HISTORY NATIONALISM

2. Afrikaner Nationalism in the
1930s (V)
GRADE 11
TERM 3

3. The significance of the Great Trek for
Afrikaner Nationalism
• In 1938, the Broederbond (a largely secret society in South Africa (founded in 1918) promoting the
interests of and restricted in membership to male, Protestant Afrikaners.) organised a centenary
trek, to commemorate the Great Trek (the northward migration 1835–37 of large numbers of
Boers, discontented with British rule in the Cape, to the areas where they eventually founded the Transvaal
Republic and Orange Free State.) of 100 years before.
• Afrikaners from around the country joined procession of ox-wagons (a heavy wagon drawn by
oxen, used by settlers and pioneers in South Africa.) journeying to Pretoria, where thousands
gathered to witness the founding of the Voortrekker monument (a member of one of the
groups of Dutch-speaking people who migrated by wagon from the Cape Colony into the interior from 1836
onward, in order to live beyond the borders of British rule.)
• The gathering gave a great boost to the Afrikaner nationalism. To coincide with the
Centenary Trek, the Ossewabrandwag (Ox-wagon guard) (Source L for more information)
was formed. It was supposedly a cultural organization to maintain the spirit of the
occasion, but became increasingly political and extremist, especially during WWII.

4. Affirmative action for the Afrikaner Volk
• All of these organisations and commemorations promoted the idea
that white Afrikaners were a distinct volk (a nation or people, in particular the
Afrikaner people.), with their own language, religion and history that
needed to be promoted and defended.
• White Afrikaners of all classes, both rich and poor, were part of the
Volk.
• Afrikaans-speakers who were not white, such as many coloured
people in the Cape were excluded from the Volk.
• This was a good example of the creation of an ‘Imagined community’.

5. Continued…
• There had been no natural unity amongst white Afrikaners before the
20th century.
• They were divided by class and political differences. However, the
National Party and Afrikaner cultural and economic organisations
deliberately developed the idea of white Afrikaner unity and
difference from other South Africans.
• This was stressed especially through the Afrikaans language, the
Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and political loyalty to the National
Party.

6. The idea of white Afrikaner unity and
difference from other SA was evident in:
• Education
• White Afrikaners were to be taught in their own language and with a
curriculum which stressed the DRC religion, white racial supremacy and
Afrikaners nationalist version history. This became known as Christian
National Education (CNE). Newspapers known as Nasionale Pers (National
Press) promoted these ideas amongst volk.
• Labour
• White Afrikaner workers were discouraged from belonging to working class
political parties such as Labour party, or trade unions which stressed class,
rather nationalist unity. Instead Afrikaner trade unions such as the
Spoorbond for railway workers, were set up to protect the interests of of
white Afrikaners.

7. Continued…
• Religion:
• White Afrikaners were discouraged from belonging to ‘foreign’ or English-
dominated churches, such as Anglican (relating to or denoting the Church of England or any Church in
communion with it.), Methodist (a member of a Christian Protestant denomination originating in the 18th-
century evangelistic movement of Charles and John Wesley and George Whitefield) or Catholic churches. Loyal
Afrikaners were expected to belong to the DRC which supported the NP
• Economy
• Sepereate Afrikaner financial institutions were established, such as Volkskas Bank
and Sanlam building society. This was to give Afrikaners greater opportunities in a
capitalist economy that was dominated by English-Speaking white people.
• These ideas of affirmative economic economic action and sense of racial
supremacy formed the background of the policy of apartheid.

8. Afrikaner nationalist win political power
• SA fought on the side of the Allies during WWII, but many Afrikaner
nationalists did not support this.
• Extremists (a person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to
or advocates extreme action: political extremists) in the Ossewabrandwag (OB- “My God,
My people, and My Land South Africa) used violent methods to block SA’s
participating in the war. E.g. they sabotaged troop trains and attacked
soldiers in uniform.
• The government reacted strongly by detaining 2000 OB leaders.
• After the war, there was a swing from the United Party (UP) government in
power and more white Afrikaner voters turned to breakaway Gesuiwerde
Nasionale Party (Purified National Party) that had been established in the
1930s to promote ‘purer’ form of Afrikaner nationalism.

9. Continued…(V)
• This party was voted into power in the 1948 election.
• This party was dedicated to: break ties with Britain, advancing the
economic and political power of white Afrikaners through affirmative
action, introducing a strick system of segregation, designed to
preserve and extend the white domination.

10. •The End