''London Recruits: The Secret War Against Apartheid'' is a 2012 book edited and compiled by Ken Keable, with an introduction by

Ronnie Kasrils Ronald Kasrils (born 15 November 1938) is a South African politician, former guerrilla and military commander. He served in a number of ministerial posts, including the as Minister for Intelligence Services from 2004 to 2008. He was a member o ...

and a foreword by

Pallo Jordan Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009. Early life Jordan is the son of th ...

. It inspired a documentary film, ''London Recruits'', directed by Gordon Main.

Synopsis

The book details the secret activities of foreign volunteers, especially from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the rest of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, who worked covertly to assist the

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 ...

during

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 ...

, a South African young communist, met with George Bridges, London Secretary of the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name ''YCL of ountry' originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of YCLs includ ...

in 1967 and began the process of reviving the ANC presence in South Africa through propaganda. These volunteers were mostly young

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

and

Trotskyists Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as a ...

. The book reveals work done by volunteers, such as the transport of anti-apartheid leaflets and cassettes from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to counter the South African government's own overseas propaganda machine. A number of the activists were students at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

, including Ronnie Kasrils. Ronnie Kasrils subsequently became a leader of the armed struggle and a minister in Mandela's cabinet.

Reception

In the ''

Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, the ...

'' the book was described as a series of "revealing, firsthand accounts" and was reviewed in the ''

International Review of Social History The ''International Review of Social History'' (IRSH) is a scholarly journal founded, in its current format, in 1956, by the International Institute of Social History (IISH). The current academic journal revived an earlier publication by the same ...

'' from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The first film made about the Recruits was made by Disobedient Films'

Leah Borromeo Leah Borromeo is a British-American journalist and filmmaker based in London, who has worked for Sky News, The Guardian and the Daily Mail. Borromeo directe"''The Mortician of Manila''"for Al Jazeera English about a man who runs a 24-hr mortuary ...

and

Katharine Round Katharine Round is an English documentary filmmaker. She is co-founder of the production company Disobedient Films, and Doc Heads (together with Tristan Anderson); a dedicated documentary screening organization that promotes the work of docume ...

for an exhibition called Disobedient Objects at the

V&A Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London while a talk on the book was held at the

Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate area east of the City of London. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, courses for adults, historic library and archive collections, and a ...

. A documentary film of the book was released in 2024.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.londonrecruits.org.uk/
The ''London Recruits'' film official website
2012 non-fiction books Politics of London Books about politics of the United Kingdom Books about apartheid Books about activism Books about propaganda Non-fiction books about espionage International opposition to apartheid in South Africa Books about the African National Congress