-Caveat Lector-
18The Broederbond -
As seen by the Broeders Whatever the outsider's view of the
Broederbond, those on the inside see it as a noble organisation. They claim
credit for dra-matically improving the Afrikaner's economic position and
put-ting him in political control. The exclusivity, the strict secrecy, are
explained away as necessary to the salvation of Afrikanerdom and indeed of
all the people in South Africa.
These rationalisations are not, of course, voiced in public. They
are discussed at secret meetings in order to inspire and strengthen Broeders
against attacks from the outside. In the secret documents, four important
speeches were uncovered which show clearly how the Broeders see the
Broederbond. In the interests of showing objectively how the members of the
Bond are motivated, fairly long parts of the speeches have been reproduced
here.
In the address he gave at the 50th anniversary of the Broederbond in
1968, the chairman, Dr Pitt Meyer, asked: "What is Brotherhood
(Broederbond)? What is there in its crux and soul that every month brings
together mature, serious-minded, businesslike, busy, practical
leaders in every sphere - over long distances, and in difficult
circumstances - drawing them together to discuss matters of concern to their
nation; and compelling them to seek responsibilities or accept duties
fostering those interests?" Dr Meyer went on to give his own vision of
Brotherhood. "The secret of the Afrikaner Broederbond's 50 years of good and
faithful service to our volk and country, is Broruskap.
"Members of the Afrikaner Broederbond know what Broerskup is. It is
the secret power which ties together in earnest endeav-our 8 000 Afrikaner
leaders closely united in service to our volk and country, and to the honour
of the God of our fathers." Dr Meyer said the Broeders had picked each other
"one by one" for their Brotherhood. They had done so in circumstances kept
con-fidential because otherwise there would have been publicity and
criticism. "A shared Brotherhood which does not seek personal
honours and advantage, can never be anything but secret Brotherhood.
Forgoing the secrecy of Brotherhood means forgoing theAfrikaner Brocdcrbond
itself.
"Brotherhood is not only voluntary and selfless co-operation in the
service of our volk and country, nor is it only unseen comradc-ship - but
also leadership. In the Afrikaner Broederbond there are not leaders and
followers, but only leaders. The Afrikaner Broe-derbond does not make
leaders of Broeders but Broeders of leaders.
"Brotherhood permits open differences, but nothing is more
unbrotherly than the carrying of tales and gossip. Without disci-pline and
punishment the Broederbond could not survive. If Broeders have the right to
select each other one by one to work in the interest of the volk, then there
is an implicit right to reject those who differ in matters of principle or
behave unworthily.
"Brotherhood is selective, confidential leadership continuously
extended as the inner-mechanism, the heartbeat of the Afrikaner-volk. It is
not leadership which arrogantly prescribes to our volk and country from
outside. It does not impose policies from great intellectual heights on our
volk and their organisations. Broeders are not people who dictate tasks from
above or from a distance.
No, Brotherhood means fully considering and digesting the prob-lems facing
our volk from time to time, studying the facts to en-sure clarity and
effective solutions."
Dr Meyer said the Broederbond was formed as "a different kind of
answer" to long-standing problems facing the Afrikaner: sub-servience to the
English and Britain, a feeling of national inferiority, impotence, bondage,
exploitation and poverty. The Broeder-bond's response was: "Your honour
is in your name, your Afrikaner name; your Afrikaner ancestors, their faith,
ideals and sacrifices, their language and history. Your honour is in your
faith, your ideals, your mother-tongue and your fatherland's history -betray
that and there is nothing left."
In the early years of the Broederbond, action was aimed at securing
equality for Afrikaners in "English and Jewish" shops, ac-cording to Dr
Meyer. But the economic plight of the Afrikaner was grave in the
poverty-stricken platteland and the growing urban areas under
"British-Jewish" domination. The Broeder-bond arranged the Ekonomirse
Volkskongres to plan ways to advance the Afrikaner economically, and later
fought for the Republic and separate development.
Dr Meyer devoted his peroration to the Broederbond in the next 50 years,
1968 to 2018. "Neither you nor I can know if wewill be granted another 50
years of Broederskap. What we do know is that as long as it is God's will
that we remain a separate Afrikanerwolk, the Afrikaner Broederbond will have
a task to fulfil. Only if we as a nation, or the Afrikaner Broederbond as
central power of our cultural ideal, commit suicide will that alter." He saw
the Broedcrbond's task as furthering the Afrikaans language and the
Christian national outlook, preventing the establishment of an integrated
Afrikaans-English culture, improving the Afrikaner's economic position,
intensifying the Christian Afrikaner nature of the Republic, and expanding
separate development.
"A brotherhood and a Broederbond vain enough to look down on its own
society would be busy rendering itself superfluous. The Brotherhood is
greater than that - it is an organised Brotherhood which has developed its
own methods of co-operation, organis-ation and operation to carry out most
economically and effectively, essential tasks in changing circumstances.
Brotherhood de-velops to cover every aspect of the life of the volk, and
devise suit-able organisational methods to discharge what it undertakes."
Dr Meyer said the Broedcrbond should not become obsessed with
organisation, recruiting for Afrikaner bodies, arranging volksfeeste and
collecting money for public projects.
"The essence of Brotherhood-in-action is defining problems facing
the volk, solving them, and giving uniform policies to all the public bodies
on which Broeders serve. The essence of Bro-therhood-in-action is to
confront problems facing the volk with-out consulting one's own interests,
without seeking credit or per-sonal advantage."
Dr Meyer then referred to the "divine mission" of the Brocderbond -
something that all its members believe in with evident fer-vour.
"Broederbond membership, bvoeuskup, is that and much
more. This 'more' is not something from us and by us. It comes from outside
us and above us. It is something which God estab-lished Himself; otherwise
it remains inexplicable and inconceiv-
able. It is something which we as Broeders have in common with all
Christians on earth. Bvorvskap - the Afrikaner Broederbond - is a gift from
God to our volk . . to strive and realise its separate des-tiny to the
greater glory of His name."
Dr Meyer added: "And that brings us to the last aspect of our
Brotherhood in the coming years. Is Afrikaner broevskap still necessary for
the fulfillment of the tasks I have mentioned? Has the
time not arrived to replace it with a 'white' broerskap?
"The Afrikaner Broederbond has already given the answer to this
question over the last 50 years. While it is logical on the one hand to say
that the safety of the white future in South Africa also ensures the future
of the Afrikaner, it is an historical fact that the future of the white and
non-white nations of our country depends on the independent future of the
Afrikaner. If Christian Afrikaner-dom did not remain true to itself in all
respects, British liberal politics in our country would inexorably have
pushed through integration of white and non-white which had already gone a
longway. No one can doubt that this would have ended in so-called majority
rule, as everywhere else in former British colonies in Africa. And that
would not only have been the end of an indepen-dent white nation; it would
have permanently damaged the inde-pendent national future of the non-whites.
"What is historically true in this connection will remain true in
future: the only alternative is revolution. What I have to say about
Brotherhood in the next 50 years rests on the unambiguous prem-ise that the
future of white and non-white nations of our country depends primarily on
ensuring the future of the Afrikaner nation as an independent Christian
national nation at the southern tip of Africa.. . If we do not accept this
as fundamental, then we forfeit the Afrikaner Broederbond's right to exist.
"If a Broedcr asks whether the Afrikaner Broederbond still has a
task for the future, then he questions his own right as a Christian
Afrikaner to complete his task in South Africa. Those who doubt, those who
have lost their certainty, must make way for those who after 50 years of
Brotherhood have not started counting the years."
Broederbonder fanaticism about their organisation is also
illustrated by the emotional speech made by one of the founder members, Mr
Henning Klopper, at the 50th anniversary of the Bond.
"On an occasion like this, celebrating the Afrikaner Broeder bond's
half-century, one feels very small. You recognise your own insignificance.
You realist that but for the grace of God, you would have been nothing.
"The years 1914 to 1917 which culminated in the establishment of the
Afrikaner Broederbond in 1918 were years of struggle, division, bitterness;
years of frustration for the Afrikaner. It was a de-cade after the Boer War
in which we were destroyed. But we felt we couldn't lie down. With the grace
of God we had to arise. And we arose in our faith.
"I speak on behalf of all my colleagues here when I say it is a
matter of what we received from God. We who have reached this point are only
instruments in His hands. To say it was our clever-
ness, our determination or our wisdom would be stupid, because we were only
children who joined battle. We started when we were young, lately out of
school. We continued the struggle, and so far it has been one long struggle.
"Earlier today a question was asked that was in many minds -did not
the Broederbond achieve its purpose with the attainment of the Republic? Has
the time not arrived for us to dissolve? If that is so, Broeders, then we
must ask: who will give us the Govern-ment of the country? Who will give us
our future Prime Minis-ters? Who is to mould them? Where are they to come
from? Where will they be found?
"Since the Afrikaner Brocderbond got into its stride it has given
the country its governments. It has given the country every Nationalist
Prime Minister since 1948. It has given us the Rcpub-
lit, even though indirectly. It has given us two State Presidents. What
would have happened to the Afrikaner volk if the Broedcr-bond had ceased to
exist? Our nation depends on the Broeder-bond.
"The Broederbond was small and the members were few but they were
very active and worked day and night. I want to give these people credit,
these men who stood here in front of you (founder members) - Brocders H W
van dcr Merwe, H le R Jooste, N F Botha, P V Conradie, G J Retief, D H C du
Plessis, Iwan Lombard-every one of them was at his post. Day and night they
slept,dreamt and thought Broederbond. They gave the ideal momentum and then
the nation took over.
"The volk brought it to where it is tonight. It is the will of the
volk. It is in the interest of the volk. It is in the interest of the
King-dom of God that the Afrikaner Broederbond shall be there. out of the
Afrikaner Broederbond were born the best and most beautiful things of our
nation. The FAK, the economic ideal, the rehabilitation of the Afrikaner,
are born out of the Broeder-
bond. In each sphere the Broederbond played its role, as in 1934 with the
Volkskonps on the poor-white problem when we had 300 000 to 400 000 poor
whites.
"When the volk was depressed again after the 1938 election, with only 27 out
of 140 members of Parliament, God gave us the Oxwagon Trek. It was the
Brocders who organised it. It was the Broeders who took the initiative.
Through the grace of God the Broeders executed it. It was not that the
Broeders sought to be-come big and powerful in the nation. God used them in
this in-stance too. They planned it, but God used them as instruments to
make the trek what it was. Many people told us in places where the trek
arrived, 'It is wonderful, it is from God.' The Afrikaner Broederbond is
just as wondcrful,and it also is from God.
"Do you realise what a powerful force is assembled here tonight
between these four walls? Show me a greater force on the whole continent of
Africa! Show me a greater force anywhere else (in the world), even in your
so-called civilised nations. We support the State, we support the Church, we
support every big movement born from the nation. We make our contribution
unobtrusively, we carry it through and so we have brought our nation to
where it is today.
"We have supplied the leaders to our nation. Pity the nation without
a leader! Every time, a leader could be chosen for the nation from the ranks
of the Afrikaner Broederbond. When WC lost Dr Malan, we had Advocate
Strijdom. When death claimed him we had Dr Verwoerd. When he died so
tragically, God had another man ready for us.
