A return to the archives sheds light on German spies in South Africa during WWII
By Evert Kleynhans - The Conversation LISTEN
MAY 6, 2021
Members of the Ossewabrandwag on parade during WWII. The then political opposition collaborated with the Germans. - Source: OB Photo Collection/Records, Archives and Museum Division, North-West University
The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. South Africa officially joined the war on 6 September 1939 by siding with Britain and the Allies and declaring war on Nazi Germany.
South African historians have largely overlooked the intelligence war, partly because of the apparent paucity of reference sources on it. This lack of attention prompted me to investigate the matter further. The result was my book
Germany planted spies in South Africa during World War 2 and had help from Nazi sympathisers in the country. Academic Evert Kleynhans spoke to Daily Maverick’s Marianne Thamm about his latest book, ‘Hitler’s Spies: Secret Agents and Intelligence War in South Africa’.
In ‘The Intelligence War against the IRA’
, Thomas Leahy, Senior Lecturer in Politics in Cardiff University, challenges the growing dominant narrative that the IRA was brought to the negotiating table in the 1990s because they had been ‘brought to their knees’ by British intelligence. Since the outing of State agents, Stakeknife and Denis Donaldson in particular, in the early 2000s, many academics, historians and commentators have concluded that the IRA campaign ended in defeat because it was fatally compromised by agents and informers. Existing books and articles, while not studying the intelligence war in any significant detail, yet conclude that British intelligence was vital in forcing the IRA into peace.
hussein, third. and the latest is orchestrating the most comprehensive unilateral, multilateral sanctions against iran. we have had covert war, intelligence war, economic war, political war. however, americans also have their own grievances from hostage taking after the revolution. 52 americans for 440 days. and undermining the u.s. interests in the region and a lot of other issues which i have discussed in my book. i believe the two countries, they have to recognize the grievances. they should be ready to start a comprehensive, sincere cooperation on the commonalities in order to create confidence. at the same time, they need to discuss the differences and to find some principles to resolve