German Blue Book

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced “submission” for survival. One way of accomplishing this was by instilling laws that’d force segregation, classification, educational “requirements”, and economic purposes. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives .

Some of these colonies included, Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, Namibia, and Botswana. Germany hit a major loss in their economy by losing 60 million tons of coal. After the industrial land was given away, Germany only had access to 78 million tons of coal per year (Doc A). Adolf Hitler recognized the need for German territory, In his book “Mein Kampf’ He states the need for German expansion or the “Jewish Peril”.

Historical information about the period of publication: * South Africa already colonized by Europeans * Rampant racism * Introduction of apartheid in 1948

In the 1800s, Germany and Britain were two of the seven powers in the “Scramble for Africa” and they made significant economic changes that benefited Africa. During the 1880’s Germany's colonies were German Togoland which was part of Ghana and Germany’s West region. Germany only possessed for four territories which were called “protectorates developing strategy consisted of extending its control in Africa by forming Colonial administrators that brought about scientific cultivation in export crops of coffee, cotton, and other commodities. They also built roads and bridges to along mountains for better travel routes. According to Jacobs, ‘’Germans first became active as traders in the Pacific in the mid-nineteenth century. The Hamburg firm of J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn established a trading base in Samoa in 1857 and ten years later it laid out its first copra plantation.

Going Solo, Roald Dahl’s memoir of his work in East Africa and his service in the RAF, covers the buildup to World War II and his involvement in it. In the book mention is made of the British colonialism in Africa. The British colonialism in Africa plays a large role in the memoir as if not for their colonization of Africa Dahl wouldn’t be in Tanzania, an African country. Dahl speaks about British colonialism in Africa that, “The police constables were all blacks, acting under a couple of white officers at the top, and they were not famous for being gentle with prisoners,” (qutd. Dahl 9). In fact, British colonialism is important because the colonization of Africa effected it in many ways, but not all for the better of the people.

European imperialists often took interest in obtaining new foreign land because of economic consideration that resulted in negative outcomes. A great example of a common imperial activity place was the continent of Africa. Very few European countries had already held territory in it, and the actual people occupying it were surpluses of ethnic groups that could be easily overthrown. The real hidden secret in Africa, however, was the abundance of natural resources available there. The Boer War found not just two groups, but instead three separate nations competing for the financial benefits available down in South Africa. In a dispute to gain the large bulk of diamonds and gold there, the Dutch had to defend South Africa, which they gained control of hundreds of years ago. British powers had grown an interest in the chances to find monetary success by acquiring the rarities present there, and declared war on the Dutch who maintained the land. However, African indigenous groups had lived on these lands too, and found themselves getting involved in the war. The Boer War was

Even though trade between nations grew greatly and a world economy developed, it “created bitter rivalries among the imperial powers and hatred among the colonized people.” From Doc. #5 (A Place in the Sun), says “In spite of the fact that we have no such flect as we should have, we have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun.” This reveals that Germans were encouraged to take part in Imperialism. It demonstrates how Germany wanted to keep its empire economically and politically growing, in order to compete with other nations. We could also look at Doc. #6 (Letter to SIr George Grey), announces “I know that you have followed with interest the transactions with interest....by your excellency’s meditation.” This is important because it shows that Moshweshewe request for peace to Sir George Grey, due to situation that Moshweshewe and his tribe has been put into by the invasive Boers and other high-ranking British officials, asking for help to stop their unfair territorial advances.

One common assumption that people make about the Holocaust is that the atrocity was an event unique to world history. It is not often taught in United States history classes that there were events previous to World War II that set precedence that allowed the Holocaust to occur under Nazi Germany rule. Generally, history classes do not explore colonialism outside of the United States, so it is no surprise that very few people are aware of German colonialism in Africa, let alone how Germany’s actions there served as a precursor to the Nazi policy of genocide years later. By examining the events that took place under German rule in South West Africa, one can gain a better understanding of the mentality behind the Nazi Germany genocide policy, as discussed in Isabel Hull’s article Military Culture and the Production of “Final Solutions” in the Colonies: The Example of Wilhelminian Germany.

