The Ossewabrandwag (OB) (, from and - Ox-wagon Sentinel) was an Afrikaner nationalist organization, founded in South Africa in Bloemfontein on 4 February 1939. It was strongly opposed to South African participation in World War II, had hostile views toward the United Kingdom and was sympathetic to Nazi Germany. In late 1940, the Ossewabrandwag plotted a pro-German insurrection against Prime Minister Jan Smuts; however, the plan was aborted.
The Ossewabrandwag was officially established in 1938 to commemorate the centennial of the Great Trek. Most of the migrants travelled in ox-drawn wagons, hence the group's name. The group's leader was Johannes Van Rensburg, an attorney who had previously served as Secretary of Justice under Jan Smuts and supported the Nazi government in Germany.
During World War II
The Boer militants of the (OB) were hostile to the United Kingdom and sympathetic to the ideology of Nazi Germany. Thus the OB opposed South African participation in World War II, even after the Union declared war in support of Britain in September 1939.
By 1941, the OB had approximately 350,000 members.
Members of the OB refused to enlist in the UDF and sometimes harassed servicemen in uniform. This erupted into open rioting in Johannesburg on 1 February 1941; 140 soldiers were seriously hurt.
More dangerous was the formation of the (Storm hunters), a paramilitary wing of the OB. The nature of the was evidenced by the oath sworn by new recruits: "If I retreat, shoot me. If I fall, avenge me. If I charge, follow me" (). This motto, originally attributed to French Royalist Henri de la Rochejaquelein in 1793, also became a popular slogan of Benito Mussolini's Fascists in the 1930s.
In August 1940, the OB informed the Abwehr that they were willing to launch a rebellion against Jan Smuts. The organization said they had 160,000 members and 15,000 soldiers, who had not taken the "Africa oath" of willingness to fight against the Axis anywhere on the continent, ready to strike. They proposed that the Germans drop off weapons in Southern Rhodesia or in South West Africa. The "West Plan" was far more well-planned.<blockquote>"At an hour to be determined by the German High Command, Afrikaners would then blow up all rail and road bridges connecting the Transvaal with Natal. The railway personnel, the Police and 26,000 mine workers and employees have been penetrated as the rest of the State services with Ossewabrandwag members and would go on strike. The latter, viz. mine workers and employees, are already today urging for a strike. English newspapers are going to be blown up. Smuts and his followers are going to be asked kill themselves. Further dispositions are left to the German General Staff, particularly whether and which bridges are to be blown up."</blockquote>The plan was never carried out, as the OB failed to obtain sufficient weapons. Furthermore, the OB was reluctant to take up arms after Malan distanced the National Party from the organization at the end of 1941.
At the end of the war, the OB merged into the National Party and ceased to exist as a separate body.
Ideology
A Nazi spy in South Africa who had frequent contact with van Rensburg in 1944 stated that the OB was "based on the Führer-principle, fighting against the Empire, the capitalists, the communists, the Jews, the party and the system of parliamentarism... on the base of national-socialism". Many political science authors concurred that the OB's association with national socialism ranged from an "inclination", to "wholehearted acceptance" One author, Pierre L. van den Berghe, contended that, while there were parallels, neither Van Rensburg nor the OB were genuine fascists.
See also
- Robey Leibbrandt