Born into the struggle: the children of South Africa’s early anti-apartheid activists

Thesis

Drawing on an oral history project with 45 interviewees, born between 1943 and 1976, this thesis examines the experiences and recollections of the children of anti-apartheid activists. Involved across a range of political organisations during the 1940s to 1960s, their parents belong to an early generation of anti-apartheid activists. Although many of these children have played visible roles in post-apartheid public life, their experiences remain largely absent from existing scholarship. Whereas most studies in the emerging field of ‘personal histories’ of the South African struggle focus on African National Congress (ANC) activism in exile after 1976, this study brings into view an earlier period and situates childhood within the struggle both inside South Africa and in exile, framing their experiences as a lasting but neglected legacy of apartheid (activism). Seeking to understand children’s varied relationships with their parents’ organisations and divergent political trajectories, this thesis outlines the radically shifting political landscape from the late 1940s to the 1990s, exposing children to vastly different levels of repression, secrecy, political communities, and opportunities for politicisation, impacted by race and location, but most importantly, time. When (and at what age) children encountered their parents’ activism and the state’s repression shaped their immediate experiences and longer-term political trajectories. Drawing on psychological research, the study highlights the significance of children’s ability to comprehend the persecution they faced and the vital role that community and ideology played in enabling children to cope. Ultimately, children’s relationships to their parents’ movements and the political context influenced children’s decision to join their parents’ struggle, participate in alternative socio-political movements, or seek stability in non-political spaces. Finally, this thesis examines how children’s experiences of return to South Africa post-1994 and subsequent political developments, as well as personal changes, impacted children’s recollections, shaping how they view themselves within a broader historical narrative.

Authors: Partsch,CJ

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-eyobnyebd
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: family; exile; oral history; activism; social history; personal histories; gender; childhood; apartheid; anti-apartheid; South Africa; political socialisation
• Subjects: Childhood and youth; Anti-apartheid movements