-60 words) in which you explain how Afrikaner Nationalism was promoted in South Africa from the 1930s to the 1940s. (6)

The trek to the cities combined with the Boer defeat at the hands of the British was what shaped Afrikaner Nationalism as shown by Source 1A
Afrikaner Nationalists then began an economical and political struggle
The Afrikaner Broederbond were the vehicle for this struggle
Different exclusively Afrikaner organizations were formed to promote Afrikaner Nationalism such as the Nasionale Pers.
Once the NP took over, they put laws in order to promote the interests of Afrikaner people.
As a result, the NP united Afrikaner people and revived Afrikaner Nationalism.

QUESTION 2: HOW DID THE SIX-DAY WAR BETWEEN THE JEWS AND ARABS INTENSIFY TENSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE 1960s?

Carefully read Sources 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D and then answer the questions which follow.

Below is source 2A which focuses on what caused the Six-Day War.

The United Nations were unable to keep the peace for long. Eleven years after the Suez War another war erupted. Israel had continued to build up its armed forces by purchasing supplies from Britain, France, the USA and West Germany; the Arab states were supplied by the USSR.

Despite the presence of the United Nations, border skirmishes continued between the Israelis and Palestinian guerrilla groups. Groups such as Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organisation were a constant problem for the Israeli security forces and those who lived in settlements near the borders.

By 1967, Nasser felt that the Arab forces were strong enough to defeat Israel. In May, Nasser ordered the UN forces out of Egypt and he then closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israel, blockading the port of Eilat. There were also troop movements near Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan (whose forces were supplemented by Iraqi, Saudi Arabian and Algerian troops).

[Accessed from https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/ on the 26 th August 2021]

2.1.1 Quoting from the source, what indicates that both the Arabs and the Israelis were preparing for war? (1 x 2)

“ Israel had continued to build up its armed forces by purchasing supplies from Britain, France, the USA and West Germany”
“ the Arab states were supplied by the USSR.”

2.1.2 In your own words, to what extent do you think the UN was successful in resolving issues in Palestine? (1 x 2)

They were not successful because border conflict continues.
The PLO and Al Fatah were a persistent problem for Israeli army.

2.1.3 Why do you think the Israeli were constantly under threat from the Arab forces? (1 x 2)

There was conflict over who had the rightful claim to land.
Israel’s determination to have their own homeland.

[Accessed from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Jew-and-the-tank%3A-Habit-and-habitus-towards-a-Monk/1b3a64a672495e55e200083f5e95e34ea67dfa76 on the 26th August 2021]

2.2.1 What message is being conveyed in relation to the Arab-Israeli conflict? (1 x 2)

The Arab League were united in being against Israel
Israel was isolated and surrounded by Arab military forces.
The Arab League was powerful as shown by the tanks and were not intimidated by Israel.

2.2.2 Using your own knowledge in combination with the sources, explain how the cartoonist portrays the following:

a) The Arab League (1 x 2)

United and Powerful

b) Israel (1 x 2)

Isolated and weak.

2.2.3 Using your knowledge about the period, explain whether the cartoonist is biased in how he portrayed both the Arab League and Israel (1 x 3)

The cartoonist is biased towards the Arab League
In reality, the Arab forces were not this strong, and therefore this cartoonist is being biased towards them
The cartoonists does not show the support Israel received from outside forces in Western countries such as the USA.
Israel were fighting the Arab League on their own
They did not have support from other countries.

2.3 Comparing Sources 2A and 2b, explain why this cartoon is effective in showing some of the challenges which Israel faced as shown in Source 2A. (2 x 2)

Source 2A shows how different groups such as the PLO and Fatah were constantly a problem for Israel and how Nasser prepared to defeat Israel.
Source 2B shows how Israel was attacked by the Arab League.

Below, the source is focused on Israeli offenses against the Arab states.

At 07:45 on 5 June 1967 Israeli Mirage jets launched a surprise attack on Egyptian air bases. Flying low and maintaining strict radio silence, they destroyed Egyptian airfields and aeroplanes. Later that day another wave of Israeli jets knocked out the Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi air forces. Although only one day old, the war was virtually over. With the Egyptian air force knocked out, Israeli land forces swept across the Sinai Desert. As Egyptian troops retreated they were ensnared at the Mitla Pass, where they were bombed by Israeli planes. Within six days Egyptian troops had been pushed back to the Suez Canal.