"The nation has been through terrible crises in the last 50 years.
The crisis of the depression, the political developments that started then,
the crisis after the symbolic trek, the crisis of the Second World War.
"But from the beginning our Broeders believed that the spirit of
Bvoederskup must be planted in the heart of every Broedcr. The tics
ofBvoedevskap must be so strong that they cannot be broken. If we look back
now, we can thank God that there were so few oc-casions when the ties
failed. The ties ofBvoe&vskup brought us to where we are today, surviving
all the storms. We who were in-volved from the beginning, thank God for
this. It is far more than we had hoped for, and for that the few of us who
are left want to give honour to God to Whom it is due.
"A foreign journalist who visited the country said all he could say
about the Afrikaner nation was that it was a miracle. That is because we
accepted God our Father as our Saviour in every crisis. In those dark days
when it was difficult, we went on our knees with all our problems and God
gave us a solution. That is why we were adamant that the Afrikaner
Broederbond should retain its
Christian character. That must never be lost, and I thank God to-night that
this is the case.
"Broeder Chairman, you cannot think how pleasing it is to us that
you are such a devoted child of God, that the Broeders on the Executive
Council arc such devoted Christians. We want you to realise that you have
the love not only of the Afrikaner Broederbond, but of the whole Afrikaner
nation. When you are serving in the frontline, at the South African
Broadcasting Corporation, we want you to know that we are with you in
spirit. We remember you in our prayers and we thank God that we have a man
like Piet Meyer to serve Afrikancrdom at this stage. May God spare you for
many years to serve His cause in the Afrikaner nation.
"Looking at public life in South Africa, we are glad that the
Afrikaner Broedcrbond gives leadership in every facet and sphere and is
indispensable there. Everywhere Broedcrs are manning the front lines.
"Dare anybody still ask whether the Afrikaner Brocderbond's time has
expired? He dare not ask such a question! Take the Afrikaner Broederbond out
of Afrikanerdom, and what remains? Take Afrikanerdom out of Africa, and what
remains for the King-dom of God? Who is going to serve the cause if
Afrikancrdom is no longer there? Ask the people of Rhodesia, 'What is at the
end of your road?' Nobody can tell you. All they say is, 'We know the
Republic is behind us.' And who is the Republic? It is the Broeders of the
Afrikaner Broedcrbond.
"When will our task be completed? When God calls us to a higher
duty. Only then is a man's task finished. Your task never ends here. You are
called to it until the last minute of your life and there is a challenge for
every one of us. A man who puts his hand to the plough should not look back.
There is only one yardstick for a member of the Afrikaner Broedcrbond:
service. Not what you can get from the Afrikaner Broederbond, but what you
can give. Not what you can get from the volk, but what service you can
render to the volk.
"I was pleased by the reception the Prime Minister was accorded here
this afternoon. He needs your prayers, your love, your Broerskup. He is
called from time to time to take decisions which are unpopular but
necessary. I was pleased, therefore, by the reception and by the confidence
you have given him. It is our duty to sustain him, our duty, when he is no
longer there, to supply his successor. Life must continue. If he is no
longer there, somebody else must take his place. In that way our work never
ends.
"God help us to continue to the end! In the name of the old
Broeders, thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity. God's blessing
be with you for the next 50, 150, 250 years, into the most distant future."
Equally rousing was the speech made by Dr A P Treurnicht. Since the
days when he was editor of the Kevkbode, official organ of the Nederduitsc
Gereformeerde Kerk, largest of the Afrikaans
churches, he was regarded as the coming spiritual leader of the VU- krumpte
(conservative) faction in the National Party. When Dr Treurnicht became
editor of Hoofstad in Pretoria, he was drawn into the rightwing group led by
Dr Albert Hertzog, who formed the Herstigte Nasionalc Party. For a while it
appeared that he might go along with the HNP, and what persuaded him
otherwise
was Mr Vorster's decisive victory in the battle in the Broederbond (dealt
with in another chapter). Dr Treurnicht instead fought a by-election in
Water-berg, the former seat of Advocate Hans Strijdom, 'Lion of the North',
who at one stage was the only National Party MP in the Transvaal and later
became Prime Minister. Dr Treur-nicht was soon made a deputy Minister,
obviously a clever Vor-ster tactic to keep him under control.
Treurnicht would have been a great danger outside the National Party
as leader of a rightwing group. He has all the potential to bc-come a
forceful Afrikaner leader, and Vorster realised it. Bringing him into the
Cabinet clipped his wings by making him party to the decision-making body.
In practice deputy Ministers do not at-tend Cabinet meetings where decisions
are taken by consensus: they are required to carry out policy without really
having a say in it at Cabinet level. In this way Dr Treurnicht became a
captive of Mr Vorster's so-called "move to the left".
It was no surprise when Dr Treurnicht succeeded Dr Meyer as head of
the Broederbond in 1972. The speech he made at the secret Bondmad meeting in
1968 shows he had ideal qualifications to lead the Broederbond. His views on
Afrikaner-English relationships are particularly interesting.
Dr Treurnicht began his speech with a stirring message which Dr A M
Moll, one of the original Brocders, had delivered from his deathbed.
"Broedcrs, I don't envy you life, but only the privilege to continue the
battle for our nationhood. In the world struggle there is no end, we are all
still Voortrekkers on the road of our be loved South Africa. It is too early
to unsaddle. . ." Dr Treurnicht commented: "Struggle for our nationhood!. .
. It is too early to un-saddle! These words came to me like a refrain when I
thought about the Afrikaner Broederbond in the past and present. It has been
worrying me the last few years that within our own ranks the question is
raised of whether the Afrikaner Broederbond still has a
task. It has also been suggested that rightwing English-speakers might be
accepted into our movement on the basis of South Africa first and then the
acceptance of the policy of separate development between white and
non-white.
"These suggestions must be viewed in the light of these ques-tions:
"Is the Afrikaner, and is he to remain, a definable national group
within the broad white South African entity?
"Has he fulfilled his destiny, and could he therefore disappear?
"Has not the attainment of the Republic meant putting a full
stop to his separate existence and individual national awareness?
"I should like to quote from the minutes ofJune 5 1918 (at the
formation of the Broederbond). The chairman, Broeder H J Klopper, stated
this aim. 'Our main aim is a brotherhood of Afrikaners, now scattered
over South Africa and mainly opposed to each other without the slightest
cohesion. The salvation of our nation lies in our striving together in love
for its wellbeing. We must bring our nation to consciousness.'
"On July 2 1918 the following aims were formulated. 'Melting
togcthcr of Afrikaners. . . Eliminating the differences of opinion over
national problems and creating a healthy, forward-looking generation and
uniformity. Serving the interests of Afrikaners at all times . . .
bringing Afrikaners to awareness, creating self-respect and love for the
Afrikaner's language, history, country, volk. Pro-moting true, original
South African culture and art in every re-spect. Enhancing our society
through the restoration of its tra-ditional beautiful characteristics and
customs such as hospitality, democratic friendliness and readiness to
support each other in need or distress. We build our future on the Rock,
Christ."
Dr Trcurnicht went on: "Those were concepts crystallised in the
constitution of the Afrikaner Broederbond and formulated as follows. (a) The
Creation of a healthy and forward-looking Afrikaner unity to seek the
welfare of the Afrikaner nation. (b) The stimulation of national
consciousness among Afrikaners, inspiring them with love for their language,
faith, traditions, country and volk. (c) Promotion of all the interests of
the Afrikaner nation.
"The reason I quote at such length is that the Afrikaner Broederbond
can be rightly understood today only if we know the roots from which it
grows. When we no longer grow from these
roots, we lost our identity. And if we no longer want to grow from the
Afrikaner roots, but want to be grafted on to a kind of South African root
which is not essentially Afrikaner, then we must admit it openly to each
other because then the Afrikaner Brocdcrbond's right to existence has
expired.
"But that is not the case. The Afrikaner is not prepared to be
re-garded as ephemeral in the history of nations. He does not believe in a
destiny requiring nations to disappear in due time. He does not believe that
his right to existence is automatic, regardless of whether he had fulfilled
his calling: but he also does not believe that it is praiseworthy to be
weakened and to commit suicide. If ever there was a period in our history
imposing a duty to resist at-
tacks, then it is now!
"If ever vigilance was necessary to the Afrikaner's interests, and
specifically the Afrikaner's, then it is now when some think we have made
the transition from inferiority to independence and
domination. Our meaningful existence as an Afrikaner nation is not a matter
of course -just as our bodies cannot remain strong without food, shelter and
care, just as our spiritual life cannot re-main healthy as a matter of
course without vigilance.
"This meaningful existence has a deep positive content. We are
dealing with nothing less than a comprehensive national Afrikaner movement
entailing continuous action by the Afrikaner to make an impact as a nation,
to contribute and play his role as an equal in every aspect of life: social,
economic, scientific, cultural, religious and political. It is more than a
political movement. It is the desire of a nation to act independently in
every sphere.
"Of course nobody wants to claim the credit for these achicve-ments
exclusively for the Afrikaner Broederbond. The Afrikaner Broederbond would
not be so presumptious. But it cannot be de-nied that from the Afrikaner
Broederbond's ranks came a stimu-lating and fertile influence on the rest of
the Afrikaner nation. It is a fact that the Afrikaner Broederbond musters
some of the best and most knowledgeable members of Afrikaner society. It is
rep-resentative of the Afrikaner national movement at its broadest.
"Almost every matter affecting the existence and calling of the
Afrikaner nation has been considered deeply by the Afrikaner Broederbond's
members. The results of these reflections were passed on systematically to
the Afrikaner nation. Matters which were considered confidentially were
indirectly submitted to the nation for consideration . . .
"I make bold to say that the Afrikaner Broederbond, strongly
emphasising the continuation of the Afrikaner nation - also as a white
nation - made no small contribution to the acceptance of the separate
nationhood policy which has been successfully applied . . .
"On the economic front the Broederbond and other organis-ations of
the Afrikaner nation were concerned in the 1930s over the Afrikaner's
subjection. It was agreed that something must be done to give the Afrikaner
status in commerce and industry. It cannot be denied that we have made great
progress.
"The fact remains, however, that a large percentage of the country's
commerce and industry is still in foreign hands. If there is one thing
making the Broederbond necessary in the ranks of the Afrikaner nation, now
and in future, it is that full status cannot be obtained by the Afrikaner if
he does not get the greatest possible economic control. Especially now that
we put so much emphasis on necessary co-operation between the Afrikaner and
English we must make certain - even if it must be done discreetly - that the
Afrikaner is the stronger partner. Without that there is still some-thing
missing from our full status and independence. This is there-fore, what the
Afrikaner Broederbond should give urgent atten-tion to now."
After dealing at length with the Broederbond's role in religion and
education, Dr Trcurnicht returned to the cultural area and Afrikaner-English
relations. "It is strange to hear, even among Afrikaners, as well as from
part of the English Press, references to Afrikaner jingoism, applied to
people who want to maintain the Afrikaans culture, alongside English and
other cultures. There are even those who propose to tell us that the
Afrikanevskup we talk about does not exist. They appear to argue that
co-operation be-tween the two language groups on matters of political policy
entails repudiation of the Afrikaner culture. That we can never tolerate!
