The Bond van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes as a Direct and Long-Lasting Social Manifestation Related to the Internment Policy of the Union of South Africa, 1946–1985

Abstract

During the Second World War, the Union of South Africa implemented emergency regulations, including an internment policy, to curb  anti-war efforts within South Africa. These regulations and the internment policy affected one of the biggest anti-war organisations, the  Ossewabrandwag (“Oxwagon Sentinel”), and many of its members were detained during the war in internment camps. In 1946, the Bond  van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes (freely translated as “the Association of Former Internees and Political  Prisoners”) was formed by individuals, mostly Ossewabrandwag members, who were interned in South African internment camps. Using  the Bond van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes collection that forms part of the Ossewabrandwag Archive, this article  provides a brief historical background to the Bond van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes. Some key themes are discussed, and  the focus is on the organisation, and the possible effect of the organisation on its members is explored by framing nostalgia or  nostalgic longing as central to its existence. By considering the Bond van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes as a direct and  long-lasting social manifestation related to the internment policy of the Union of South Africa, the ongoing study – from which this article  derives – constitutes a first attempt at exploring the Bond van Oudgeïnterneerdes en Politieke Gevangenes and understanding its role in  the larger picture of the South African Second World War experiences and memories.