The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

and male

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the

Afrikaner people Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, D. H. C. du Plessis and the Rev. Jozua Naudé in 1918 as Jong Zuid Afrika () until 1920, when it was renamed the Broederbond. Its influence within South African political and social life came to a climax with the 1948-1994 rule of the

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

and its policy of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, which was largely developed and implemented by Broederbond members. Between 1948 and 1994, many prominent figures of Afrikaner political, cultural, and religious life, including every leader of the South African government, were members of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

Origins

Described later as an "inner sanctum", "an immense informal network of influence", and by

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

as a "dangerous, cunning, political

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

organization", in 1920 ''Jong Zuid Afrika'', now restyled as the Afrikaner Broederbond, was a group of 37 white men of Afrikaner ethnicity, Afrikaans language, and

faith, who shared cultural, semi-religious, and deeply political objectives based on traditions and experiences dating back to the arrival of Dutch white settlers, French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, and German settlers at the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries, and including the dramatic events of the

Great Trek The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

in the 1830s and 1840s. Ivor Wilkins and Hans Strydom recount how, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, a leading ''broeder'' (brother or member) said: The precise intentions of the founders are not clear. Some considered that the group was intended to counter the dominance of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, whilst others considered that the purpose was to redeem the Afrikaners after their defeat in the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. Another view is that it sought to protect culture, build an economy and seize control of the government. The remarks of the organisation's chairman in 1944 offer a slightly different, and possibly more accurate interpretation in the context of the post-Boer War and post-World War I era, when Afrikaners were suffering through a maelstrom of social and political changes: The Afrikaner Broederbond was born out of the deep conviction that the Afrikaners had been planted in the country by the Hand of God, destined to survive as a separate people with its own calling. The traditional, deeply pious

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

of the Afrikaners, a

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

people with a difficult history in South Africa since the mid-17th century, supplied an element of Christian

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

that led to a determination to wrest the country from the English-speaking population of British descent and place its future in the hands of the

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

-speaking Afrikaners. To the old thirst for

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

that had prompted the

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 Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols (such as the national flag), and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places (such as monuments, bat ...

that would dominate South African life from 1948 to 1994. The emergence of the Broederbond took place amidst the backdrop of a rise in

Afrikaner nationalism Afrikaner nationalism () is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalistic political ideology created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrikaner ...

as a result of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902), which saw the British annex the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

and the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

. During the conflict, the British deployed

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

tactics against the Boers, destroying Boer farms and interning captured Boer non-combatants in

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

, where roughly 27,000 Boers died. The war was brought to end by the

Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...

, which though generous in its terms was seen by the Boers as deeply humiliating. The

anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

policies of British administrator

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a very important role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and ear ...

was also a major source of resentment amongst the Afrikaners. These developments led to an increase in nationalistic sentiments amongst Afrikaners, leading to the formation of the Broederbond and the

. The National Party had been established in 1914 by Afrikaner nationalists. They first came to power in 1924. Ten years later, its leader

J. B. M. Hertzog General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (3 April 1866 – 21 November 1942), better known as Barry Hertzog or J. B. M. Hertzog, was a South African politician and soldier. He was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who served a ...

and Jan Smuts of the

South African Party The South African Party (, ) was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934. History The outline and foundation for the party was realized after the election of a 'South African party' in the 1910 South Af ...

merged their parties to form the United Party. This angered a contingent of hardline nationalists under

D. F. Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South Africa, South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party (South Africa), National Party impleme ...

, who broke away to form the

Purified National Party The Purified National Party () was a break away from Hertzog's National Party which lasted from 1935 to 1948. In 1935 the main portion of the National Party, led by J. B. M. Hertzog, merged with the South African Party of Jan Smuts to form the ...

. By the time

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, resentment towards 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 Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Jan Smuts had commanded

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

forces in the East African theater of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was amenable to backing the Allies a second time. This was the spark Afrikaner nationalism needed. Hertzog, who was in favour of neutrality, resigned from the United Party when a narrow majority in his cabinet backed Smuts. He started the

Afrikaner Party The Afrikaner Party (AP) was a South African political party from 1941 to 1951. Origins The Afrikaner Party's roots can be traced back to September 1939, when South Africa declared war on Germany shortly after the start of World War II ...

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 46 years, until

majority rule In social choice theory, the majority rule (MR) is a social choice rule which says that, when comparing two options (such as bills or candidates), the option preferred by more than half of the voters (a ''majority'') should win. In political ...

and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

's election in 1994. In 1945, Smuts denounced the Broederbond as a fascist organization and ordered South African civil servants and state schoolteachers to either forfeit their Broederbond membership immediately or resign from their jobs.

