Ossewabrandwag
Sign in to saveThe 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.
Key facts
- Organization.name
- Ossewabrandwag
- Organization.image
- OssewaBrandwagWapen.png
- Organization.caption
- Seal of the Ossewabrandwag
- Organization.formation
- 4 February 1939
- Organization.dissolved
- 1952
- Organization.purpose
- Afrikaner nationalismAnti-British sentimentPro-GermanOpposition to participation in World War IIAntisemitism
- Organization.headquarters
- Bloemfontein, Union of South Africa
- Organization.membership
- 350,000 (1941)
- Organization.leader_title
- Leader
- Organization.leader_name
- Johannes Van Rensburg
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- organization
- Headquarters
- Bloemfontein
- Chairperson
- Johannes Van Rensburg
Show 4 more facts
- inception
- 1939-00-00
- dissolved, abolished or demolished date
- 1952-00-00
- native label
- Ossewabrandwag
- Commons category
- Ossewabrandwag
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Background
- 1930s
- During World War II
- Ideology
- See also
- References
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 OB carried out a campaign of sabotage against state infrastructure, resulting in a government crackdown. The unpopularity of that crackdown has been proposed as a contributing factor to the victory of the National Party in the 1948 South African general election and the rise of apartheid.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ossewabrandwag” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.