How South Africa tried to stay neutral in World War Two

Britain Did not fight the second world war alone, it also had the assistance of its vast empire and dominions. But for one of those dominions the decision to enter the war was not an easy one and became a political battle in of itself.

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[notamusedboosh]

I am South African, and my great grandfather died in France after fighting in WW2. He was a Mathematics Professor at Stellenbosch University. He fought in WW2, he stayed a year after WW2, to finish paperwork. On return to SA, his plane crashed.

[PhilbertDeZwart]

Herzog is not a Dutch name though. It is a German name (many Boers were German or French)
So he probably had German ancestry

[brandonbeilbymcleod]

This man seriously said South Africa was more hesitant when they declared war before Canada

[hrafnorvaldsson]

Always a pleasure to see a video from you in my feed!

[werewolfbrink]

As an Afrikaans speaking South African, you have to love the terrible pronunciations of the names. A masterful butchery.

[xlpeoplepower]

As I recall, Hertzog's parents were put in a concentration camp during the Boer War

[dr.bright]

And don’t forget that the British had concentration camps against the Boers, and did all sorts of horrifying things.

[fiffihoneyblossom]

The Anglo Boer war is still the most expensive war Britain has fought in its history. Against an "enemy" that Britain outnumbered outrageously. They eventually won by creating concentration camps to put the Boer women and children in. That is where Hitler got his idea for it from. The Boers had the upper hand until that point, a feat that shouldn't have been possible. Its an interesting war to look into.

[Stand]

A lot of South African troops Black and White fought together with distinction as part of the commonwealth forces.

[loreman]

Churchill and Smuts were good buddies from WWI already. My SA grandparents' generation used to say, 'Smuts' words, Churchill's mouth'.

They were friends despite Smuts having been in charge when Churchill was arrested as a spy early in the 2nd Anglo-Boer war.

Smuts went on to run a 3-yr guerilla campaign all over the British Cape Colony, always evading capture, until the bitter end.

Then in WWI, Smuts was in charge of the Allied campaign in German East Africa, where von Lettow Vorbeck did unto him what Smuts had done to the British. The SA forces lost more men to Malaria & Yellow Fever than to enemy action. Von Lettow Vorbeck ended the war undefeated, and lived long enough to tell Hitler to go F himself, early in WWII.

[fuckbankers]

During the Second World War (1939–1945), India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were a part of the British Empire. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. India, as a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers.

[luvr]

The Boer war was at the turn of the 20th century, not the 19th.

[panaja]

There can only be one superpower. Which is Britain.

[Federalrepublicofsprout]

South Africa in WW2: Nah, let's stay out of this one
South Africa in WW1:I don't need a reason I'm fighting regardless.

[Julius_Caesar]

That music makes me feel like I'm watching a 5 year old minecraft facts video

[strontiumstargazer]

The Dutch SS Division Wiking were some of the hardest most patriotic fighters in Hitlers army.

[tileyvanlill]

Okay, I'm sorry for this correction, but I am a South African, Boer is not pronounced 'Boar, ' it is pronounced like 'soon, ' sorry, I had to correct cause it hurts that people don't know the pronunciation.

[anthonybennett]

Australia had no choice. In 1939 Australia only had a department of external affairs not a department of foreign affairs. Australia wasn't in control of its foreign policy, this was directed by the Government of the palace of Westminster (UK Government).

[TimRosenburg]

Jan Smuts who was also a boer war veteran

[devoncartwright]

Canada actually declared war even later than South Africa on Sept 10th.