Afrikaner Broederbond

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 Brderbund.

slightly dierent, and possibly more accurate interpretation in the context of the post-Boer War and post- World
War I era, when Afrikaners were suering through a
maelstrom of social and political changes:[10]
In other words, the traditional, deeply pious Calvinism of
the Afrikaners, a pastoral people with a dicult history
in South Africa since the mid-17th century, supplied an
element of Christian predestination that led to a determination to wrest the country from the English-speaking
British and place its future in the hands of the Afrikaansspeaking Afrikaners, whatever that might mean for the
large black and mixed-race population. To the old thirst
for sovereignty that had prompted the Great Trek into the
interior from 1838 on, would be added a new thirst for
total independence and Nationalism. These two threads
merged to form a Christian National civil religion that
would dominate South African life from 1948 to 1994.

The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) (meaning Afrikaner

Brotherhood) or Broederbond was a secret, exclusively male and Afrikaner Calvinist organization in South
Africa dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interests. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der
Merwe, D. H. C. du Plessis and Rev. Jozua Naud[1] in
1918 and was known as Jong Zuid Afrika (Young South
Africa) until 1920, when it became the Broederbond.[2][3]
Its large inuence within South African political and
social life, sometimes compared to that of Masons in
Freemason conspiracy theories, came to a climax with
the rise of apartheid, which was largely designed and implemented by Broederbond members. Between 1948 and
1994, many prominent gures of South African political
life, including all leaders of the government, were members of the Afrikaner Broederbond.[2]

This was the historical context in which the Broederbond emerged. The scorched earth policy of the British
during the second Boer War devastated Boer (that is,
rural Afrikaner farmer) lands. In British concentration
camps, 27 000 Boer women and children had died. The
Boer surrender at Vereeniging, though pragmatic, was
deeply humiliating. Lord Milner's inammatory policy of
1 Origins
Anglicization simply rubbed salt into Afrikaner wounds,
and a backlash was inevitable. The National Party and
Described later as an inner sanctum,[4] an im- ultimately the Broederbond were the long-term and powmense informal network of inuence,[5] and by Jan erful results.[11]
Smuts as a dangerous, cunning, political fascist
The National Party had been established in 1914 by
organization,[6] in 1920 Jong Zuid Afrika now restyled as
Afrikaner nationalists. It rst came to power in 1924.
the Afrikaner Broederbond, was a grouping of 37 white
Ten years later, its leader J.B.M. Hertzog and Jan Smuts
men of Afrikaner ethnicity, Afrikaans language, and the
of the South African Party merged their parties to form
Calvinist Dutch Reformed faith, who shared cultural,
the United Party. This angered a contingent of hardsemi-religious, and deeply political objectives based on
line nationalists under D. F. Malan, who broke away to
traditions and experiences dating back to the arrival of
form the Puried National Party. By the time World
Dutch white settlers, French Huguenots, and Germans at
War II broke out, resentment of the British had not subthe Cape in the 17th and 18th centuries and including the
sided. Malans party opposed South Africas entry into
dramatic events of the Great Trek in the 1830s and 1840s.
the war on the side of the British; some of its members
Ivor Wilkins and Hans Strydom recount how, on the ocwanted to support Nazi Germany. Jan Smuts had comcasion of its 50th anniversary, a leading broeder (brother
manded the British Army in East Africa and was underor member) said:
standably amenable to backing the Allies a second time.
(Wilkins & Strydom, 1980, p. 45)
This was the spark Afrikaner nationalism needed. HerThe precise intentions of the founders are not clear. zog, who was in favour of neutrality, quit the United Party
Was the group intended to counter the dominance of when a narrow majority in his cabinet backed Smuts. He
the British and the English language,[7] or to redeem the started the Afrikaner Party which would amalgamate later
Afrikaners after their defeat in the Second Anglo-Boer with D.F. Malans Puried National Party to become
War?[8] Perhaps it sought to protect a culture, build an the force that would take over South African politics for
economy and seize control of a government.[9] The re- the next 46 years, until[3]majority rule and Nelson Manmarks of the organisations chairman in 1944 oer a dela's election in 1994.
1

6 NOTABLE MEMBERS

The Broederbond exposed

Although the Press had maintained a steady trickle of unsourced exposs of the inner workings and membership
of the Broederbond since the 1960s, the rst comprehensive expos of the organisation was a book written by Ivor
Wilkins and Hans Strydom, The Super-Afrikaners. Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond, rst published in 1978.
The most notable and discussed section of the book was
the last section which consisted of a near-comprehensive
list of 7500 Broederbond members.[12] The Broederbond
was portrayed as 'Die Stigting Adriaan Delport' [The
Adriaan Delport Foundation] in the 1968 South African
feature lm ""Die Kandidaat"" [The Candidate], directed
by Jans Rautenbach and produced by Emil Nofal.