With this notion of “genocide” still being a new term, historians such as Horst Drechsler and Helmut Bley in 1966 begin to examine the German colony of South West Africa under the context of possible genocide. These authors are writing in an era of post-WWII, Cold War ideologies. This topic inspiring heated debates on genocide, reparations, and the connection to the Holocaust. It continues to be a topic of discussion in an African independence, contemporary time frame with historians such as Jürgen Zimmerer, Benjamin Madley, and Werner Hillebrecht. Dividing these debates into two sections of focus ask the question, was the German-Herero war genocide, and if so how does it connect to the Holocaust 30 years later. Historians challenged the notion

Imperialism caused more problems than progress due to the destabilization of existing African tribes through unnecessary conflict caused by Europeans. In 1877, Sir Henry Frere decided that the only way to gain total control over the South African area was to defeat the Zulus, who were bordering several independent Boer and tribal states (Herbert). While warfare between African tribes did exist, it was usually fought over matters such as land. The British however, entered Africa and attempted to destabilize a tribe to make seizing power over the area easier for them. The Anglo-Zulu War wouldn’t have been fought had the British not invaded Africa and instigated the Zulu tribe. Commandment S Bourquin wrote several journal entries detailing the

Almost 78 years ago Germany started an unwarranted attack on Poland thus starting the second World War. History tells us that World War II was one of the most widespread and deadliest wars involving over 30 countries and killing over 30 million people. However, a largely ignored aspect in the histories of World War II is the role African civilians and military forces played in the success of the Allied nations in their victory over the Axis powers. Africa overall portrayed a salient role in the war economically, politically and socially with the influence of Britain, France, Belgium and, Italy.

During and after the Berlin Conference various European countries sent out agents to sign ‘treaties’ of protection with the leaders of African societies, decentralized societies, states, kingdoms, and empires. The different understandings of these treaties by the competing forces often led to fights between both sides and eventually to military confrontations. For Africans, these treaties were only political and profitable friendship; but for Europeans, these treaties meant that Africans had signed their power away to European powers. When they found out that they had been cheated and that the European powers now wanted to impose and apply political authority in their lands, African rulers organized militarily to resist the taking of their lands and the imposition of colonial

The Afrikaners formed a separate linguistic and cultural identity that included a set of religious beliefs that shaped their worldview. These developments not only separated Afrikaners from native Africans ethnically, but also provided a template from which nationalist beliefs were based. This connection between the cultural identity of Afrikaners and their nationalist ideology is found in the events that occurred shortly after Great Britain annexed South Africa. Afrikaners believed that the British would undermine the culture that had developed among Afrikaners by supporting the mixing of Afrikaner and native cultures. In response to this threat to their ethnic identity, Afrikaners created numerous political parties that advocated both a separate culture and country for Afrikaners. Drawing upon the reformed theology of Afrikaners, political organizations such as the Afrikaner Broederbond claimed that, “…God intended for each nation to develop separately…moreover, God had specifically created the Afrikaner nation as His chosen people to fulfill a divine destiny in southern Africa” (Beck, 2000, p. 111). Using a religious belief from the Afrikaner culture, political parties were able build a nationalism that promoted the segregationist agenda that would later be used for justifying Apartheid. So, Apartheid was not racist institution, it was merely a product of the nationalist belief that the Afrikaner people had the right to develop as a

From the 17th century until the early 1900’s, European countries were fighting to get tracks of land across Africa. Although South Africa was unified by Great Britain in 1910, the African National Congress was formed two years later. It was only on Dec 11, 1931 after World War II when Britain gave South Africa its’ independence as a country. For the first sixty years after South Africa was claimed independent, white minority rulers dominated the country. South Africa is now an independent Nation but is still a member of the British Commonwealth.