Fighting against apartheid

There are two chess games at the Chessmen Museum that come from South Africa. They were both purchased at the time of the apartheid regime. Although many Dutch people had a soft spot for South Africa because of its historical bonds with the Netherlands, opposition to apartheid grew stronger and stronger in the 1970s. The Netherlands ended up being the birthplace of the most active anti-apartheid movements of Europe.

In February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The figurehead of the ANC (African National Congress) had been in jail since 1962 because his party opposed the apartheid system. The white minority in South Africa not only had all the power, but was legally separated from the black population. White and black people were not allowed to travel together on the same bus, for example, nor could they live in the same neighbourhood or get married. Segregation measures already existed before 1948, but from that year on they were meticulously legislated.

Rebellion
In the 1950s, there was some small-scale resistance against this racial segregation in the Netherlands, mainly in the churches. Greater interest and also active protest arose after 1976, following an uprising in Soweto. Large numbers of coloured students from this black district of Johannesburg united in rebellion against segregation, and were violently repressed by the white police forces. Hundreds of young people lost their lives. Images of the excessive violence that was used against the black population made their way across the world and led to a change in general awareness. The situation in South Africa was unacceptable.

People in the Netherlands were also outraged. The Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement (AABN), founded in 1971, was joined by several action committees and organisations. Most of them, like the AABN itself, operated without violence. Their goal was to inform people about the situation in South Africa and to persuade them to steer clear of South African products.

In the late seventies, the AABN advocated a boycott of Shell, because the company refused to leave South Africa. The Dutch responded to the call to not use Shell´s petrol stations, but it did not change Shell´s policies. More radical activists then took to cutting the fuel dispensing hoses of Shell´s gas pumps. This did not lead to Shell’s departure from South Africa either, though.

Claus Committee
Did it make sense then, to protest outside of South Africa? It certainly did: this kind of boycott actions harmed the image of companies, which often decided to take the safe way out, for fear of losing customers. Governments also started to boycott South Africa, as a result of which the country became more and more economically isolated.

The Netherlands played a major role in this. Compared to other European countries, the number of paid and full-time activists was large. This was because independent funds, such as the National Committee for Development Strategy (NCO) a.k.a. Claus Committee, made millions available to organisations against apartheid. These organisations were not shy when it came to criticising the Dutch government and protesting foreign policies.

In other countries, such as former coloniser Great Britain, the anti-apartheid movement was more modest. The organisations there had smaller budgets to work with and the money proceeded mainly from the government, which meant that they could not act as firmly and critically.

Supporting the ANC, which was banned in South Africa, was also of great importance. Its members operated and published from abroad, and received donations in the form of money and goods from the Netherlands to continue their fight. But the actions originating in the Netherlands were only really successful in the long run, when it became less and less socially acceptable for companies and countries to be associated with the apartheid system. Gradually, the whole world turned against the South African government.

Under the leadership of De Klerk, elected president in 1989, things started to change. He lifted the ban on the ANC and in 1990 he released Mandela from prison. In 1993, free elections were held for the first time. The ANC won by a landslide and Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. Shortly after his release, Mandela visited Amsterdam. Standing on the balcony of the City Theatre, he was welcomed by a madly excited crowd. Mission accomplished. With the abolition of apartheid came the end of the Dutch anti-apartheid movements.

Pride
The South African chess games that Mr Glotzbach purchased during these dark times, numbers 36 and 61 in the collection, are made from different types of wood. Their exotic looks represent the local population, such as the knight in the shape of warriors with shields and spears, or the queen with her impressive headdress made up of horns. They are chess pieces that emanate pride and strength.

By Marjolein Overmeer