Afrikaner Broederbond

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This page refers to the Afrikaner Broederbond. For its later incarnation see Afrikanerbond. For the political party formed in 1881 by Rev S.J. du Toit, see Afrikaner Bond. For the unrelated company, see Brøderbund.

Between 1918^[1] and 1994 the Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) (meaning Afrikaner Brotherhood) or Broederbond was a secret, exclusively male, Protestant organization in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interests. Founded by HJ Klopper, HW van der Merwe, DHC du Plessis and Rev. Jozua Naudé^[2] in 1918, the organization was known as Jong Zuid Afrika (Young South Africa) until 1920, when it formally became the Afrikaner Broederbond.^[3]

Contents 1 Origins 2 Leaders 3 The Broederbond and Apartheid 4 Companies with Broederbond credentials 5 Former members 6 Further reading 7 References

[edit] Origins

Described later as an “inner sanctum”,^[4] “an immense informal network of influence”,^[5] and by Jan Smuts as a “dangerous, cunning, political fascist organization',^[6] in 1920 Jong Zuid Afrika now restyled as the Afrikaner Broederbond, was a modest grouping of 37 men with cultural, semi-religious and deeply political objectives. Ivor Wilkins and Hans Strydom recount how, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, a leading broeder (brother or member) would say:

for understandable reasons it was difficult to explain [our] aims…[I]n the beginning people were allowed in…who thought it was just another cultural society (Wilkins & Strydom, 1980, 45)

The exact intentions of its founders are not clear. Was it there to counter the dominance of the British and the English language,^[7] or to redeem the Afrikaner after their defeat in the Second Anglo-Boer War? ^[8] Perhaps it sought to protect a culture, build an economy and seize control of a government[1]. The remarks of the organization’s chairman in 1944 offer a slightly different interpretation: ^[9]

The Afrikaner Broederbond was born out of the deep conviction that the Afrikaner volk has been planted in this country by the Hand of God, destined to survive as a separate volk with its own calling.

The pious Calvinism of a pastoral people supplied the element of Christian predestination. The thirst for sovereignty, that had prompted the Great Trek into the interior, would add a flavour of independence and Nationalism. These two threads, merged to form a Christian National civil religion that would dominate South African life from 1948 to 1994.

What cannot be disputed, however, is the historical context in which the organization emerged. The scorched earth policy of the British during the South African War devastated Boer farmlands. In British concentration camps, 27 000 Boer women and children had died. The surrender at Vereeniging, though pragmatic, was deeply humiliating. Lord Milner's inflammatory policy of Anglicization simply rubbed salt into their wounds. An Afrikaner backlash was inevitable. The National Party and ultimately the Broederbond were the means by which this would be achieved.^[10]

The National Party had been established in 1914 by Afrikaner nationalists. It first came to power in 1924. Ten years later, its leader J.B.M. Hertzog and Jan Smuts of the South African Party merged their parties to form the United Party. This angered a contingent of hardline nationalists under D.F. Malan, who broke away to form the ’’Purified National Party’’. By the time World War II broke out, resentment of the British had not subsided. Malan’s party opposed South Africa’s entry into the war on the side of the British; some of its members wanted to support Nazi Germany. Jan Smuts had commanded the British Army in East Africa and was understandably amenable to backing the Allies a second time. This was the spark Afrikaner nationalism needed. Herzog, who was in favour of neutrality, quit the United Party when a narrow majority in his cabinet backed Smuts. He started the Afrikaner Party which would amalgamate later with D.F. Malan's ’’Purified National Party’’ to become the force that would take over South African politics for the next 5 decades.^[3]

[edit] Leaders

The chairmen of the Broederbond were:^[3](p48)

Name	Title	From	To
Klopper, HJ		1918	1924
Nicol, W	Rev.	1924	1925
Greybe, JH		1925	1928
Potgieter, JW		1928	1930
du Plessis, LJ	Prof.	1930	1932
van Rooy, JC	Prof.	1932	1938
Diederichs, N	Dr.	1938	1942
van Rooy, JC	Prof.	1942	1952
Thom, HB	Prof.	1952	1960
Meyer, PJ	Dr.	1960	1972
Treurnicht, AP	Dr.	1972	1974
Viljoen, G	Prof.	1974	1980
Boshoff, CWH[11]	Prof.	1980	1983
de Lange, JP[11]	Prof.	1983	1993
de Beer, TL[12]		1993	-

[edit] The Broederbond and Apartheid

Every prime minister and state president in South Africa from 1948 to the end of Apartheid in 1994 was a member of the Afrikaner Broederbond^[1] .

Once the HNP was in power...English-speaking bureaucrats, soldiers, and state employees were sidelined by reliable Afrikaners, with key posts going to Broederbond members (with their ideological commitment to separatism). The electoral system itself was manipulated to reduce the impact of immigrant English speakers and eliminate that of Coloureds.

The Afrikaner Broederbond continued to act in secret, infiltrating and gaining control of the few organisations, such as the South African Agricultural Union (SAAU), which had political power and were opposed to a further escalation of Apartheid policies^[1] .

[edit] Companies with Broederbond credentials

• ABSA, formerly Volkskas which was formed by the Broederbond in 1934 and whose chairman was also the Broederbond chairman at the time.
• ADS, formerly Altech Defence Systems
• Remgro, formerly Rembrandt Ltd., former holding company of Volkskas.

[edit] Former members

• DF Malan
• HF Verwoerd
• JG Strijdom
• BJ Vorster
• Dr JS Gericke, Vice Chancellor Stellenbosch University
• Pik Botha
• HB Thom, historian and former Rector of Stellenbosch University.
• Tienie Groenewald, retired Defence Force general.
• Barend Johannes van der Walt, former ambassador of Canada.
• PW Botha
• Anton Rupert
• Marthinus van Schalkwyk, former member of the youth wing of the Broederbond.
• Tom de Beer, recruited 30 years ago, now chairman of new Afrikanerbond.

et al

[edit] Further reading

• On the Afrikaner youth today and the Broederbond crutch - Afrikaans
• On the Native Club and the Broederbond
• Membership numbers 6800 to 12000 with 450 branches
• Tom de Beer on formation of new Afrikanerbond.

Dr JS Gericke/Kosie Gericke Vice Chancellor Stellenbosch Univirsity

[edit] References