"Let there be no misunderstanding. There are many objectives for
which our two white cultural groups should and will fight shoulder to
shoulder. We must cultivate a common patriotism.
On cardinal points of political policy we should try to reach agrecmcnt in
the interest of both groups' preservation. But there is one stipulation that
the Broederbond must make clear, and this is that co-operation with our
English-speaking co-citizens cannot lead to a reduction in our national
pride. One thing we have learnt from our history is that Afrikaner unity is
precious and must not be meddled with. We have learnt that you cannot have
meaningful unity in South Africa if Afrikanerdom is divided.
"The Afrikaner is not seeking a unity in which Afrikaner unity is
not the cornerstone, or in which the unity with his own people is slighted
or threatened. If we are going to talk about unity bc-tween our two cultural
groups, then we must recognise the differ-
ences, and the right to differ. We must recognise an intrinsic Afrikaner
culture and an Afrikaner nation and culture that we ex-tend the hand of
co-operation to our English-speaking co-citizens. Our Afrikaner identity is
no stumbling-block, but the very com-ponent which is indispensable to
meaningful co-operation."
After dealing with the need for the Broederbond to inspire the
youth, Dr Treurnicht concluded: "I believe that the Afrikaner nation and the
Broederbond must again be called on to resist the blurring of the Afrikaner
consciousness in a kind of white unity which will be neither Afrikaans nor
English; the overwhelming of our beliefs by liberalistic ideas; a temptation
to yield as the tide is. turning aginst us.
"If there is a message for Broederbond members on this 50th
anniversary it is:
"We will not tolerate being undermined as Afrikaners,
"We will not tolerate being diverted from our course as a nation,
"We do not want to be libcralised,
"We do not want to split,
"We want to remain one and together on the basis of a Christian
nationalism which has become part of us through our years of be-coming a
nation.
"The Afrikaner nation is called to be spiritual pioneers of our
time."
The minutes show that Dr Trcurnicht's speech was received
"with acclamation" at the Bondsvaad. It appeared, however, that Mr Vorster
did not see the matter of unity between Afrikaner and English in such narrow
terms. Although the two speeches ap-
peared superficially to take very much the same line, the emphasis differed.
In fact Mr Vorster said he was not prepared to "trick" the English - a clear
repudiation of the rightwingers who wanted to use national unity as a front,
while working hard behind the scenes for Afrikaner domination.
Mr Vorster started his speech by congratulating Broeder Chair-man,
Broeder Deputy Chairman and the Executive Council. "The Broeders have put
their trust in you and appointed you to those positions. It is not necessary
for me,after 50 years of the existence of the Afrkaner Broederbond and
everything it has meant and created, to tell you how great is the
responsibility on your shoulders. We live in a complicated world. The
position in which I find myself does not always make it easy to give all the
answers, but the answers must be given in our time. You help with this and I
appreciate the co-operation from your side.. .
"During the past two years I have come to think that we are not here
just to live and work and enjoy what South Africa offers in abundance, but
that we have been called to fulfil a task, not only in South Africa but in
the whole of Africa. We have heard that call so often in the past two years
that nobody can doubt it.
"We heard it when depression descended upon us. Every time we were
close to succumbing a door opened for us which we as human beings could not
have opened. It was done for us by the God who called us to be here in South
Africa and to our work. If we look at the situation today in the global
context, it is a matter for wonder that numbers, the weight of world
opinion, ignorance, and the antipathy in the rest of the world, has not
overwhelmed us already. Therein lies the wonder of our existence.
"One thing we must realise very clearly: the future of South Africa
does not lie only with the Afrikaner. The future depends on the white man in
South Africa and southern Africa fighting for his existence. The attainment
of the Republic affected all of us, Afrikaner and English-speaker.
"There are two things we as Afrikaners should not do. We must not
overestimate the English-speaking South African: that would be a mistake.
But we must also not underestimate him: that would be an even bigger
mistake. Because the coming of the Republic has given a message to the
English-speaking South African and has brought about a change in spirit
which we must evaluate correctly and mobilise in the interests of South
Africa.
"The question is how should I co-operate as an Afrikaner with the
English-speaking South African? Every one of my predeces-sors was confronted
with that question. I remember well how I as a boy became interested in
politics and came across the word "conciliation" used by General Botha. I
did not understand it and asked my father, who was not an educated man,
'Father, what does this word "conciliation" mean which is General Botha's
policy?' And he replied, 'My son, General Botha wants us to apolo-gise for
making the English come and fight us.'
"Later we came to the point of view that the United Party as
formulated by Mr Wolfie Swart who said, 'I want my children to be neither
English nor Afrikaner.'
"By contrast, we Afrikaners held the view from the days of General
Hertzog that permanent co-operation between Afrikaner and English-speaker
could only succeed along the lines of the two-stream policy - that I as
Afrikaner and everything that is my own, my language, customs, traditions,
thoughts, outlook on life, must be prepared to co-exist with an English
speaker with respect for
his language, customs and traditions.
"The one thing that should bind us together is common loyalty and
love for South Africa, our common fatherland. That loyalty and love have not
always been there, because there was a double heart and a divided loyalty.
The Republic brought about common loyalty and love."
After dealing at length with the attack from rightwing Nationalists
on his leadership (see Chapter 11) Mr Vorster indi-cated what a strong role
the Brocderbond was playing in his life and his regime. "I am grateful,
Brocder Chairman, for what you have said about me. I am grateful for the
co-operation I get from you, the Executive Council and the Broeders.
"It is heartening to know there is sympathy and understanding for my
task. But I want to repeat, Brocder Chairman: what ap-pears in public is
only a small part of what is really done. One could not continue with the
task without awareness of our people's trust - given even when they cannot
be told what is being done. I am grateful to those who give me this trust. I
am intensely thankful, because it enables me to do an almost impossible job.
For that I am prepared to sacrifice myself, especially if I know that I can
rely on the support, trust and prayers of my Broeders in this organisation."
The Broedcrs absolute faith that God is protecting their
organis-ation is nowhere better illustrated than in the 1963 minutes of the
annual general meeting when the vice-chairman thanked Dr Piet
Meyer for his address. "The chairman is a gift from God. God has always
given us a leader. God has given our organisation this chairman."
Also clear from the secret Broederbond minutes is a change of tone
which has occurred over the years and in turn the Bond's in-fluence on the
Government is seen from this. The Government's hard-line attitude on racial
matters in the first 15 to 17 years of power was indeed the attitude of the
Broederbond. But in later years, when pressure on the country
increased and the moral standpoint on racial questions became politically
dominant, the Broederbond mellowed - to be followed by the Government
which then publicly declared for the first time that discrimination based on
colour must be removed. The difference in tone can be seen by comparing the
annual reports of Dr Piet Meyer and Dr Andries Treurnicht when they were
chairmen with that of Profes-sor Gerrit Viljoen, the present chairman.
His emphasis on certain aspects of the role of the Broederbond in
the present situation differs clearly from those of his predeces-sors. In
place of blind faith in an organisation believed to be guided by God,
Professor Viljoen wants more open discussions. "In con-trast to the debate
five to 10 years ago on whether the Broeder-bond still had a role after
securing stable political control for the Afrikaner, we can frankly state
that the Afrikaner has never needed an organisation like the Broederbond
more than he does today.
"But then we must ensure that the machine runs smoothly without
friction. This demands increased discipline; fraternal can-dour in seeking
solutions to extensive problems aggravated by the radical changes around us;
planned progress instead of ill-prepared uncoordinated activity; deliberate,
consistent action on all levels; evaluation of results; and the allocation
of enough time for thorough and dedicated work for the Afrikaner
Broederbond.
"Our primary task is to activate, motivate and guide our members,
many of whom carry high-level responsibility for mak-ing and directing
policy and thus are busy every day 'about the Afrikaner Broederbond's
business.' The Afrikaner Broederbond does not achieve its biggest successes
by acting organisationally as the AB, but much more through the thorough
work of its nct-work of responsible, informed and motivated members. When
committees of experts are to be made up of Brocderbond mem-bers to deal with
a national problem, we find that most of the key figures in that particular
field already are our people, giving leadership and carrying responsibility.
"The Broederbond's function then is to form committees of ex-perts
and interest groups, to bring together members viewing the same problem from
different angles, in order to stimulate and co-
ordinate. It is especially valuable to bring together official and pri-vate
instutitions, experts and amateurs. Productive circumstances ensue on the
basis of frank brotherhood for stimulation, cross-pollination and the
juxtaposition of new or different ideas."
19The Constitution, Administration and Finance
The membership requirements, aims and objectives of the Afrikaner
Broederbond establish clearly its exclusivist character. According to the
organisation's constitution, the aims are: 1. The establishment of a healthy
and progressive accord among all Afrikaners who strive for the welfare of
the Afrikaner nation;
2. The awakening of a national self-consciousness in the Afrikaner and the
inculcation of love for his language, religion, traditions, country and
nation;
3. The promotion of all Afrikaner interests.
Compared with previous constitutions, these rather general aims reflect the
achievement of the Broederbond to date.
As the organisation has watched its stated objectives achieved in
South Africa it has removed them from the constitution.
In 1944, for example, the constitutional "check list" was far more
formidable than it is today. According to a report, the then Chapter VI of
the constitution said:
"The Broederbond desires that all Brocders in their political action
will strive for the following sevenfold ideals: 1. Removal of everything
which is in conflict with the full inde-
pendence of South Africa;
2. Termination of the inferiority of the Afrikaans-speakers and
their language in the organisation of the State; 3. Segregation of
all colourcd races domiciled in South Africa with provision for their
independent development under the trusteeship of whites.
4. Stopping the exploitation of the natural resources and the
population by uitlandevs (foreigners) including more intensive industrial
development;
5. Rehabilitation of the farmers and ensuring a civilised living
standard through work for all white btrvgevs (citizens); 6.
Nationalisation of credit and currency and planned co-ordination of eonomic
politics;
What can be revealed to the target recruit are the following: that
admission to the organisation is by invitation only; the contents of the
constitution; the existence of a programme of action; the var-iety of people
that belong to the organisation, such as ministers doctors, professors,
farmers, artisans, lawyers, advocates teachers' officers and merchants; the
financial commitments of R40 on ad: mission and R20 annual subscriptions as
well as any levies which the Executive Council may impose; that at the
annual congress a budget is presented; that a reserve fund exists; and that
the Broe-derbond is strictly selective in its membership.
If the target recruit agrees to join, he must fill in a formal
appli-cation form which is sent on to the chief secretary at head office. He
in turn notifies the branch secretary if the Executive Council approves the
nomination, and gives the green light for induction.
Induction
The Broederbond's induction ceremony is a darkly dramatic affair that
culminates in a sacred oath before God to carry the secrets of the
organisation to the grave. As the new recruit stands on the threshold of
admission to the ranks of the Super-Afrikaners, his knowledge of them is
scant and vague. They have framed the cer-emony with a caution which is
typical of all their activities. Like the recruitment process, it has
several cut-off points so that the re-cruit is exposed gradually to
revelations of the organisation's inner
secrets. At each of these points he must acknowledge that he is in accord
with everything he has heard so far and wishes the induc-tion to proceed to
the next phase.
