South African Foreign Policy in the 1930's - Essay Example

South African History South African foreign policy during the 1930’s was decidedly pro-German than pro-British and there is strong historical evidence to support this statement. The historical and traditional links between the Germans and the Afrikaners, the anti-Semitic sentiments of the people in region at the time and the trade links between Germany and South Africa as well as the laws of the time clearly show a pro-German leaning. An examination of the period 1930-1940 is necessary to show how this statement stands true. To begin with a discussion of the period, it is important to know the situation as it stood during those times. The Boer Wars had ended with the British as victors and they wanted to get some notion of stability back into the country since the gold being produced here was almost a third of the total world supply at the time (Wikiepdia.org, 2006). The British thought that attempts should be made to anglicise the Afrikaners so as to prevent further hostilities. However, these attempts were severely opposed and the imposition of English as the official language created a backlash with the people. Afrikaans came to be considered as a symbol of pride and a nationalist objective was to ensure that the language remains the lingua franca (Bunting, 1964). At the same time, non-white people of the region were totally ignored and subjected to wage reductions as well as increased taxes. Negative sentiments against the British were further heightened when the immigration policies were relaxed to allow thousands of Chinese workers to come to South Africa and undercut any attempts at strikes. Although the Act of Union had made South Africa a union of provinces which had given home-rule to the Afrikaners, it was still a British colony for all practical purposes. Despite the struggle, only Dutch was added as an official language and Afrikaans was not recognised until 1925. Official racism was also in full swing as only whites could be made members of parliament and could hold other official posts (Wikipedia.org, 2006). The links between the Afrikaans and the German people extended through time and had been present since the first European settlements were made in South Africa. J.F.J. van Rensburg, who later became the Kommandant Generaal of the Ossewa Brandwag, wrote in his autobiography that he carefully, meticulously and gratefully learnt the German language since it was the language of a kindred people. Oswald Pirow, the Minister for Justice and later Defence Minister was a self confessed Germanophile. He visited Europe on several occasions, and made it a point to pay his respects to German and pro-German Leaders like Hitler, Goering, Mussolini, and Franco (Bunting, 1964). Mussolini himself employed racial discrimination as a factor in the foreign policies and government of his country much like South Africa (Robertson, 1998). Considering the example set by her father, Pirow’s daughter must have done her father proud when in 1939 she arrived in England and gave an interview on her way to a German Women’s camp while talking to a representative of the Daily Express to whom she said that even though she had never been to Germany, it felt like home. Her grandparents on both sides were German and her father spent his boyhood in Germany. This idea of taking Germany as home was present in many of the Afrikaner people of German descent since there was a natural affinity between them and the Germans (Bunting, 1964). It can hardly be expected that such sentiments could give the British much confidence in South African support at the eve of war. In the 1930s, many members of the Nationalist Party and a large number of the Afrikaners had their sympathies with the Germans who were being ruled by the Nazi party. Using the maxim of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’, they saw anyone opposing Britain to be their friends and Germany fit the criterion nicely (Bunting, 1964). Any setback faced by the British in the international arena would simply give support to the Nationalist Party and get them one step closer to establishing their republic (Citino, 1991). Hitler’s actions and defiant attitude towards Britain were cheered in South Africa merely because he provided an opportunity to further the cause of the Afrikaners. In fact, Hitlers policies and attitudes towards international relations and the treatment of the Jews was so well accepted in South Africa that a negative view of the Jews was decidedly present in the region (Weisbord, 1982). Even though the aftermath of the Boer Wars had given Jews equal rights and they had been a part of the South African societal fabric for years, they were now subjected to persecution and violence (Simons & Simons, 1968). The situation for the Jews might have been different while the British governed the region, but after 1931 independence meant independence only for the gentiles (Agatucci, 2004). Just two years before independence, Hertzog had given glowing statements for the Jews and their relations with the Afrikaans saying that the Jews were deeply ingrained in the cultures and were a part of the sprit of South African nationalism. He went as far as to say that the Afrikaners look at Jews as fellow-Afrikaners and the two groups have always been together against oppression and for the love of the people. Dr. Malan, the force behind the acts which led to Jewish persecution, said in 1930 that he desired to give the Jewish people equality in all respects and that he highly appreciated what the Jews had done for South Africa during the time they had been in the country (Bunting, 1964). However, as the minister for the interior for independent South Africa, he was the one who initiated the Immigration Quota Act which sought to limit the number of Jews in the country and said that the steady flow of Jews into the country had made all sections of the country quite nervous. Protests against Jews arriving as refugees (even in very small numbers) could be seen across the country. Agitation against the Jews was certainly anti-Semitic since the Jews were not in any position to harm the country. As a response to the agitation, Hertzog’s government in 1937 introduced the Aliens Act into their foreign policy which required every immigrant to go through a screening process designed to be difficult for the Jews (Bunting, 1964). The nationalist party wanted to go one step further and wanted the parliament to make several more points a part of the foreign policy e.g. complete ban on Jewish immigration, removal of Yiddish as an accepted foreign language for immigration purposes, a