‘Die Propaganda Kolonel’: Ernst Malherbe and the battle for morale of ordinary South African soldiers, 1939–1945

Abstract

This chapter investigates the role of Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) Ernst Malherbe, the previous Director of Census and Statistics in South Africa, as the Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) during the Second World War (1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945), and chiefly as the head of the Army Education Services (AES). The AES was designed to combat troop apathy, disaffection, subversion and the influence of Nazism amongst ordinary South African soldiers. Dr Malherbe played a principal role in coordinating intelligence and facilitating propaganda within the Union Defence Force (UDF) to secure loyalty and to sustain the morale of the troops. His role is examined within the context of the growing Nazi-inspired political activism, subversive activities and other factors which undermined troop morale. Drawing on the Department of Defence Archives, Malherbe Papers, Smuts Papers, Marquard Papers and Lawrence Papers, my intention is to examine Malherbe's efforts to develop the consciousness of ordinary soldiers with regard to the imperative of the government's war policy. Broadly, the chapter analyses the dynamics of the morale-building efforts among the ordinary South African troops by examining the aims, objectives, methods and techniques of Malherbe's AES programme. and its effectiveness and limitations in the context of the country's difficult internal political conditions during the war.