The Broederbond and apartheid

Every

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

state president The State President of the Republic of South Africa () was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, outside the Commonwealth of Nations, and Queen Eli ...

in South Africa from 1948 to the end of apartheid in 1994 was a member of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

Once the
Herenigde Nasionale Party The Herenigde Nasionale Party () was a political party in South Africa during the 1940s. It was the product of the reunion of Daniel François Malan's Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party () and J.B.M. Hertzog's breakaway Afrikaner nationalist faction ...
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 Herenigde Nationale Party was the product of the reunion of the Purified National Party and the United Party in 1940. 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. Members of political parties right of the National Party were not welcome and 200 members were expelled by 1972. In 1983 when the Conservative Party was founded with

Andries Treurnicht Andries Petrus Treurnicht (19 February 1921 – 22 April 1993) was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the Soweto Riots and for a short time leader of the National Party in Transvaal.Burns, John F. (19 December 1978)Afri ...

as a leader, all Broederbond members who belonged to the newly formed party were no longer welcome in the Broederbond. Treurnicht, C.W.H. Boshoff and H.J. Klopper, previous chairmen, left the organization. Other members like H. J. van den Bergh left too. In 1985 the Afrikaner Broederbond realised that change needed to take place in South African politics. Although the government did not talk openly with the banned

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC), it was decided by the organization they should start negotiating. On 8 June 1986 J.P. de Lange, the then-chairman met

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

in New York for a five-hour meeting held at a conference organised by the Ford Foundation. The meeting was just between de Lange and Mbeki, but at the conference other ANC members

Mac Maharaj Sathyandranath Ragunanan "Mac" Maharaj OLS (born 22 April 1935 in Newcastle, Natal) is a retired South African-Indian politician, businessman, and former anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was the ...

, Seretse Choabi,

Charles Villa-Vicencio Charles Villa-Vicencio (born 7 November 1942) is an Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town. He is also a Visiting research professor at Georgetown University. He was a director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commi ...

, and Peggy Dulany were present. P.W. Botha also left the Broederbond after his retirement.

Leaders

The chairmen of the Broederbond were:

Exposed

Although the press had maintained a steady trickle of unsourced exposés of the inner workings and membership of the Broederbond since the 1960s, the first comprehensive exposé of the organisation was a book written by Ivor Wilkins and Hans Strydom, ''The Super-Afrikaners. Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond'', first published in 1978. The most notable and discussed section of the book was the last section which consisted of a near-comprehensive list of 7,500 Broederbond members. The Broederbond was portrayed as ''Die Stigting Adriaan Delport'' (The Adriaan Delport Foundation) in the 1968 South African feature film '' Die Kandidaat'' (The Candidate), directed by Jans Rautenbach and produced by Emil Nofal.

Companies with Broederbond credentials

* ABSA, formed by an amalgamation of United, Allied, Trust 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, formerly Altech Defence Systems. *

Remgro Remgro Limited is a South African investment holding company, based in Stellenbosch. The company has interests in banking, financial services, packaging, glass products, medical services, mining, petroleum, beverage, food and personal care p ...

, formerly Rembrandt Ltd., former holding company of Volkskas.

Notable members

* Theunis Roux Botha, Former and last Rector of the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit. *

(1874–1959), former Prime Minister (1948–1954). * H. F. Verwoerd (1901–1966), former Prime Minister. * J. G. Strijdom (1893–1958), former Prime Minister (1954–1958). *

B. J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983), better known as John Vorster, was a South African politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state president of So ...

(1915–1983), former Prime Minister (1966–1978) and State President (1978–1979). * J. S. Gericke, Vice-Chancellor Stellenbosch University. *

Pik Botha Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, (27 April 1932 – 12 October 2018) was a South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, the longest-serving in South African history. Known as a lib ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs. *

H. B. Thom Hendrik Bernardus Thom (13 December 1905 – 4 November 1983) was an Afrikaner professor and former Rector of the Stellenbosch University. Life and career Thom was born in Jamestown, Cape Colony, and grew up in Burgersdorp, South Africa ...

, historian and former Rector of

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

. * G.L.P. Moerdijk, Afrikaans architect best known for designing the

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the ar ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. * Tienie Groenewald, retired Defence Force general. * Barend Johannes van der Walt, former ambassador to Canada. * Pieter Johannes Potgieter Stofberg, former politician, billionaire businessman and famous doctor. *

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, ( , ; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and as the first executive State President of South Africa from 1984 until ...

, former Minister of Defence and Prime Minister. He left the Broederbond. *

Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert OMSG (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman and conservationist. He was born on 4 October, 1916 and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of the Union of Sou ...

, billionaire entrepreneur and businessman; a member in the 1940s, but eventually dismissed it as an "absurdity" and left the organization. *

Marthinus van Schalkwyk Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk (born 10 November 1959) is a South African politician, academic, and lawyer, who serves as High Commissioner to Australia. He previously served as MP and Minister of Tourism in the Cabinet of South Af ...

, a 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 Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

. * Tom de Beer, recruited 30 years ago, now chairman of new

Afrikanerbond The Afrikanerbond (''Afrikaner League''), established in 1994, is the successor to the Afrikaner Broederbond, formerly a South African secret society. Unlike its predecessor, membership is open to anyone over the age of 18 years who identifies w ...

. *

Nico Smith Nico Smith (''Nicolaas Johannes Smith''; 1929 – 19 June 2010) was a South African Afrikaner minister and prominent opponent of apartheid. Smith was a professor of theology at the University of Stellenbosch, a member of the Afrikaner Broeder ...

, Dutch Reformed Church missionary who, as a former insider, wrote retrospectively about the Afrikaner Broederbond in a book.Smith, N. (2009) Afrikaner Broederbond: Belewings van die binnekant. Lapa Uitgewers. Pretoria *

F. W. De Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President of South Africa, deputy president a ...

, 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 Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

regime, and close friend of former South African Prime Minister

. He left the Bond.

Origins

The Broederbond and apartheid

Leaders

Exposed

Companies with Broederbond credentials

Notable members

See also

References

Further reading