Elsewhere the Israelis met with the same stunning success. The West Bank and Jerusalem were taken from Jordan. At the Wailing Wall, Defence Minister Moshe Dayan exclaimed: 'We have returned home to this most sacred of shrines never to part from it again.' On the northern front Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria. By 10 June the Arabs stood defeated and demoralised. For Israel the war had been a spectacular success. It had acquired more than 70 000 square kilometers of territory and now had defensible borders. On the debit side, however, about 350 000 new refugees were created and Israel had to deal with the problem of governing another million Arabs.

2.4.1 Looking at the source, why was Israel successful in this Six-Day War? (1 x 2)

Because they flew low and maintained strict radio silence, they were able to demolish Egyptian airfield and aeroplanes.
Israeli jets also launched surprise attacks on Egyptian air bases.

2.4.2 List THREE reasons as to why the Six-Day War was a military success from an Israeli perspective. (3 x 1)

The West Bank along with Jerusalem were taken from Jordan
The war was essentially over within one day
Within those six days, Egyptian soldiers had been pushed back to the Suez Canal
After the Egyptian Air Force was knocked out, Israeli soldiers swept across the Sinai Desert.

2.4.3 Quote four results of the Six-Day War from the source. (4 x 1)

“ On the northern front Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria ”
“ By 10 June the Arabs stood defeated and demoralised. For Israel the war had been a spectacular success”.
“ It had acquired more than 70 000 square kilometers of territory and now had defensible borders ”
“ On the debit side, however, about 350 000 new refugees were created and Israel had to deal with the problem of governing another million Arabs ”

2.5 Compare Sources 2B and 2C and explain how these sources contrast in relation to the outcome of the Six-Day War.

Source 2B shows Israel as being isolated and in a weak position being defeated by the Arab states.
Source 2C on the hand is solely focused on how Israel defeated the Israeli states.

The Soviet Union had also suffered a setback from the defeat of her allies in the Middle East. At first she could only reply with words. In the General Assembly of the UN she called for Israel to withdraw immediately from her conquered territories. In 1956 this sort of pressure had led to an Israeli withdrawal. Now, in 1967, the situation was different. This time Israel had the backing of a superpower. The United States used her influence to stop the Soviet Union winning the support of the two-thirds of countries in the UN which she needed for the resolution to be passed. The United States, Britain and Israel were then free to put a compromise resolution to the Security Council, which was passed unanimously. This was Resolution 242 of 22 November 1967. It has formed the basis for a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict ever since. Resolution 242 called for:

1. The withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied during the SixDay War.

2. The end of all hostilities and an acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area, and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries

2.6.1 Using the sources as evidence with your own knowledge, explain the role the following two superpowers played in the Arab-Israeli conflict:

a.) USA (1 x 2)

They passed the 242 Resolution
Vetoed the passing of Russia’s resolution

b.) Soviet Union (1 x 2)

Requested that Israeli troops should be withdrawn.

2.6.2 In your own words, how would you define the term resolution in the context of the UN. (1 x 2)

2.6.3 To what extent was the USA influential in halting the Soviet Union from passing a ruling to have Israel withdraw its troops from conquered territories.(2 x 2)

The USA had the authority to veto a decision
The USA had the support of the British who also had the power to veto
The USA was a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN

2.7 Moshe Dayan stated: 'We have returned home to this most sacred of shrines never to part from it again.'

Using this information with your own knowledge, write a paragraph of approximately EIGHT lines (+-80 words) explaining whether the Six-Day War could be seen as a victory for the Jews. (8)

The Israelis managed to destroy the air force of Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
Egypt lost more than 60% of its warplanes.
In just six days, the Arab armed forces were destroyed by the Israelis and their land on the Golan Heights was now occupied by Israel.
Israel territory significantly increased
Israel gained more than 70000 square kilometres of territory and now had defensible borders
Israel’s allies emerged stronger
On the debit side, however, about 350 000 new refugees were created and Israel had to deal with the problem of governing another million Arabs

Question 3: WHAT STRATEGIES DID LIBERATION ORGANISATIONS USE AGAINST THE APARTHEID REGIME AFTER THE 1950s?

