Afrikaners Of South Africa

The nation as a scarce resource: reading a contested site of sacrifice in post‐apartheid South Africa

“…3 3 There have been a vast number of historical analyses examining the origin and history of Afrikanerdom. To mention a few key texts, see De Klerk (1975); February (1991); Giliomee (1979; 2003); and Moodie (1975). Also worth mentioning here are Goodwin and Schiff's work (1995), which provides what they call an oral history of key Afrikaner figures, including documented transcripts of interviews with church ministers, politicians, and other key figures in the period running up to the expected change in government; and Norval's analyses of apartheid and the Freedom Front (1994; 1996 a ; 1996 b ; 1998).…”

“…The historical events leading up to its creation and consequent dissolution have become part of the mythologized legacy of Afrikaners' pursuit of independent governance in opposition to the British. Tracing an inheritance from the voortrekkers in the Great Trek of 1838, the stories and characters of the historic figures involved have become legendary in nationalist rhetoric, exemplified in the figure of Paul Kruger (see February 1991: 60‐5). Fort Klapperkop was first declared a national heritage site in the centenary commemoration year of that legendary journey (Ley 1992).…”