ABSTRACT

When Moses Kotane founded The African Defender in 1937, he did so with the intention to encourage African self-sufficiency through teaching and publishing in indigenous languages and through sharing information on how to survive in segregated South Africa. In doing so, he entered into public conversation with writers and editors of other independent publications such as The Anti-Fascist or occasional series by groups such as the South African Jewish Deputies Board. In the decade after Kotane and his peers began their own discussions, conversations about fascism and anti-fascism in South Africa moved from the margins among those deemed alarmist into spaces where anti-racist activists increasingly saw red flags connecting European oppression with the growing populist nationalism in their own country. This article examines this decade through the language and conversations of independent publications such as Kotane’s, in the face of the proliferation of groups such as the Greyshirts, The People’s Movement, the South African National Democratic Party (‘Blackshirts’), The South African Fascists, and the Gentile Protection League. It argues that anti-fascist philosophies not only informed but served as cornerstones to a nascent anti-apartheid movement.

摘要

当 Moses Kotane 于 1937 年创立非洲捍卫者时，他这样做的目的是通过以土著语言进行教学和出版以及分享有关如何在隔离的南非生存的信息来鼓励非洲自给自足。在此过程中，他与《反法西斯》等其他独立出版物的作家和编辑进行了公开对话或偶尔由南非犹太代表委员会等团体制作的系列节目。在 Kotane 和他的同龄人开始他们自己的讨论之后的十年里，关于南非法西斯主义和反法西斯主义的讨论从那些被认为是危言耸听者的边缘转移到了反种族主义活动家越来越多地看到将欧洲压迫与日益增长的民粹主义民族主义联系起来的危险信号在他们自己的国家。本文通过 Kotane 等独立出版物的语言和对话来审视这十年，面对灰衫军、人民运动、南非民族民主党（“黑衫军”）、南非法西斯等团体的激增和外邦人保护联盟。