Below is a source which illustrates Mandela’s understanding of Ghandi’s policy of non-violence.

Nelson Mandela describes a discussion between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) after the joint Defiance Campaign had been announced. 'We discussed whether the campaign should follow Gandhian principles of non-violence, or what the Mahatma called Satyagraha, a non-violence that seeks to conquer through conversion. Some argued for non-violence on purely ethical grounds, saying it was morally superior to any other method'.

Other argued in favour of a tactical approach, and that the method of resistance should be dependent on the prevailing conditions. Mandela's own view was: 'I saw nonviolence in the Gandhian model not as an inviolable (unbreakable or sacred) principle but as a tactic to be used as the situation demanded ... I called for non-violent protest for as long as it was effective'.

In his autobiography, Mandela comments on his feelings about the futility of passive resistance in the face of the increasing repressiveness of the government in the wake of the Defiance Campaign. 'I said that the time for passive resistance had ended, that non-violence was a useless strategy and could never overturn a white minority regime bent on retaining its power at any cost. At the end of the day, I said violence was the only weapon that would destroy apartheid and we must be prepared, in the near future, to use the weapon'.

[Accessed on from https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/ on the 26 th August 2021]

3.1.1 In your own words, explain what the following words mean:

(a) Defiance Campaign (1 x 2) (2)

This was a form of intentional resistance by those who were oppressed in South Africa which utilized non-violent methods to fight against Apartheid in South Africa during the 1950s

(b) Satyagraha (1 x 2) (2)

A peaceful manner of non-violent resistance which was a policy introduced by Ghandi.

3.1.2 Using the source, quote evidence which shows that Mandela used non-violence tactics against the Apartheid government. (1 x 2) (2)

“We discussed whether the campaign should follow Gandhian principles of non-violence, or what the Mahatma called Satyagraha, a non-violence that seeks to conquer through conversion.”
“I called for non-violent protest for as long as it was effective”

3.1.3 Why did Mandela conclude that non-violence was not working and that it was a ‘useless’ strategy? (1 x 2) (2)

Mandela made this conclusion because he had seen that the Apartheid government become more repressive during their non-violent Defiance campains.
He viewed violence as the only weapon which could end apartheid as he viewed non-violent tactics as futile in overturning a white minority government who would do anything to stay in power.

3.1.4 According to Nelson Mandela, which was the only approach which could destroy apartheid? (1 x 1) (1)

This source depicts 4 leaders of the Women’s march on the 9 th August 1956 who were delivering their petitions to the Union Buildings. From the right to left, they are Sophie Williams, Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi and Rahima Moosa.

[Accessed from https://twitter.com/mbuyisenindlozi/status/498020871022596096 on the 27th August 2021]

3.2.1 What message is conveyed in this photograph? (2 x 2) (4)

It highlights the role that women played in resisting Apartheid in the 1950s.
It shows that despite it being Apartheid, South African women could despite the racial divide, unite in resisting Apartheid.
South African women resisting apartheid through petitions in 1956.

3.2.2 Why do you think these women decided to present these petitions to the then Prime Minister at the Union Buildings? (2 x 2) (4)

The Prime minister was the most powerful figure in government and could therefore take action to address their demands
To show the importance of their demands by directly marching to the highest office in government.
To show solidarity in the resistance struggle against Apartheid in South Africa.

3.2.3 Given what you know about the context at the time, explain how these groups would interpret the photograph that is in source 3B: (2 x 2) (4)

a.) National Party follow supporters

They would not take it serious as the followers did not take women’s rights seriously
They would see it as irrelevant

b.) ANC Women’s League supporters

They would applaud these women for their bravery
Would see these women as important figures in the women’s federation movement in South Africa.

SOURCE 3C

Below is a letter written by the leader of the PAC Robert Sobukwe, just before the AntiPass Laws march campaign on 21 March 1960, to the Commissioner of the South African Police, Major General CI Rademeyer.

Sir: My organisation, the Pan-Africanist Congress, will be starting a sustained, disciplined, non-violent campaign against the pass laws on Monday 21 March 1960. I have also given strict instructions to, not only to members of my organisation but also to the African people in general, that they should not allow themselves to be provoked into a violent action by anyone. In a Press statement I am releasing soon, I repeat that appeal and make one to the police too.

