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The article recalls Hendrik van den Bergh’s arrest on 20 January 1942 and describes the wider wartime context of the Ossewabrandwag, police loyalties, and internment at Koffiefontein. It also reflects on the historical significance of the event and Van den Bergh’s later career.
This study examines how the Afrikaans Churches (GK, NGK, NHK) responded to the political, social, and spiritual crises surrounding South Africa’s involvement in the Second World War. Drawing on Dr Jacobus van Tonder’s research, it explores the pre war Afrikaner mindset shaped by trauma, nationalism, and cultural revival; the influence of European National Socialism on local movements; the fierce debate over neutrality; the dramatic political clash between Hertzog and Smuts; and the deep divisions created by the “Red Tabs” oath, the Ossewabrandwag, emergency regulations, and wartime censorship. The churches attempted to remain spiritually focused while congregations fractured along political lines. The war ultimately reshaped Afrikaner identity, church life, and national unity, revealing the tension between Christian conviction, nationalism, and state authority.
This article traces the layered history of Koffiefontein, a Free State town shaped by diamond discovery, military conflict, and evolving systems of law enforcement. Beginning as a vital rest stop for 19th‑century transport riders, Koffiefontein rose to prominence after a diamond was found at its fountain in 1870, sparking a local diamond rush. The narrative follows three major eras: the diamond‑mining boom, the Anglo‑Boer War—during which British forces fortified the town with blockhouses—and the Second World War, when Koffiefontein became a major internment camp holding Italian and German POWs as well as South Africans suspected of pro‑Nazi activity, including future Prime Minister B.J. Vorster. The article also explores the development of policing in the region, from early constables of the Orange Free State Republic to the establishment of the SAP in 1913 and highlights the architectural heritage of the historic Hampden Street police station. Finally, it reflects on modern community concerns and the station’s dual identity as both a heritage landmark and an active centre of law enforcement.
ABSTRACT: This article explores the formation, function, and legacy of the South African Police CID Special Staff, a covert political policing unit established in 1939 under the command of Major Gabriel Edward Diedericks, KPM, MVO, during t
South Africans took part in almost every war theatre during the First and Second World Wars. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Data Base 7 290 (includes 607 unknown) First World War casualties and 9 986 (inc
Sedert sy totstandkoming het die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie, wat onlosmaaklik deel van die gemeenskap is, dikwels vasgevang geraak in politieke tweespalt. Deur die geskiedenis heen het die Polisie egter nog altyd wet en orde gehandhaaf, al het
Tempe Army Base near Bloemfontein has been in use by the military since the Anglo Boer War (ABW).Here is a collection of historical images spanning the ABW period, including pictures from the World War 2 era.
