Seven Votes: How WWII Changed South Africa Forever

by Richard Steyn, Peter Noble (Narrator)

If a mere seven more MPs had voted with Prime Minister J.B.M. Hertzog in favor of neutrality, South Africa’s history would have been quite different. Parliament’s narrow decision to go to war in 1939 led to a seismic upheaval throughout the 1940s: black people streamed in their thousands from rural areas to the cities in search of jobs; volunteers of all races answered the call to go ‘up north’ to fight; and opponents of the Smuts government actively hindered the war effort by attacking soldiers and committing acts of sabotage.

World War II upended South Africa’s politics, ruining attempts to forge white unity and galvanizing opposition to segregation among African, Indian and colored communities. It also sparked debates among nationalists, socialists, liberals and communists such as the country had never previously experienced.

As Richard Steyn recounts so compellingly in 'SEVEN VOTES', the war’s unforeseen consequence was the boost it gave to nationalism, both Afrikaner and African, that went on to transform the country in the second half of the 20th century. The book brings to life an extraordinary cast of characters, including wartime leader Jan Smuts, D.F. Malan and his National Party colleagues, African nationalists from Anton Lembede and A.B. Xuma to Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela, the influential Indian activists Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker, and many others.




RUNNING TIME => 11hrs. and 29mins.

©2020 Richard Steyn (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Genres: History

Audible Audio

First published August 1, 2020

About the author

A graduate of Stellenbosch University, Richard Steyn practised as a lawyer before switching to journalism. He edited the Natal Witness in Pietermaritzburg from 1975-90, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1985/86, and editor in chief of The Star from 1990-95.

Reviews

[Marius Coetzee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided perspective on much the talk I heard as a child. I was born in the middle 1950s. My mother's family had been staunch United Party supporters. My uncles had fought 'up North'. For them the Nationalist Party victory in 1948 was a severe blow. I now understand how it came about.

The book also provided a background to the liberation struggle. I understand the relationship between communists and the ANC much better. Had the whites only thought of the country's future and not only their own between 1910 and 1948.

Steyn illustrates the enigma of Smuts the international leader compared to Smuts the South African politician. Well written.

[Francois Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read for all who need to have an understanding of South Africa's modern and recent history. It fills in gaps that one will not necessarily find in other books. This one taught me a bit of sympathy for Smuts, caught between fighting for democracy in Europe and, to some extent, fighting against it in RSA.

[Nic van der Westhuizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, as were all Richard Steyn's other books. He recounts an interesting part of South African history in a readable way.