I am now writing to you to ask you to instruct the Police to refrain from actions that may lead to violence. It is unfortunately true that many white policemen, brought up in a racist hothouse of South Africa, regard themselves as champions of white supremacy and not as law officers.

We will surrender ourselves to the police for arrest. If told to disperse, we will. But we cannot be expected to run helter-skelter [all over the place] because a trigger-happy, African-hating young white police officer has given thousands or even hundreds of people three minutes within which to remove their bodies from his immediate environment. Hoping you will co-operate to try and make this a most peaceful and disciplined campaign.

[Accessed from https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/ on the 27 August 2021 ]

3.3.1 What led to Robert Sobukwe to draft this letter to the police commissioner? (1 x 2) (2)

To inform the commissioner beforehand of the planned protest they were going to have
To try and stop police from inflicting violence on non-violent protestors.

3.3.2 Extract evidence from the source which suggest that Robert Sobukwe was planning non-violence to defy the Apartheid government. (1 x 2) (2)

“ My organisation, the Pan-Africanist Congress, will be starting a sustained, disciplined, non-violent campaign against the pass laws on Monday 21 March 1960 ”
I have also given strict instructions to, not only to members of my organisation but also to the African people in general, that they should not allow themselves to be provoked into a violent action by anyone
We will surrender ourselves to the police for arrest. If told to disperse, we will.

3.3.3 List FIVE words or phrases that Robert Sobukwe used to highlight his bias against white police officers. (5 x 1) (5)

racist hothouse
champions of white supremacy
not as law officers
trigger-happy
African-hating

The source below depicts a picture of police brutally shooting and beating protesters on the day of the Sharpeville massacre (21 March 1960)

[Accessed from https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/remember-sharpeville-21-march-1960-video/ on the 27 th August 2021] 3.4

3.4.1 What can you tell after looking at the photograph regarding the anti-pass campaign in Sharpeville? (2 x 2) (4)

The police violently dealt with protesters
Police brutality
Protesters were unarmed because they were running away from police officers who were armed
Sobukwes plea for police officers not to incite violence on protesters ignored.

3.4.2 How were the human rights of these protesters violated by the South African police? (2 x 2) (4)

Protesters were not allowed to show their demands.
The protesters were unarmed yet shot and attacked by the police anyway.
Their right to life was violated.
These protesters were not allowed to gather.

3.5 Looking at sources 3C and 3D, to what extent do you think Sobukwe’s fears regarding police action in Source 3C were confirmed in Source 3D. (2 x 2) (4)

Sobukwe mentioned to the police commissioner that the protesters were going to have a non-violent protest and asked police not to incite violence on them, yet we can see in source 3D unarmed protesters being shot and beaten.
Sobukwes concern that white police would be trigger happy in Source 3C are confirmed in 3D when police officers are shooting at protesters who are running away.

3.6 Using a combination of your own knowledge with the relavent sources, write a paragraph of approximately EIGHT lines (+-80 words) in which you explain some of the strategies that liberation organizations used to fight against the apartheid regime in the 1950s. (8)

They used non-violence.
There were petitions like the women’s march
There were demands listed in the Freedom Charter
There were anti-pass defiance campaigns
People were prepared to submit themselves for arrest
There were proposals for violent action if peaceful protests were not effective.
There were general defiance campaigns
National Senior Certificate. “Grade 11 November 2013 Paper 2 Addendum”.

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Afrikaner Nationalism Essay For Students in English
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The date, December 16, holds a special significance in South African history. On this day in 1838, the Voortrekkers fought a battle for survival against Dingaan's Zulu army, and were victorious. Later, the day was commemorated as part of the Afrikaner nationalist project. This article traces some of the main events that make up the history of ...
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Categories: Nationalism. Download. Essay, Pages 7 (1717 words) Views. 31040. Afrikaner people have, from the initial days felt threatened internal to their borders and externally. Sometimes the threat was real thus existing and other times it was an illusion. The fear of domination rose from the presence of a majority of what they labelled as ...
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Much of the historical writing in Afrikaans dealing with Afrikaner nationalism presents it as an unproblematic concept. Afrikaner nationalism is seen, in a mechanical fashion, as the automatic outcome of South African history. The weakness in this approach is that the thing that has to be studied is accepted uncritically as a natural given entity.
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