Wednesday 14 April 2010

South Africa and anti-Apartheid activists papers

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library archive collection contains a significant number of collections of papers relating to South Africa and the anti-Apartheid struggle. Two collections which have had catalogues (in PDF form) recently added to the collection include:

ICS30 Ruth Hayman papers

Ruth Hayman was a lawyer in South Africa, and a campainger for racial equality and justice. After she was banned for her work in South Africa, she settled in North London, and in 1969 set up the pioneering organisation, Neighbourhood English Classes, to help newly arrived immigrants settle into the UK. Her papers in this collection include: papers on politics and human rights in South Africa, c1950-c1968; comprising file of press cuttings on law cases in Eastern Districts, mainly under the Suppression of Communism Act, or for membership of the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress; file of judgements in cases of Roly Israel Arenstein, Helen Beatrice Mary Joseph, Dennis Vincent Brutus, Terence Vigors Rait Beard, Lancelot Makgothi, Isaac Heyman, Phillip Sello and Violet May Weinberg under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1963-1966; legal papers mainly counsel's opinions on the Suppression of Communism Act, 1965-1966; papers on Johannesburg City Council Election campaign, in which Hayman stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Candidate in Berea, Johannesburg; file of legal opinions and judgements, mainly relating to individuals served with Banning Notices under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1962-1965; paper by D V Cowan 'Parliamentary sovereignty and the entrenched sections of the South Africa Act', 1957; file of papers on case of Walter Vannet Hain, Adeline Florence Hain, and Fatima Meer, who had been served with Banning Notices under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1963.

ICS34 Isaac Horvitch papers

Member and Chairman of the South African Communist Party. Prosecuted in the Treason Trials, 1959-64. Isaac Horvitch was an architect and active member and later Chairman of the South African Communist Party (SACP). In 1946 he was charged with sedition, arising from the 1946 miner's strike. After the passing of the Suppression of Communism Act he became Chairman of the Forum Club, a multi-racial political discussion club. He was arrested on 5 December 1956 on charges of treason arising from his involvement in the Congress of the People and the adoption of the Freedom Charter. The preparatory examination and trial lasted from December 1956 until March 1961, when all the accused were found not guilty and discharged. After being acquitted and after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Horvitch escaped to Botswana and from there made his way to exile in London. Papers in the collection relate to the Treason Trials, including lists of the accused and the charges against them and a copy of the final judgement; typescript drafts for issues of 'Treason Trials Press Summary, 6 Feb 1959 - 10 Mar 1960'; miscellaneous material concerning the Treason Trials, 1957-1958; including appeals for funds by the Treason Trials Defence Fund; Horvitch's personal papers, 1957-1958 including details of payments received from the Treason Trials Defence Fund, and details of Horvitch's architectural practice; publications; papers on Ghana, 1960; and press cuttings on the Treason Trials.

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