The version of the ceremony which was approved in 1974 may be
considered refined, compared with the bizarre, ritualistic enrol-ment
procedure of the Brocderbond's early days. Then, according to reports, there
was a dramatic rite with a "body" on a bier, transfixed with a dagger. The
dummy's winding sheet was em-broidered in blood red, with the word Verruad
(Treason). Every member had to stab it with a dagger, symbolically
indicating the penalty of betrayal. The "chaplain" conducting the ceremony
in-
toned: "He who betrays the Bond will be destroyed by the Bond. The Bond
never forgets. Its vengeance is swift and sure. Never yet has a traitor
escaped his just punishment."'
The constitution, standing orders and induction rubric now contain
no description of this macabre ritual. But even in its modi-fied form the
induction ceremony remains a chilling affair that could come straight from
the pages of fiction.
It takes place at night in a darkened room. Two candles give the
only illumination. The venue is usually a member's home, or a regular
branch meeting-place. The windows are shrouded and all sources of light
masked. At the top of the room is a table draped with the South African
flag, As a symbol of Afrikaner exclusivity and rejection of the British,
whose oppression of the Afrikaners was the original r&on d'etre of the
Broederbond, the Union Jack in the flag is covered, otherwise flags of the
former Boer republics are used.*
There is a flickering candle at each end of the table. Standing
be-hind it is the Broeder who will conduct the induction ceremony, usually
the chairman of the branch. The recruit is escorted into the room by his
sponsors and stands facing the table. Silently, the branch members - who are
not known by him to be Broeders -file into the room and stand, unseen,
behind him. Those who will contribute to the ceremony have torches to read
their passages from the induction handbook. Now the emotional and
psycho-logical preparation for the induction begins.
There may be a hymn, the only optional part of the ceremony, and
then the chairman instructs the branch members that "in these moments of
deep seriousness"they must recall their own induction and treat the ceremony
as a reaffirmation of their commitment to the organisation. This is followed
by a scripture reading and a prayer. Then the induction itself begins.
CHAIRMAN - reads the fill name of the recruit and says:
Your fellow-Afrikaners who are members of the Afrikaner Broeder-bond
have, after careful consideration, decided to invite you to bc-come a member
of this organisation.
For this reason, you have been called here to learn what the
principles and ideals of the Afrikaner Broederbond are and, after you have
heard and accepted what will be expected of you as a member, to make a
solemn and binding promise of trust.
But first it is necessary that you comply with two conditions.
Firstly, nobody who is a member of any secret or semi-secret
organisation, or is in any way connected with such an organisation apart
from the Ruiterwag (the Broederbond's junior organisation) may be a member
of the Afrikaner Broederbond, except with the approval of the Executive
Council. CHAIRMAN - reads the fill name of the recruit and says: Do you
solemnly declare, in the presence of the witnesses here gathered, that you
are not a member of, or in any way connected with, any secret or semi-secret
organisation?
What is your answer? RECRUIT - replies: Yes. CHAIRMAN - Secondly,
you must know that the confidentiality of the Afrikaner Broederbond and its
activities is one of the most important characteristics, and that the
strictest protection of that confidentiality is demanded in the interests of
the Bond and its
I378
I
members, and in your own interests - reads thefull name of the re-rmit and
says: Do you then solemnly declare, in all seriousness and sincerity, before
these gathered witnesses, that you will reveal nothing of what you are told,
or of what you learn here, about the Afrikaner Broederbond and its members?
RECRUIT - replies: Yes.
CHAIRMAN - Now that you have complied with these con-ditions, the following
can be revealed to you.
The Afrikaner Broedcrbond is born from a deep conviction that the
Afrikaner nation, with its own characteristics and destiny, was placed in
this country by God the Three-in-One, and that this nation has been called
to remain in existence as long as it pleases God.
The members of the Afrikaner Broederbond are Afrikaners, aware of
their calling, who strive to live out the best in our nation, and to serve.
The Afrikaner Broederbond is wholly devoted to the service of the
Afrikaner nation and does not exist to serve or promote the personal
interests of its members. Those who join do so to give, not to receive; to
serve, not to be served or personally advantaged.
On the basis of our belief in God, and in His service and honour,
the Afrikaner Broederbond aims to unite its members in a strong bond of
mutual trust and love of their nation; to bind them in love, despite their
differences; to work selflessly for the establish-
ment of a healthy common purpose among all Afrikaners who
strive for the welfare and advancement of all interests of the Afrikaner
nation.
Because membership of the Afrikaner Broederbond entails great
responsbility, it is necessary that you carefully consider what will be
expected of you. Therefore, I call upon a number of experi-enced Broeders to
inform you about this. At this point a nttmber of branch members will, with
the aid of their torches, read the followiq passages:
FIRST BROEDER - It will be expected of you that you will live and work in
the firm belief that the Almighty God determines the destiny of nations;
and it will be expected of you that you will
cling to the Christian national viewpoint of the Afrikaner, as pre-scribed
by the Word of God and the traditions of the Afrikaner nation.
SECOND BROEDER - It will be expected of you that you will always remain true
to yourself and your conscience, but that you will also respect the right of
your fellow Broeders to be different;
that you will always remember that we are irrevocably bound to-gether in our
faith in the Afrikaner Broederbond, of one heart, one outlook, one struggle,
but not the same. FIRST BROEDER - It will be expected of you that you will
do all in your power to establish and promote a common purpose among all
motivated Afrikaners; to strengthen and develop the Afrikaner nation; and,
in particular, to promote its culture and ex-tend its role in the national
economy. SECOND BROEDER - It will be expected of you that you will
steadfastly fulfil your duties as a member and that you will faith-fully
attend the monthly branch meetings. FIRST BROEDER - It will be expected of
you that you will strive for the achievement of the Bond's ideals, not only
through co-op-eration in organised endcavours, but also through individual
ac-tion in your own work circle, family life and sphere of influence,
inspired and strengthened by your fellow Broeders and guided by the Bond's
principles and ideals; and that you will co-operate acti-vely and faithfully
with your fellow Broeders in a spirit of true common purpose and sincere
brotherhood. SECOND BROEDER - It will be expected of you that you will at
all times in your bchaviour uphold the honour, value and good name of the
Afrikaner Broederbond.
CHAIRMAN - Brotherhood demands of you work and rugged perseverance.
At times it demands conflict and unpleasantness. It not only demands
the combating of that which is evil, but more especially obedience to and
the practice of Christian principles. CHAIRMAN - reads the full name of the
recruit and says: Do you understand the purpose that we have in mind, and
the spirit that the Afrikaner Broederbond embodies? From your heart, do you
subscribe to the basis and objectives of our struggle as presented to you?
Are you now ready to accept the demands of membership and to undertake an
irrevocable union? RECRUIT - replies: Yes. CHAIRMAN - I ask you then, in the
presence of the Brocders here gathered who have been called as witnesses if,
in full aware-ness of the seriousness of your promise and the responsibility
you are taking upon yourself, you solemnly undertake: 1. faithfully and
sincerely to serve the Afrikaner nation through
the Afrikaner Brocderbond in all that it stands for;
2. never in your life to reveal to any outsider anything you learn about
the- Afrikaner Broederbond and its members, particularly the membership of a
fellow Broeder, even if your own mem-bership is ended, unless you have
received prior permission from the Executive Council of the Afrikaner
Broederbond;
3. never to reveal your own membership of the Afrikaner Broederbond,
without the permission of the Executive Council of the Afrikaner
Broederbond;
4. never to become a member of any secret or semi-secret organisation, or to
involve yourself by co-operation with any such organisation, without the
permission of the Executive Council of the Afrikaner Broederbond;
5. to subject yourself to the conditions of the constitution and standing
orders,to fulfil the duties that the Bond Executive may lay down according
to the standing orders, and to subject yourself readily to the brotherly
discipline that the Bond Executive may apply according to the standing
orders;
6. unconditionally to comply if the Executive Council, after consideration,
thinks fit to terminate your membership;
7. to subject yourself to immediate expulsion from the Broeders, if you in
any way break this undertaking.
Before you are asked to reply, you are now given a few moments
to reflect.
CHAIRMAN - reads the full name of the recruit and says: What is your reply?
RECRUIT - replies: Yes. CHAIRMAN - In the name of the Afrikaner Broederbond,
and in the presence of the other Broeders who stand here as witnesses of the
irrevocable union you have forged, I accept your promise of faith and
declare you a Broeder.
In the words of our motto, I wish you strength. Be strong in the practice of
your brotherhood. Be strong in faith if the struggle becomes onerous. Be
strong in your love of your nation. Be strong in the service of your nation.
With a hearty handshake I, and after that the other Broeders,
want to assure you that we accept you from now on as a fellow Broeder.
Hearty congratulations and welcome.
381
The induction ceremony ends as the lights are switched on and the new member
turns to be greeted one by one by his fellow-Broeders. All that remains is
for him to pay his admission fee of R40, and he will have crossed the
threshold into the ranks of the Super-Afrikaners.
1. Troup, Freda, South Ajiiica: An Historial Introduction, p. 237.
2. Since South Africa became a Republic in 1961 the Broederbond has worked
strenuously for the flag to be revised.
382
22 Secrecy
"Our strength lies in secrecy." This slogan (Circular 3/9/68) per-meates all
Broederbond documents. The need for secrecy is stressed in every document
and at all meetings. The outstanding single characteristic of the
Broederbond is, indeed, the tight disci-pline and secrecy it has been able
to enforce on members since the early 1920s. There have been leaks, but they
have been remarkably few considering there are now 12 000 members and the
organis-ation is 60 years old.
Broederbond operations are more secret than those of the Security
Police, or even the Department of National Security' whose activities can
sometimes be glimpsed in court, and whose tele-phone numbers are listed in
the directory. In the Broederbond everything is secret: membership, office
bearers, activities. It was not started as a secret organisation. In 1918
membership was open, but the young men who inaugurated it soon realised the
power of secrecy and changed the constitution accordingly three years later.
The justification was their belief that the Afrikaner on the
Witwatersrand was persecuted at that time. They claimed they would have been
hounded from pillar to post for belonging openly to a
pro-Afrikaans organisation. This argument fell away after 1948 when the
Nationalists came to power. It would have been absurd to suggest then that
Afrikaners were "hounded."
Breaking the oath of secrecy that members take on induction is the
supreme offence, as far as the Bond is concerned. It is regarded as treason
to fellow-members and the organisation. In the early years a gruesome
ceremony was performed to emphasize the gravity of the offence. Loose talk,
even between father and son or husband and wife, is strictly forbidden.
A good example of the obsession with secrecy emerges from Newsletter
3/76/77 which informed members of the Broederbond's move from the Christiaan
de Wet building to their new headquarters. "Our office is now in the new
building, Die Eike, 1 Cedar Avenue, Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Our
telephone
Die Eikc, the Brot~dcrbond hcadquartcrs in Auckland Park, Johannt~sburg.
number is 31-4161. (This was changed to 726-4345 on August 6
1977 when the new automatic exchange at Auckland Park came into operation.)
This must not be disclosed to non-members, and friends (members) are
requested to phone personally and not to give the number to their
secretaries.
"Although we can be reached through the switchboard of the FAK
(Fedevasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings) avoid doing this because the
switchboard operator there is not informed of our af-fairs.
