Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after

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dc.contributor.advisorSaunders, Christopheren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorVon den Steinen, Lyndaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-01-01T12:50:04Z
dc.date.available2015-01-01T12:50:04Z
dc.date.issued2007en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. 354-369).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis study explores the experiences of the rank-and-file soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Anny. Extensive interviews by the author and other researchers reveal the voices of the soldiers themselves. The African National Congress and Pan African Congress archives at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Fort Hare supplement and verify these oral testimonies, as do some published sources. Most previously published materials about the armed struggle against apartheid have already focused on diplomacy, strategy and tactics, operations, leadership, and human rights abuses to the neglect of the soldiers' actual experiences. This study complements these with significant new oral history materials from the Soweto generation of soldiers and their successors. When dealing with MK, many authors have documented issues of the camp structure in Angola, and operations inside South Africa, so much of this detail is only addressed briefly, leaving space to explore the soldiers' experiences. In the case of APLA, very little has been written on its history, and more detail is provided on these subjects. This study therefore deals with the soldiers' politicisation and motivation for joining the armed struggle, their experiences in leaving South Africa and training in exile, the crises in exile which limited their effectiveness for a time, their return to fight in South Africa, and their difficulties in the "new" South Africa. These materials reveal that vast problems remain facing these veterans of the struggle against apartheid, and that they have the potential, if properly supported and employed, to contribute substantially to the development of present day South Africa. Conversely, if their neglect continues, they also have the potential to bring vast harm to the country. Further use of the investigative tools of oral history, especially if extended to the former soldiers' vernacular languages, is necessary to augment the history of South Africa, and these soldiers' contributions.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationVon den Steinen, L. (2007). <i>Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10880en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationVon den Steinen, Lynda. <i>"Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10880en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationVon den Steinen, L. 2007. Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Von den Steinen, Lynda AB - This study explores the experiences of the rank-and-file soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Anny. Extensive interviews by the author and other researchers reveal the voices of the soldiers themselves. The African National Congress and Pan African Congress archives at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Fort Hare supplement and verify these oral testimonies, as do some published sources. Most previously published materials about the armed struggle against apartheid have already focused on diplomacy, strategy and tactics, operations, leadership, and human rights abuses to the neglect of the soldiers' actual experiences. This study complements these with significant new oral history materials from the Soweto generation of soldiers and their successors. When dealing with MK, many authors have documented issues of the camp structure in Angola, and operations inside South Africa, so much of this detail is only addressed briefly, leaving space to explore the soldiers' experiences. In the case of APLA, very little has been written on its history, and more detail is provided on these subjects. This study therefore deals with the soldiers' politicisation and motivation for joining the armed struggle, their experiences in leaving South Africa and training in exile, the crises in exile which limited their effectiveness for a time, their return to fight in South Africa, and their difficulties in the "new" South Africa. These materials reveal that vast problems remain facing these veterans of the struggle against apartheid, and that they have the potential, if properly supported and employed, to contribute substantially to the development of present day South Africa. Conversely, if their neglect continues, they also have the potential to bring vast harm to the country. Further use of the investigative tools of oral history, especially if extended to the former soldiers' vernacular languages, is necessary to augment the history of South Africa, and these soldiers' contributions. DA - 2007 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2007 T1 - Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after TI - Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10880 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/10880
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationVon den Steinen L. Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 2007 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10880en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Historical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherHistorical Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleExperiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and afteren_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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