moratorium on naturalization of Jewish immigrants, and a ban on the Jews from joining certain professions. Finally, they wanted alien to be defined as any person who is not born a British subject or who is a Jew living outside the Union of South Africa. These were clearly anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi suggestions and simply go to show how ingrained the Nationalist Party was with pro-German sentiments at the time (Bunting, 1964). In the year 1930, the Quota Act was established to curtail the entry of Jews into South Africa and the Aliens Act (1936) further restricted their free movement across the country (Wikipedia.org, 2006). Afrikaner supported organisations like the gray shirts, organized by Louis Weichardt and the Ossewa Brandwag were quite openly anti-Semitic in their behaviour (Bunting, 1964). Pro-German sentiments were an established daily reality for these organisations if not the whole of South Africa since the majority of the total population i.e. the non-whites, were still busy seeking representation (Mbeki, 1992). Even though South Africa was a member of the allies during the war, while the war was being waged, the anti-Semitism of the Nationalists continued on its preset course. The Transvaal Nationalist Party in 1940 changed its constitution to ensure that no Jew would be able to join the party. As a matter of fact, the enemy was considered to be British imperialism or more accurately as British-Jewish imperialism rather than the German war machine. The Nazi flag and the German flag were often brought out at public rallies against the war and in 1940 Dr. Malan said that Smuts had turned South Africa into Jewish-imperialistic war machine for the British (Bunting, 1964). The Ossewa Brandwag was not the only group to be harbouring anti-British and pro-German sentiments. The basic principles of Nazism were accepted by many nationalist groups and some were even directed by the Germans in absentia. The Boerenasie and the New Order for example are two groups which spread pro-German and anti-Semitic ideas which went all the way to the higher leadership of the Nationalist Party (Bunting, 1964). As Kienzle (1979) reports, the trade links between Germany and the Union of South Africa were strong during the Nazi period and sympathies often flowed with the same direction as trade. It was trade which was used as one of the excuses when Hertzog suggested that South Africa remain neutral in the Second World War. Germany under Hitler was desperately seeking to get back their colonies which had been taken away from them following the treaty of Versailles. Hertzog was one of Hitlers strongest supporters in this campaign even though he was very hesitant in giving back South-West Africa where gold was being mined. In 1935 he was said to be making a favourable atmosphere for the giving away of colonial possessions to the Third Reich. He held the opinion that Germany could be satisfied by gaining control of Liberia. Needless to say that neither the Liberians nor the American gave this suggestion much thought (Bunting, 1964). While South-West Africa was a valuable region, there were some members of the Nationalist party who did not even mind giving away this part of the union to Germany. A very famous Nationalist party member who gave his complete support to the Hitler-guided campaign for the return of various German colonies was J. G. Strijdom, who declared to the Transvaal Congress of the Nationalist Party in 1937 that he would do nothing at all in order to prevent the Germans from recovering South-West Africa if they wanted to (Bunting, 1964). The pro-German sentiment is very clear in this statement since South-West Africa was a very important region for the union in economic terms. Only when Hertzog saw that there was a danger of a Nazi revolt in South-West Africa did he actually ban the Nazi party. At this time, the Union flag was being taken down from government buildings and was being replaced with the German flag, Nazi cells were in existence, Hitler Youth groups were operational and the activities of the people decidedly undemocratic. Hertzog wanted to be neutral but Smuts and others thought that a declaration of war must be made against the Germans at once (Bunting, 1964). The matter was put before the assembly and Hertzog made a speech saying that Hitlers attack on Poland, even though he had already annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia could not be taken as evidence that Germany was looking at world conquest. Smuts was more concerned with what would happen to South-West Africa after the war and if Germany won, this vitally important region could be lost. He also used the membership of the commonwealth as a tool and suggested that South Africa should support her friends in need. The vote in the assembly was carried by a slim margin of eighty votes to sixty-seven and a state of war was created between Germany and South Africa. Hertzog resigned immediately and Smuts was asked to form the new government. In conclusion, it is the plain fact of the matter that South African policies, both foreign and domestic were pro-German during the 1930’s. Even though South Africa did eventually declare war on Germany but it was only guided by their need to prevent a vital region from going out of their grasp and not because they opposed the Nazi ideas of finding solutions for the ‘Jewish question’ or because they did not like the war mongering activities of Hitler. The reality as it has been shown was quite the opposite, since the powerful connection between South Africa and Germany had been established many years ago. Works Cited Agatucci, C. “South Africa: Historical Timeline.” Central Oregon Community College. 2004. Department of Humanities. 22 Feb. 2006. Bunting, B. The Rise of the South African Reich. London: Penguin, 1964. Citino, R. Germany and the Union of South Africa in the Nazi Period. London: Greenwood Press, 1991. Kienzle, W. “German-South African Trade Relations, in the Nazi Era.” African Affairs, 78.310 (1979): 81-90. Mbeki, G. “The Struggle for Liberation in South Africa.” African National Congress, 1992. ANC.org. 20 Feb. 2006. Robertson, E. “Race as a Factor in Mussolinis Policy in Africa and Europe.” Journal of Contemporary History 23.1 (1988): 37-58. Simons, J. and Simons, R. “Class and Colour in South Africa 1850-1950.” African National Congress, 1968. ANC.org. 20 Feb. 2006. Weisbord, R. G. “Jews and Zionism: The South African Experience.” American Historical Review, 87.2 (1982): 517-518. Wikipedia. “History of South Africa.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, 2006. Wikipedia.org. 22 Feb. 2006. Read More