"Our office is on the first floor, listed as Uniediensburo (Edms)
Bpk. Visiting friends (members) should take the stairs or lift to the first
floor and ask at the office for the official they want to see. In-quiries
should definitely not be made on the first floor occupied by the FAK and
Rapportryers. Although the male personnel of the FAK are friends (members)
the women there are not all married to members. Indiscreet inquiries,
therefore, can create embarrassment. Remember also that the second floor is
occupied by our youth organisations, Junior Rapportryers, Jeugraad and ASB
(Afrikaanse Studentebond). The ASB organiscr is not a member." The
newsletter warned that casual visitors, friends of Broederbond members or
other people might be in the building at any time and members must never
assume that anyone encountered in the building was a Broeder. A few months
later (July 1 1976) members were again reminded to inquire only at the
correct floor; some had made indiscreet inquiries on the ground or second
floor.
To complete these security arrangements the Broederbond em-ployed Mr
J J Schoeman, a retired member from Vereeniging, as
caretaker. He lives in a flat on the top of the building. All docu-ments are
locked away in strongrooms with massive doors. The Bond has scores of
postboxes and gives strict instructions for members writing to it.
These include. the use of bogus names of individuals or businesses. The
procedures are changed regularly.
In Circular 4/3/64 the Executive Council said: "Documents and
letters which are not of an extremely confidential nature we send by post.
Normally, officials will not sign them but the designation Chief Secretary
will be written or typed in place of a signature. Letters from branches or
individual members to head office must carry only the membership number of
the sender. Branch secretar-ies have the addresses to be used. The wording
on envelopes must be carefully checked before the letters are posted. A safe
method would be for members to give their letters to the branch secretary
for posting to head office.
"Where letters, circulars and other documents arc of a highly
confidential nature they will be delivered by hand to branches. This is
costly and cannot happen monthly, but at the outside quarterly. In this
connection we would like to use friends who are travelling from here to
other parts of the country, or friends re-turning after visiting the city.
It would be appreciated, therefore, if friends would ask the office when
they are in the city if there is any post to take with them. Friends are
requested to notify the office in advance of a visit."
Each branch secretary is issued with a letter book recording
ad-dresses and postal instructions. The standard forms are drawn up in
such a way that non-members getting hold of them would not know they were
Broederbond documents. Still no chances are taken and the utmost security is
prescribed for handling them.
"Letters and other documents which would reveal confidential in-formation if
seen by non-members must be put in a strong envel-ope and posted to Mr M
Kruger, Box 7714, Johanesburg (circular May 30 1973). Th'is instruction
applies to application forms (Form A), nomination forms (Form D), statement
at induction (Form G), application for transfer to Outside or Resting
membership (Form M), application for forming a new branch (Form J),
exemption from attendance (Form B).
"Form C (monthly report), Form L (acknowledgement of re-ceipt of
circulars), letters concerning routine matters, and other communications
must be sent to these addresses: Cape branches. Mr J Botha, Box 5634,
Johannesburg; Transvaal branches: Mr F P Retief, Box 4966,
Johannesburg: Natal and South West Africa branches: Mr F v Z Lubbe, Senior,
Box 8576, Johannesburg-Orange Free State branches: Mr A Strydom, Senior, Box
6732: Johannesburg.
"All letters, promissory notes, contributions and correspond-ence to
the Christiaan de Wet Fund must be sent by registered mail to Mr M Kruger,
Box 7714, Johannesburg. Please note: postal orders and cheques for branch
contributions must be made out to Uniespaarklub and sent to J Botha, Box
5634, Johannesburg. Please inform your treasurer of this.
"Names such as Uniespaarklub, C de Wet Fonds, Chief Secre-tary, must
not be written on the envelope. Always use strong cn-velopes of good
quality. Use two, one inside the other, if the con-tents are heavy, and use
registered mail when the contents warrant it. Make sure the correct post box
number is written on the envel-ope and that the envelope is properly sealed.
Use 'safe' wording in your letters. Our normal way of addressing each other
(Bvoer) must not be used, but rather 'friend'. Use membership numbers
instead of names. Addresses to be used on envelopes are supplied to
divisional secretaries and treasurers. These addresses must not be used when
writing to head office. The addresses in this circular should be used until
further notice. The names used sarily refer to officials handling these
matters."do not neces-
The Broederbond offices close for Christmas and the New Year. To
avoid security risks such as postboxes spilling over members are instructed
not to write to the office during tha;
period. Secretaries and treasurers who go on leave during Decem-ber must
arrange for the safekeeping of all Broederbond docu-ments (July 1 1977). Th
1cy must also tell head office where circulars should be sent in their
absence, to obviate the security risk of un-claimed letters. Secretaries who
move from their areas must give head office without delay the alternative
address for circulars
A secretary must keep careful control of all documents in. his
possession. He must complete a standard form (R) at regular inter-vals and
send it to head offrce to ensure that the Bond knows
exactly which documents each branch has. Every effort must be made to trace
missing documents. Circulars more than a year old must be burnt. But not
even the secretary is trusted on his own with this responsibility. Branch
committees must nominate some-body to go through the documents with the
secretary and burn the old ones (Circular 11/76/77). A list of documents
they have de-stroyed must be attached to Form R. "As a general rule all
cncu-lars and membership nomination lists more than a year old, agen-das and
minutes of annual meetings more than two years old, all
letters, forms etc, which have served their purpose, and study documents
which are no longer read, can be destroyed. Docu-ments listed on Form R must
be kept. A report on this must reach the office before March 15."
The documents to be retained by branches listed on Form R are
numbered. Should any of them be leaked to outsiders, the offend-ing branch
can easily be identified. As a more frequent check head
office, out of the blue, can demand particular documents from a branch.
Branches which do not respond to these demands are pun-ished: the monthly
newsletter is withheld. Obviously the secretary then comes under pressure
from members to do his work prop-
erly. In a number of cases head office has instructed a branch to change a
secretary who has come under suspicion or has not safe-guarded documents
diligently enough.
Calling in copies of documents which have fallen into the hands of
newspapermen and have been published, Broeder members of the Department of
National Security and the Security Police can look for identification marks
and identify the branch where the leak occurred. Sometimes head office stops
leaks by changing the addressees. Circular l/3/68:"In a previous circular it
was men-tioned that circulars would be sent to different members of your
committee, and you were asked to supply safe addresses for all committee
members. We intend to send the April circular to div-isional chairmen. Your
secretary must therefore advise US immedi-ately if the address of your
chairman has changed. If he will not be at home during the first week in
April, let us know an address to use." The Broederbond will stop at nothing
to trace leaks. The whole future of the organisation is tied up with its
secrecy. If that is broken, it will lose its effectiveness: its members will
be exposed to the harsh light of day. They know it, so they regard exposure
as the biggest threat to their existence.On occasion they have called in
members who are Department of National Security or Security
Police agents to help stop leaks.One trick is to make deliberate
mistakes in a group of circulars sent only to certain branches. Should these
appear in a newspaper the number of suspect branches is narrowed down. From
there they can eliminate even further by calling back documents and looking
for identification marks. In one circular (5/74/75) memb-ers are warned
against using thin envelopes, the contents of which can be read without
opening them. "We ourselves wrap docu-ments in a blank sheet of paper if we
use a lightweight envelope," the circular added.
"Do not assume naively that every Afrikaner in a leading pos-ition
is a member - especially if they claim to have attended the in-augural
meeting. Check by phoning the office (Circular 9/72/73).
"Telephone inquiries must be limited to the absolute minimum. The
caller must identify himself with his membership number and date of birth.
Only our own telephone number must be used for
this, and not that of FAK."
The October 1977 circular said: "Your attention is drawn to the fact
that Professor Dawid de Villiers of Stellenbosch (also known as Heilige
Dawid) is not a member. It appears he is accepted as
one, and has already been given information about our organis-ation and the
Ruiterwag."
Most secret of all are Bondsraad meetings. The meeting place is
usually kept a secret until the last possible moment. The lengths to which
they go is clearly illustrated in another circular. Notice that the date of
the meeting is not given in this circular, but was dis-closed in a previous
one. If this circular falls into the hands of non-members they would not
know it was a Broederbond document, or where and when the meeting was to
take place.
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
To all branch secretaries
Dear Friend,
September 15, 1964
The date of the annual meeting was given in paragraph 10 of
Circular 5164165 of August 3 1964. You are requested to inform your delegate
immediately to report between 6.45 and 7.00 on the morning of the first day,
that is the Tuesday at the entrance to Kempton Park station.
There he will meet a Mr Lombard who will be wearing a white flower
in his buttonhole.
If your delegate arrives late because of unforeseen
circumstances, he must phone the Johannesburg telephone number given in the
extraordinary circular ofJune 17. He must use aptlbficphone and ask to speak
to Jan, giving his membership number and date of birth. Arrangements will be
made to take him to the meeting place.
The to him usual letter of identification from his branch must be
given ~~~ . The letter must be shown to Mr Lombard when the delegate is
asked for it. It must, however, be handed over only when the delegate
reaches the meeting place.
Nobody will be allowed to attend without a letter of
identifica-tion.
Warn your delegate to be careful where and with whom he dis-cusses
his visit. He must be especially careful at the place where he stays. As few
people as possible must know of his visit.
The delegate must please bring a coat in case it gets cold or starts
to rain.
Yours faithfully,
Chief Secretary.
Delegates to regional or annual meetings are strongly discour-aged
from staying in hotels, or even with friends or relatives who are
non-members, because it would increase the security risk. The office has a
list of members prepared to accommodate Broeders during meetings. Broeders
are told not to discuss the meeting with anyone when they apply for leave
from work and tell their fam-ilies they are going away. The venues of annual
meetings have, on occasion, been changed to ensure strict security.
Broeders are encouraged to offer lifts to fellow members to re-duce
the number of cars parked outside the meeting place. They are not to park
all their cars in one place, but scatter them around the suburb to avoid
attracting attention (Circular 9/72/73). Meet-ing places are guarded by
members. No delegate can get mto a meeting without a letter of
identification signed by his branch chairman and secretary. The guards also
patrol the grounds to pre-vent eavesdropping.
Branches with lax security measures get a reprimand from head
office: "It still appears that there is insufficient control at meetings,
especially at meetings of two branches or more. Recently a non-member walked
into a meeting while it was in progress, because there was no guard at the
door. Branches must keep the tightest control at the entrance to a meeting.
It is essential that an identity document such as an identity card, book of
life or passport be pro-duced with the usual letter of identification to
gain entry to a meeting."
The Executive Council recently forbade the employment of black or
coloured staff at gatherings, especially at hais. "Some-times they are
within hearing distance of the meeting place,"
a cir-cular warned.2 It ordered members to report breaches of this
rule
"so that action can bc considered."
The size of the meeting may also constitute a security risk. "Where
more than 350 members are expected, the Executive Council's prior permission
must be obtained. The measures taken to ensure the meeting's secrecy and
safety must be reported to the Executive" (Circular 5/75/76).
Members are warned against introducing their wives to other members.