Remgro, formerly Rembrandt Ltd., former holding

company of Volkskas.

6 Notable members
D. F. Malan Former Prime Minister.
H. F. Verwoerd Former Prime Minister.
J. G. Strijdom Former Prime Minister.
B. J. Vorster, Former Prime Minister and State President.
Dr J. S. Gericke, Vice-Chancellor Stellenbosch University

Leaders

Pik Botha, former Minister of Foreign Aairs

[3]

The chairmen of the Broederbond were: (p48)

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.[2]
Once the Herenigde Nasionale Party 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,
inltrating 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.[2]

Companies with Broederbond

credentials
ABSA, formed by amalgamation of United, Allied
and Volkskas banks, the latter of which was established by the Broederbond in 1934 and whose chairman was also the Broederbond chairman at the time.
ADS[domain is parked] , formerly Altech Defence Systems

H. B. Thom, historian and former Rector of

Stellenbosch University.
Tienie Groenewald, retired Defence Force general.
Barend Johannes van der Walt, former ambassador
to Canada.
P. W. Botha, former Minister of Defence and Prime
Minister.
Anton Rupert, billionaire entrepreneur and businessman; a member in the 1940s, but eventually dismissed it as an absurdity, and allowed his membership to lapse.[15]
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, former member of the
youth wing of the Broederbond, the last leader of
the National Party and former minister of tourism
in the ANC government of Jacob Zuma.
Tom de Beer, recruited 30 years ago, now chairman
of new Afrikanerbond.
Nico Smith, Dutch Reformed Church missionary
who, as a former insider, wrote retrospectively about
the Afrikaner Broederbond in a book[16]
et al.
F. W. De Klerk Former South African State President and leader of the National Party
Lang Hendrik van den Bergh The South African
head of state security apparatus during the
Apartheid regime, and close friend of former South
African Prime Minister B. J. Vorster.

References

Membership numbers 6800 to 12000 with 450

branches

[1] Mormonen voor vrede en gerechtigheid Robert Poort

April 2006.
[2] Jong Suid Afrika founded in June 1918.
[3] Wilkins, Ivor; Strydom, Hans (1980), The SuperAfrikaners. Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond (Paperback
ed.), Braamfontein, Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball
[4] The Security Man, Time, 23 September 1966
[5] O'Meara, D (1983), Volkskapitalisme: Class, capital and
ideology in the development of Afrikaner Nationalism
19341948, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press, p. 64
[6] Jemison, EL (2004), The Nazi inuence in the formation
of apartheid in South Africa (PDF), The Concord Review
15 (1): 75103
[7] Broederbonds Big Brother Act, Time, 21 November
1977
[8] Walton, C (2004), Bond of broeders: Anton Hartman
and music in an apartheid state, Musical Times, Summer
[9] http://africanhistory.about.com/library/glossary/
bldef-broederbond.htm
[10] Schnteich, M; Bosho, H (March 2003), "'Volk' Faith
and Fatherland. The Security Threat Posed by the White
Right, Institute of Security Studies. Monograph., No 81
[11] Bunting, B. (1969). The Rise of the South African Reich. African National Congress. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
[12] Wilkins,I & Strydom, Hans. (1978). The SuperAfrikaners Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond. First edition. ISBN 0552115169
[13] van Wyk, AH (2005). Die rol van die verligtes in die
Nasionale Party in die politieke ontmagtiging van die
Afrikaner, 19661994 (Afrikaans)" (PDF). University of
Pretoria. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
[14] Die Nuwe Afrikaner-Broederbond (
Beeld, 30 November 1993: 13

SCHOLAR SEARCH

),

[15] The Guardian. Monday 23 January 2006. Obituary: Anton Rupert.

[16] Smith, N. (2009) Afrikaner Broederbond: Belewings van
die binnekant. Lapa Uitgewers. Pretoria ISBN 978-07993-4496-7

Further reading
On the Afrikaner youth today and the Broederbond
crutch Afrikaans
On the Native Club and the Broederbond

Tom de Beer on formation of new Afrikanerbond.

Dr JS Gericke/Kosie Gericke Vice-Chancellor Stellenbosch University

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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