Port Elizabeth of Yore: Antisemitism and Nazi Acolytes

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

During the 1930s in South Africa, the right-wing politicians emulated their brethren in Germany and Italy by adopting the stance that all of the evils visited on their country were as a consequence of the Jews. They even adopted a similar form of attire except that it was grey in hue hence they adopted the nomenclature The Greyshirts. They embraced all the odious memes and rhetoric of their European counterparts accusing the Jews of all manner of perverted acts.

This blog covers their activities in the Port Elizabeth region.

Main picture: The Gryshemde – South Africa’s Nazi Party

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John Vorster in PE: Three Tumultuous Years

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Most of the older South Africans will recall John Vorster being the Prime Minister and later the President of South Africa, yet few residents of Port Elizabeth will be aware of the fact that Vorster resided in Port Elizabeth from 1939 to 1942, a formative period of Afrikaner nationalism which Vorster embodied. As a member of the pro-Nazi organisation, the Ossawabrandwag, during WW2 he was detained and ultimately interned at Koffiefontein in the Orange Free State.

Attached is a verbatim copy of an article by H.O. Terblanche entitled: John Vorster’s Three Years in Port Elizabeth 1939-1942

Main picture: Celebrating the centenary of the Great Trek

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