They are encclJraged to hold branch meetings in houses where the wife,
children and other relatives are away for the even-
ing. They must serve refreshments themselves and not use serv-ants and other
non-members for that purpose. Circular 2/3/66: "As requested by a number of
branches, we point out once again that the introduction of wives to friends
(members) at branch meetings and gatherings is not in accordance with our
strict re-quirements of secrecy and creates embarrassment for many friends
(members)."
Members are discouraged from eating together in a public place after
a meeting "because it can place our secrecy in jeopardy" (Cir-cular
10/70/71). Branches are told to keep only brief minutes of meetings and to
use membership numbers instead of names (Cir-cular 4/63/64).
Some documents are regarded as so important that ordinary
members arc not allowed to keep them. The chairman's report of the 1972
annual meeting is one of them, "to be discussed at meet-ings from time to
time. Otherwise it must not leave the possession of the secretary. All
documents taken from the secretary by members must be carefully recorded to
ensure that they are re-turned in time. The Executive Council urgently
requests branches to see that documents concerning the annual meetings (or
any other confidential documents of our organisation) do not fall into the
wrong hands."
In Circular 6/71/72 members on their way to the annual meet-ing are
warned not to assume that fellow-travellers are also del-egates. "Be
prepared to give an acceptable reason in case you are questioned about your
trip. Although an air trip is very con-venient, a sudden increase in air
bookings might lead to questions. If you can travel in some other way, by
all means do so."
Until 1964 gatherings of Broederbond members on holiday were
acceptable to the Executive, but the serious leaks in the early 1960s
changed its attitude. Circular 2/9/64: "The Executive Coun-cil has decided
that holiday gatherings must be stopped. This de-cision has been taken on
the insistence of friends (members) all over the country. It has been
pointed out that these gatherings un-justifiably jeopardised our
confidentiality."
Broeders are, of course, forbidden membership of other secret or
semi-secret organisations. They are also barred from "intenational"
organisations like Lions International, Rotary, Round Table and Jaycees. The
ban does of course not apply to Rapportry- ers, Junior Rapportryers,
Vryburgers and Ruiterwag (Circular 2/10/70).
Even members' dress has been discussed as a potential security risk.
Broeders are required to attend meetings in dark suits, but some of them
pointed out that this might arouse suspicion, for in-stance at a farm on a
Saturday afternoon. The Executive solemnly considered this and announced at
the annual meeting in 1970: "In certain areas in the country where safari
suits are normally worn, it attacts a lot of attention if members go to
meetings in dark suits. The dignity of the occasion must, however, always be
recognised. A safari suit with long trousers will, in certain circumstances,
be
acceptable. Shorts, colourful sportswear, multi-coloured shirts, etc, are
not acceptable."
Broederbond officials employed at head office face "a difficulty in
explaining where they work, without jeopardising the secrecy of the
organisation." For this reason they are normally associated
with the public, cultural arm of the Bond, the FAK, which has offices in the
same building.
Dr Piet Koornhofs position was thus explained in Circular l/8/62:
"The Executive Council has pleasure in announcing that friend Dr Piet
Koornhof, previously deputy secretary of the National Party in the
Transvaal, has been appointed chief secretary of our organisation. To the
outside he will be known as Director of Cultural Guidance of the FAK . . .
The Executive has been for-tunate in making an arrangement with the FAK
whereby his ap-pointment is associated with a public position. Although
friends (members) can reach him by phoning our normal number or that of the
FAK, they are requested to dial 344064 instead. This num-ber does not appear
in the telephone directory."
The double game the Broederbond plays with the FAK is clearly
illustrated by the scores of warnings in circulars that members must not
phone the FAK concerning Bond matters be-cause some FAK officials are not
Broeders. This strange attitude towards an organisation which the
Broederbond founded as its own public "cultural arm", and housed in the
same building, rc-
fleets their concern with secrecy. Over the years the Brocderbond has
actually warned members against FAK officials, though they are ostensibly
working for the same "Afrikaner cause." FAK offi-cials learning of this must
have been astounded by the lack of "brotherly love." Some of the
officials mentioned in warnings be-cause they were not members were Mr J G
du Plessis, F J Preto-
rius, H S van der Walt, J Taljaard, C Young, 0 S Smit, W McDonald and L
Lemmer.
All in all the Broederbond organisation is a masterpiece of
secretiveness. The Executive Council and head office are continuously aware
of documents held by branches because they must report them monthly after
their meetings. Branches must also report to head office every month on who
attended the meetings. Not only does this strengthen the organisation by
virtually compelling members to attend meetings, it also serves a security
purpose. The organisation quickly spots people losing interest or becoming
"cool" towards the Bond. These people are an obvious security risk. Branches
arc told to find out the reason for an individual's loss of interest. If it
cannot be traced to something acceptable such as illness in the family or a
problem at work, the member is taken to task. If he still fails to respond,
all documents are taken from him, he is required to promise not to break the
oath of secrecy, and he is expelled.
There are also strict instructions against making disclosures to
prospective members before they have been accepted. The fact that a
candidate's name has been circulated does not mean that he will become a
member, and Broeders are warned not to speak to him about it in any
circumstances. The present Broederbond chairman, Professor Gerrit Viljoen,
has condemned the "reckless-ness" of Broeders who congratulated him in
"mixed" company after his election in 1974. In Circular l/11/74 Professor
Viljoen deplores this "loose-lipped attitude" and calls on all branches to
pay
renewed attention to it.
Even funerals of Broeders or their wives have security implications
for the Bond. In 1964 (Circular 3/11/64) the wife of the chairman of a
Witwatersrand branch died. Members of the branch wanted to sprinkle soil
ceremoniously on her coffin. The initial re-action from the Executive was
positive, especially as it would eli-minate blacks from "this intimate
function." However, other members were quick to point out the security risk
of members thus identifying themselves as Broeders. A month later, in
December 1964, the Executive warned against this practice and in the
circular of l/5/69 they condemned it for security reasons.
One of the biggest security problems the Broederbond has faced since
its membership increased dramatically in the 1960s con-cerned the venue for
annual general meetings and those of the Bon&mad. As each branch is entitled
to send a delegate, they would total more than 700. The dilemma is described
in an ex-traordinary circular of June 12 1973. "As you know, the annual
meeting of 1972 decided on a meeting every two years to which branches could
each send one delegate. On this occasion the Executive Council is elected.
We already have 711 branches in-creasing by at least 25 annually. This
implies that we could expect more than 700 delegates at the next annual
meeting.
"In the past few years we have been able to meet in suitable barns
on selected farms. On the only occasion we have deviated from this since
1963 - in 1970 - we experienced many problems. It was then found that a
public hall should not be used for an annual meeting because it is not as
secure as a farm. (The Press discovered the venue.) The Executive does not
know of a member's farm where more than 700 people could meet. (The place
where we met in 1972 is no longer available.) There are other places at our
disposal, but they cannot accomodate enough people.
"Furthermore, it must be recognised that when we have a major annual
meeting our members cannot be confident of anonymity in hotels. For
secrecy's sake delegates must stay with members, as has happened in the past
few years. This means that annual meet-ings can take place only in the
Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereen-iging area, or in Cape Town and the
surrounding area, where there are enough members to provide accomodation.
"After careful consideration of all these matters, the Executive
Council has reached the conclusion that we must establish ourown meeting
place. We have started, therefore, to acquire a venue in the
Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vcreeniging area. When necessary, and if a suitable
venue becomes available in the Cape Town area, the Executive will consider
it.
"The Executive is aware that in time the venue or venues may become
known as our property and has decided, therefore, that they must be used
intensively by such organisations as the Voor-trekkers, church youth
organisations, ASB, Junior Rapportryers, Nasionale Jeugraad, FAK and
Volkspelebeweging, for youth meetings, youth leader courses etc. When a
venue is used intensively for other purposes, our own meetings will draw
less attention and it will be providing a service to the community.
"The necessary security arrangements will be made. Apart from a barn
or hall seating 1 000 to 2 000 people, additional facilities must be
supplied such as accomodation for about 60 people, a kit-
chen, toilets, tables and chairs, a caretaker's house and camping area. A
committee including an architect and a consulting engineer has already been
formed to advise the Executive. We expect to provide a meeting place which
will do our organisation proud without wasting money on luxuries."
The chairman concludes by saying that the project or projects will
be financed by the Christiaan de Wet Fund, and makes an ap-peal for
contributions. The Broederbond meeting place near Har-tebeespoort Dam was
completed in about two years, almost exactly as planned. Full details are
given in a special circular which says the farm will be managed by the
Jeugraad of the FAK.
"The Hartbees-Jeugterrein of about 100 hectares is west of
Hartebecspoort Dam in a natural, wooded area. It is 2km from the Skeerpoort
Post Office next to the tarred road to Brits, and about 75km from
Johannesburg Railway Station on the exit route from Hans Strijdom Drive
through Randburg. From Church Square in Pretoria it is 50km if you take
Church Street West exit. Do not turn off before you reach the T-junction at
Skeerpoort. The meet-ing place is half a kilometre from the T-junction on
the right.
"Apart from a big hall and kitchen there are two ablution blocks,
one with separate bath and showers for men and women. There are three huts
housing 15 people each and three huts which could take six people each.
(Therefore 63 men and 63 women: total 126.) Th bathroomere is also a
two-roomed leader's hut with its own and three beds in each room.
There is kitchen equipment the use of which must be arranged in advance.
Address inquiries to the Camp Manager, Box 6772, (~~1. 724'3054)
Johannesburg 2000, or Box 99 (Tel. 29) Skeerpoort 0232.11 In a later
circular (3/5/76) notice is given that Broeder I-Is W-
tingh, the manager/caretaker of the farm, has a new nun&e'dur-
The Brocderbond rationalises, of course, that it must be secret to
be able to serve Afrikanerdom: "A stigma attaches to members whose
identities are revealed. This makes it impossible for them to function
properly" (Circular 3/9/68).
The fact that every action of the Bond is cloaked in secrecy
cn-ables it to scheme safely behind closed doors without fearing that
non-members will discover how it influences policy and pushes its members
into influential positions. The obsessive secrecy is illus-trated by the
instruction that Bond affairs must not be discussed between husband and wife
or father and son - even if the son be-longs to the Ruiterwag, the junior
Broederbond. The organis-ations have the same fundamental aims, but where a
father belongs to the Broederbond and his son to the Ruiterwag they must not
discuss this.3 "Open discussion of the two organisations' activities
(between father and son) is strongly condemned and must not be allowed in
any circumstances. It is a violation of confidentiality which the Executive
Council will view in a serious light."
This kind of discipline has helped to make the Broederbond the most
powerful underground organisation in the Western world. Members in powerful
positions can deal with its enemies anony-mously in scores of ways. Their
secrecy is, indeed, their strength.
1. Formerly the Bureau For State Security.
2. Circular of May 3 lY76. 3. August 1 lY77.
396
23Discipline and Watchdog Committees
Major factors in the effectiveness and success of the Broederbond are the
strict discipline and code of conduct imposed on its members. The Executive
Council exercises its authority with the bossy efficiency of a school
principal and, through its terrier-like "head prefect" the chief secretary
keeps the organisation running smoothly. The monthly circular letters are
full of goadings and proddings to keep this discipline at peak performance.
