The Afrikaner Broederbond

This ultra-secretive Afrikaner organisation was a Calvinistic male organisation dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interests. It was formed in 1918 by HJ Klopper, HW van der Merwe, DH DU Plessis and the Reverend Jozua Naude, the father of Beyers Naude.

In 1918, the Afrikaners were dirt poor and its formation was, in my opinion, necessary to form such an organisation. Its large influence within the South African political and social life came to a climax with the rise of apartheid, which was largely designed and implemented by Broederbond members.

But that’s where it went wrong. They found that the American Field Service (AFS), on which I went to California was undesirable as well as the United States South Africa Leader Exchange Programme (USSALEP), on which my father went to the United States was also an undesirable organisation due to the worldly insights an individual may gain.

Between 1948, when Dr DF Malan became Prime Minister and 1994, when Nelson Mandela became President all leaders of the government were members of this organisation. Every Prime Minister and State President were members of this organisation. This included DR DF Malan, Advocate JG Strijdom, HF Verwoerd, John Vorster, and PW Botha. FW de Klerk was not a member.

Once the Herenigde Nasionale Party was in power, English-speaking bureaucrats, soldiers, and state employees were sidelined by reliable Afrikaners, “with their 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 eliminated that of Coloureds.

The Herenigde Nasionale Party was the product of the reunion of the Purified National Party and the United Party in 1940. The Broederbond continued to act in secret, infiltrating and gaining control of the few organisations, such as the South African Agricultural Union (SAAU) which had power and were opposed to a further escalation of apartheid policies.

Members of political parties right of the National Party were not welcome and 200 members were expelled by 1972. This included Dr Albert Hertzog, who formed the Herstigte Nasionale Party.

In 1983 when the Conservative Party was founded by Dr Andries Treurnicht as their leader, all Broederbond members who belonged to the newly formed party were no longer welcome in the Broederbond. Treurnicht, CWH Klopper, the previous chairman, left the organisation. Other members like HJ van der Bergh left too.

In 1985, the Afrikaner Broederbond realised that change was needed to take place in South African politics. Although the government did not talk openly with the banned African National Congress (ANC), it was decided by the organisation they should start negotiating. On 8 June 1986, JP de Lange, the then-chairman met Thabo Mbeki in New York for a five-hour meeting held at a conference organised by the Ford Foundation. The meeting was just between Mbeki and de Lange, but at the conference other ANC members like Mac Maharaj, Seretse Choabi, Charles Villa- Vicencio and Peggy Dulani were present.

Although the press had maintained a steady trickle of unsourced exposes of the inner workings and membership of the Broederbond since the 1960s, the first comprehensive expose of the organisation was in a book written by Ivor Wilkens and Hans Strydom, the Super-Afrikaners. Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond.

Ironically, the Reverend Beyers Naude investigated the organisation from a religious perspective and Professor Albert Geyser leaked the Broerbond secrets to the Sunday Times on 12 November 1961. So the Afrikaner Broederbond was co-formed in 1918 by the Reverend Jozua Naude and was nullified by his own son, the Reverend Beyers Naude.

I have read The Super Afrikaners from cover to cover and enjoyed it thoroughly. The rest was taken from Wikipedia.

The Reverend Beyers Naude

Tot Woensdag, till Wednesday, á Mercredi, bis Mittwoch, Paz, Arriverderci and cheers for eers!!

Please visit the Whale View Manor and Spa at 402 Main Road, Murdoch Valley, Simon’s Town and see our website at http://www.whaleviewmanor.co.za