This is a typical example:
"The Executive Council is determined to do all in its power to
sharpen up the internal discipline of our organisation and has therefore
decided to introduce the following arrangements, among others. When branches
do not respond to requests and papers (skrywes), the circular letter and
other documents can be withheld, the expansion of membership suspended by
cancelling the annual quota of new members and deferring nominations, and in
certain cases the branch chairman and/or secretary can be sum-moned to meet
the Executive Council's committee for branch and membership matters. In
exceptional cases it can even be decided to abolish a branch.
"It happens, unfortunately, that branches sometimes neglect to
respond to inquiries from the Executive Council, with a conse-quent hold-up
in the handling of nominations and other matters. The Executive Council
would appreciate it if branch executives would pay particular attention to
this" (Circular 5/76/77 of July 1 1976).
A constant source of displeasure to the Executive Council is the
tardy payment of financial dues, and branches are forever being rapped for
not being up to date. The maintenance of strict secrecy and the proper
guardianship of the organisation's confidential documents are also regularly
emphasised in the monthly letters. Regular attendance at meetings is another
matter of constant con-cern to the Executive Council. Even if there are good
reasons, branch executives are instructed to "approach friends whose at-his
double-agent role must instruct the branch to halt the recruit-ment process.
This practice of dual membership again exposes the flaw in the Broederbond's
declaration about the Ruiterwag. In
fact, the document goes on to say that while dual memberships ought to be
limited they are sometimes necessary.
Certainly a Ruiter who becomes a Broeder must not resign his junior
membership too suddenly, "as this raises too many ques-tions among
his Ruiter colleagues and also unnecessary doubts about his integrity."4
The move across from membership of the Ruiterwag to mem-bership of
the Broederbond is done with typical caution and stealth. When a Ruiter
reaches 33 he must resign. As this age ap-
proaches, years earlier in some cases, the path to the Broedcrbond is
prepared. Discreetly the Chief Guard who serves on the branch Executive of
the Broedcrbond can start directing their attention to-wards a promising
prospect. But only when the branch has made a formal proposal can the Chief
Guard reveal that the prospective member is a Ruiter. This is attractive to
the branch, because he does not count in their regular annual quota of two
new members.
1. Vatcher, W H, while Laapr, pp 285-287.
2. Jong Suid-Afrika (Young South Africa) was the original name of the Broe-
dcrbond.
3. Broedcrbond document, The Ruitcrwag.
4. Ibid.
438
27 Conclusion
On October 3 1978, early in the morning, the quiet main road be- tween
Hartebeespoort Dam and Brits, north of Johannesburg, began to carry an
unusually heavy amount of traffic. Cars bearing registration numbers from
all parts of South Africa streamed along the road. In each car, dressed in
dark suits, were two, three, sometimes four or five men. Some wore hats,
some were bare-
headed. The cars were mostly expensive models. Mercedes Benz and BMW were
particularly favoured makes. As the time moved on toward 8.00 a.m., the
unseasonal traffic began to reach a peak. Local inhabitants, taking their
children to school, or heading off towards their rural occupations, stared
in amazement at the unac-customed sight.
The stream of cars moved from all directions to a focal point, where
they swung off the tarred road, passed between two stout gates set into a
heavy-security fence, and were swallowed up in the dense bush on the other
side. An onlooker, peering intently be-yond the gates, might have perceived
through the dust of the as-sembling cars, a checkpoint manned by two
men. Each car stopped at the checkpoint, while its occupants allowed some
sort of document to be scrutinised, before receiving the satisfied nod of
one of the guards to send it on its way once more. The onlooker would see no
more as the cars disappeared one by one over the brow of a hill a short way
beyond the entrance.
By 8.30, the stream had dried to a trickle as a few late-comers
dribbled into the gates. Before 9.00 a.m., the most regular user of the
rural road would have not the slightest inkling that nearly 1 000 sombrely
dressed men were gathered unseen in their midst.
Meanwhile, a little later in the same day, across at the Union
Buildings in Pretoria 50 km away, a new South African Prime Minister
presided over his first Cabinet meeting. There, too, cars arrived and
disgorged their occupants who, clutching their brief- cases, mounted the
wide concrete steps and disappeared through the portals of power.
439
. --
The two apparently unconnected events had important common factors.
The new Prime Minister, Mr P W Botha, presiding over his Cabinet colleagues,
is a member of the organisation that had mysteriously gathered 50 km away,
as are most of the men who sat around the table with him that morning. The
organisation is, of course, the Broederbond.
Both meetings, in different ways, were manifestations of
Afrikaner power. With only one exception, the Cabinet consists of Afrikaners
welding power granted them by the white South Afri-can electorate. With no
exceptions, the Broederbond meeting was a gathering of Afrikaners. The power
of the two organisations as-sembling that morning is mutually dependent. Mr
Botha must be acutely aware that, even if he chooses to maintain a more
distant relationship with the Broederbond than have his pedecessors, he
cannot afford to alienate himself from it. To do so would be to an-tagonise
an organisation of influential individuals that could easily concert a
nationwide backlash of well-placed Afrikaners, whose Broeder loyalties and
discipline would transcend any loyalty to one renegade. Likewise, the
Broederbond is aware that, for the continued achievement of its aims, a
sympathetic Prime Minister and Cabinet is important. If the Broeder-Cabinet
relationship con-tinues on traditional lines, the two will slot comfortably
side-by-side into an intimate liaison, exerting an horizontal influence on
each other, each mutually aware of the strength and importance of the other
and respectfully aware of their shared constraints.
By the end of that day, however, one of the partners in that
re-lationship had been jarred by an intrusion into its carefully pro-tected
secrecy. The sombrely-dressed Broeders arriving at the organisation's
bushveld shrine, a 100 hectare meeting place, domi-nated by a huge hall
built like a modern Dutch Reformed Church, were shocked to be confronted at
the gates by two parked cars containing a team of Sunday Times journalists,
gathered there as a result of information in the authors' possession. As
each car en-tered the gates, its registration number was recorded. In turn,
the newspapermen's car registration numbers were taken. They were also
placed under surveillance by uniformed army personnel man-ning a military
radio from a civilian mini-bus. One of the Sunday Times cars was followed
most of the way back to Johannesburg.
Later in the day, the authors and a photographer flew over the
secret venue in a helicopter. On their first circuit of the meeting place, a
handful of Broeders emerged from the church-like hall and peered upwards.
When the helicopter came round again, they had returned to their meeting.
The unwelcome attention evoked an unusual response. That night the
Broederbond issued a statement to the Press,' announc-ing that it had met.
The theme of the meeting had been The Battle Preparedness ofthe Afviknnev.
Papers were delivered on the follow-ing subjects:
The total onslaught against South Africa in the international field; The
struggle for the spirit of the Afrikaner; Activation of the youth; The
quality of the Afrikaner's cultural contribution in this battle.
Among other things, it was decided to publish a
scientific-his-torical study of the first 50 years of the Broederbond
(1918-1968). The study had been written by Professor A N Pelzer of the
Uni-versity of Pretoria.
To the general Press, unaware that the Sunday Times had been
monitoring the meeting, it was an unexpected windfall to receive a statement
from the Broederbond. One newspaper had posters up all over Johannesburg,
proclaiming that the Broeders had come into the open. They did not realise
then that they were playing a role in a clever tactical move by the
Broederbond to take the wind out of the sails of the Sunday expose they knew
was coming. The following afternoon, The Stur carried a report saying the
"highly secretive Afrikaner Broederbond has taken the first step to bring
its activities more into the open." It quoted the Broederbond chairman,
Professor Gcrrit Viljoen, as saying it would be a "rea-sonable assumption"
that the organisation was moving more into the open. But he immediately cast
shadows of doubt on that as-sumption when he said although there were
various reasons for this new openness he did not wish to discuss them.
The announcement that the organisation would publish its own book
was another tactical move - to counter this book, the pend-ing publication
of which had been reported in two Afrikaans newspapers at that time. The
tactic adopted showed an unusual, but not entirely new, approach by the
organisation to breaches of its secrecy. But Professor Viljoen's refusal to
discuss the very fac-tors which led to this supposed candour reveals the
extent of the reformation. All the Broederbond really announced in that
state-ment was what it knew three million Sttnduy Times readers were going
to be told five days later. It is the authors' opinion that when the heat of
this expose, and the publicity that will accompany it has cooled, the
Broederbond will pursue its path of secrecy as en-ergetically as before.
That is certainly the pattern of the past.
It has been its custom to respond to exposure to scrutiny by
ig-noring it completely in the correct belief that, eventually, the
publicity, operating by its design into a vacuum, will fizzle out. Past
practice has been to quietly ride out the storm, while it effects an
internal repair job. This has entailed setting itself new targets, like an
immediate increase in membership to prove to its members that Afrikaners
were not antagonistic to the organisation, and would jump at the opportunity
of accepting an invitation to join.
This was aimed at morale boosting inside the organisation and will
probably be done again. Organisationally, new improved methods of secrecy
were invariably introduced, such as delivery of correspondence by hand for
some time after the exposures. Activi-tics were accelerated to keep members'
attention fully occupied.
Thus, after the 1963 expos, the Executive set a target of Rl-million for the
Christiaan de Wet Fund by 1968. This was achieved and served the useful
purpose of diverting attention from public criticism of the organisation's
workings.
"Treason" committed by members in giving away secrets, is felt
deeply in the Broederbond. One gets the impression that, after the initial
outburst of anger, an atmosphere of almost religious mourning descends on
the members. It is like a death in the famly. One of the Broeders - one of
the hand-picked Super-Afrikan-ers -has betrayed them. The unthinkable has
happened, in spite of all the stringent secrecy measures and oaths before
each other and God. Far from trying to understand why a Broeder would do
such
an "ungodly" thing, they dismiss him as a "traitor", to be ban-ished to an
Afrikaner Limbo. To them, the organisation cannot be wrong, because it is a
gift from God. It is during this time that the
organisation's inner strength and the belief in its calling, carried the
members through the crisis.
At the first subsequent Bondsraad meeting, delegates from all over
the country might take part in a symbolic exercise to reaffirm their loyalty
to each other in the face of the "treason." Around a campfire under the
starlit bushveld sky, they might revive an old Afrikaner tradition by piling
rocks one on top of the other into a rugged cairn. In this emotion-laden
gesture, Broeders have, in the past, cemented a new bond of determination
and spiritual strength. After singing the Bondslied and the National Anthem,
they go their separate ways,renewed, leaving behind their primitive, crude
monument.
Another tactic the organisation has employed to patch up cracks in
its defences, is to make members swear a new oath of allegiance,
reconfirming their absolute loyalty to the principles of the organ-
isation. They have done this twice in the past, and on both oc-casions only
relatively few members declined, thus cutting them-selves adrift from the
Broederbond ranks. The oath thus serves a dual purpose: it strengthens the
resolve of the members who elect to take it and, at the same time, calls
those who may have been harbouring doubts for years, but who never had an
opportunity to retire gracefully.
Whatever the tactics used on each respective occasion of crisis, the
one immutable factor has remained the organisation's will to sustain
itselfin secrecy. Many Afrikaners will concede that against the historical
background outlined in this book there probably was a need for an
organisation like the Broederbond in the twenties. But today, they argue,
the Afrikaner has political control, he can protect his language and is
making vast economic progress. There is no doubt that the vast majority of
Afrikaners would like the Broederbond to become an open cultural
organisation. In a scien-tific study of attitudes of whites in the
upper-income bracket, only 26 per cent of National Party supporters rated
the Broederbond as "advantageous" to society, 15 per cent regarded it as
"detrimental", 19 per cent noted a "mixed" reaction and 37 per cent
declined to answer the qucstion.2
The question whether the Broederbond should drop its secrecy has
been mentioned from time to time in the organisation, but never very
seriously. The former chairman, Dr Piet Meyer, once speculated on the
possibility that the Broederbond could "take the Afrikaner into its
confidence" to tell them what it has achieved -and to ask them for help to
raise the Christiaan de Wet Fund to RlO-million. Nothing has ever come of
this. One of the founders, Mr Henning Klopper, expressed the horror of the
Broederbond leaders even at the thought of opening the organisation.
At the 1968 Bondsraad meeting, he said: "Earlier today, there was
reference to the question asked by many: has the Broederbond not reached its
aim with the attainment of the Republic? Has the time not, perhaps, arrived,
that we can disband or retire, to let things develop naturally? If that is
so, Broeders, we must ask ourselves: Who will give us the Government of the
country? Who will give us the future Prime Ministers? Who must form them?
Where must they come from? Where will we find them. . . Dare somebody still
ask the question: has the Afrikaner-Broederbond not served its purpose? He
dare not ask such a question! No Broeder dare ask such a question! Remove
the Afrikaner-Broeder from the life of Afrikanerdom, and what remains.. And
who is the Republic? It is the Afrikaner-Broederbond's Broeders."
In 1972 calls were made by the Afrikaans newspapers, Die I/a-
derland and Ru~~port, for the Broederbond to drop its secrecy. Both calls
were very tentative, published once, and never pursued with any vigour. In
the same year, the veteran political commentator, Schalk Pienaar's
membership was revealed. Mr Pienaar wrote that this had caused him acute
embarrassment. He posed the question whether the Broederbond, because of an
over-emphasis on secrecy, is not itself to blame for the fact that so much
scandal is cir-culated about it.
"The point is that in the general Afrikaner life, there is a weighty
question mark hanging over the Bond. The right or wrong of the question mark
can be discussed, but the fact of the question mark cannot be reasoned
away." Pienaar said the belief existed that members of the Bond possessed
powers and privileges in which Afrikaners of equally high rank did not
share. Together with this belief was the idea that the Bond was in a
position to dic-tate Government policy and action in the life of the
Afrikaner.3
But the Broederbond never took serious note over the concern about its
secrecy - because secrecy is its greatest weapon, as it ad-mits itself. As
recently as 1976, Professor Gerrit Viljoen said in his
chairman's address: "We can state unambiguously that South Africa and the
Afrikaner never needed the Afrikaner Broederbond more than today."
It is clear, therefore, that it is wishful thinking to expect the
Broederbond to change its role and drop its secrecy. It has been ef-fective
because it operated in secrecy, and its members were pro-tected by it. Very
little of what they had done, as described in this book could have been
achieved if their members had operated openly. The Broederbond's stock reply
is: What about the Free-
masons, or the Sons of England? This book concerns the Broeder-
bond, and is based on factual material. Perhaps such factual ma-terial about
the Freemasons and the Sons of England could form the basis of studies by
other writers in future.
Two myths about the Broederbond have now been exposed. Firstly, the
claim that it is a purely cultural organisation. Why the obsession with
secrecy if it is an innocent cultural organisation, and why can every
Afrikaner who means well with his language and culture not become a member?
One is amazed, in fact, in studying the documents on how little time the
Broeders spend on purely cultural affairs. Almost none of today's
important Afrikaans authors - the bearers of the language and culture -
be-long to the organisation. It was for the express purpose of looking after
the Afrikaner's cultural interests that the FAK was formed by the
Broederbond. This left them free to give attention to almost every other
aspect of South African life, and to put the Broeder-bond stamp firmly on
the Republic they created.
Secondly, that the Broederbond is not involved in politics. The
influence of the Broederbond and its interference in politics is proved
beyond doubt in this book. The evidence was supplied by the Broederbond
itself - in its own secret documents. There is also a naive belief in some
circles that the Broederbond has lost its influence. We could find no
evidence of this. On the contrary, the Broederbond appears as strong and
influential as ever. A new Nationalist Prime Minister and State President
have just been elected. No Nationalist can become Prime Minister if he is
not a Broeder - neither can he rule the country effectively without the
organisation's support.
There is no doubt that the Broederbond could, theoretically at least, be an
influential verligte force, working for change in the country. It has the
brainpower in its ranks and through its think-tanks and unique organisation
in the remotest corners of the country, the way to influence public opinion.
The present chair-
man, Professor Viljoen, is also more pragmatic than his predeces- sors. The
problem lies in the history and make-up of the Broeder- bond. Since its
formation, the Broederbond developed an obses-sion with Afrikanerdom, that
it must be protected, promoted and that it must rule. Shortly after that, a
new obsession - separation of the races - came to the fore. On these two
pillars, the Bond moulded itself and recruited members around it. The
importance of education and religion in moulding the minds of the people
necessitated heavy recruitment in these areas. The result is that the
preponderance of members come from the most conservative ele-ments of
Afrikaner society - teachers, ministers of religion, and farmers.
They cannot, and have no wish to, make any significant changes.
Every prerequisite for "change" in Broederbond docu-ments is that it must
take place within the framework of separate
development. There is not a single exception to be found any- where. The
verligtes, like Professor Viljoen and others, are captives of a situation.
The whole organisation and its membership was built on verkrurrzpte pillars,
and there is very little room in which to manoeuvre. This book is full of
evidence ofjust how verkrurnp the Broederbond is, and the time test for
Professor Viljoen's verligtheid would be for him to state in public with
just how many of these Broederbond pronouncements he disagrees.
A reader of the Rand Daily Mail wrote: "&uprise Vevligte I find it
surprising that Professor Gerrit Viljoen, Rector of Rand Afrikaans
University, is cast in a verligte mould by the RDM.4 Here is a man with a
Broederbond background owing his position to Broederbond backing and
dedicated to maintaining permanent division in the ranks of South Africans
through separate insti-tutions from cradle to grave.
"This man regards it as a great mistake to impose on blacks a policy
worked out by whites alone, yet goes on to assure us there can be no power
sharing and that Afrikaners will insist on separate schools (for themselves)
and separate residential areas (for all whites).
"His million-dollar question: 'How do Afrikaners maintain their
identity if they lose power?' has an obvious answer - by making themselves
loved instead of disliked by others, and by ac-cepting others as equal South
Africans. Both of these concepts, however, are foreign to the Broederbond."
The future of South Africa is inevitably tied up between Afrikaner
nationalism and black nationalism. In Afrikaner nationalism, the Broederbond
plays the dominant role - a role In-katha is progressively filling in black
nationalism. Inkatha was formed in 1928, ten years after the Broederbond;
both claim they are cultural organisations. While Inkatha was dormant
for years, and was only revived in recent times by Chief Gatsha Buthelezi,
the Broederbond worked day and night to take control of the country. The
difference now is that Inkatha has to work in the open and will probably be
banned if it becomes a secret organis- ation. Like the Broederbond, Inkatha
is heavily involved in poli-tics and in the end the crucial question for
South Africa may well be whether these two organisations can reach political
accommo-dation which would satisfy both sides. It seems an unlikely
prospect.
In fact. anv kind of political accommodation seems an unlikely prospect
while the Broederbond continues to play such an influ-ential role in the
affairs of South Africa. Nationalist politicians are fond of repeating,
correctly, from public platforms that South Africa is a plural society, a
society of various cultures and races. They earnestly tell their public
audiences, correctly, that any sol-ution to South Africa's complex problems
must take account of this political reality. Yet how much confidence can one
place in the sincerity of their proclaimed desire to find an equitable
accommo-dation for all the elements of the population, when one knows that
they are secretly pledged to serve the exclusive interests of Afrikanerdom?
How much faith can there be in their public utter-ances of conciliation,
when one knows, or suspects, that in secret conclave the real commitment
remains Afrikaner domination? It seems inevitable that while the Broederbond
lurks beneath the political surface in South Africa, any moves towards
dialogue will be fraught with suspicion and mistrust.
Doubts are placed on much-vaunted exercises like the recent meetings
between Professor Viljoen and Dr Nthato Motlana, the prominent Sowetan
political figure. Rightly or wrongly, there will be unavoidable doubts about
the real significance of such talks. On the one hand, the man with whom they
are dealing is recognised as a leading Afrikaner academic, described as a
verligte.
On the other hand, they know they are dealing with a man who heads a secret
organisation, which firmly subscribes to, and was at least partly
responsible for, the policy of apartheid which they equally firmly reject.
Rightly or wrongly, doubts can hardly be expected to be dispelled when,
shortly after such talks at the Rand Afrikaans University, Dr Motlana was
banned from addressing a meeting at the University of the Witwatcrsrand. Can
any move by the Government be taken at face value, or should it be judged in
terms of the National Party's overwhelming membership of a se-cret
organisation striving for Afrikaner interests?
When the Afrikaans Church pronounces on matters of national
importance, is it influenced by the Broederbond, to which most of its
leaders belong? When appointments or promotions are made, are they
straightforward rewards of competence and diligence, or is some secret
nepotism at work? However unkind, unwarranted, or misguided such questions
may in fact be, they will continue to exist as long as any secret presence
is known to be flourishing be-neath the troubled surface of South African
society. The authors agree with the observation of Dr Brian du Toit, who in
a socio-logical study dealing with the role of secret societies in various
parts of the world, came to the following conclusion:
"A closed, or semi-closed organisation, originates in order to
fulfil a need in the society. When, however, the crisis is past, this
organisation must dissolve; otherwise, it grows like a cancer in the society
and causes internal dissension and feelings of suspicion, in-justice and
hostility among those who are frustrated."5
If the hope of a lasting peaceful political solution for South
Africa is to have any prospect of achievement, many grotesque distortions,
historical, sociological, economic and political, will have to be overcome.
It is a formidable task for a country whose reserves of human goodwill are
already stretched. When to those distortions are added the dimensions of
mistrust and suspicion, the hope enters the realm of wishful optimism - at
best, an unreliable agent for success.
"The Afrikaners . . . did have a tough time, they did have a struggle,
they did make a remarkable comeback, they are indisputably on top - but
somehow they have got to get over their feelings of vindictive triumph about
it and stop being as arrogant and brutal as they can be in their worst
moments. In their best moments there are no nicer . . . people. But they
have got to relax. Nobody can
make them do it, it will have to come from within. It may pay the
Broederbond to issue a directive, because it is time for them to begin to
show a little maturity.. . That, too, is one of the few genuine ways to
create national unity. They can't get it with the basic attitude too many of
them still cling to."
Allen Drury, A Very Straflge Socirjty
1. SAPA, October 3 1978. 2. Van der Merwe, H W, Ashlcy, M J, Carton, N
C J, Huber, B J, ti%itc South
African Elites, p 146.
3. Rapport, September 24 1972. 4. Inside Mail, August 1 1978.
5. Beperktr Lidmaatskap, 2.p
448
449
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