The Merebank concentration camp in Durban, 1901-1902
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Date
2000
Authors
Wohlberg, Annette Ursula
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Over the past century comparatively few comprehensive historical works have been written on the controversial and emotional issue of Anglo-Boer War concentration camps, leaving ample room for the latter-day historian to attempt to revisit this issue during the time of the centenary commemorations. Studies which have appeared on this topic, cover the historiographical spectrum. J.C. Otto's work, Die konsentrasiekampe, published in 1954, was written from a staunch Afrikaner nationalist perspective, which served to call up AC. Martin's The concentration camps 1900-1902: facts, figures and fables in 1957 as the British counter-argument. In the forty years since then, only three Masters degree research projects on the concentration camps have appeared: J.L. Hattingh, Die lrenekonsentrasiekamp; J.A. Krugell, Die Pietersburgse Konsentrasiekamp and J.J. Roodt, Die Port Elizabethse Konsentrasiekamp, 1899-1902. A work of monumental value during this period was S.B. Spies' Methods of barbarism? Roberts and Kitchener and civilians in the Boer republics, January 1900 - May 1902, which went a long way towards filling the void in the historical understanding of the fate of the Boer civilians. In the past few years, A.W.G. Raath and RM. Louw have completed studies on a number of concentration camps. Recently, researchers such as S.V. Kessler and B.E. Mongalo shifted the emphasis to the neglected history of black concentration camps. In spite of the above-mentioned works, no detailed academic research has as yet been done on any of the Natal concentration camps, leaving ample room for examinations into concentration camps in this geopolitical area. Proceeding from the viewpoint that the British concentration camp system during the Anglo-Boer War was part and parcel of the British military strategy and, as such, a necessary evil, this study aims to address and redress this shortcoming by placing the research focus on the largest concentration camp created during the Anglo-Boer War, namely the Merebank Concentration Camp. The study will, inter a/ia, address the following issues from a historical-scientific perspective, in an effort to obtain answers to several central questions: What were the exact reasons for the establishment of the Merebank Concentration Camp? Why was the Merebank Camp unique within the concentration e;amp set-up during the Anglo-Boer War? What exactly was life like in the camp? What economic and other advantages did the Merebank Camp bring for the inhabitants of Durban and surrounding areas? What psychological impact did the removal of thousands of women and children to an area outside the Boer republics have on these civilians? Before the reasons for the creation of the camp are discussed (see Chapter 2), the origins of the British concentration camp system are discussed in the introductory chapter. In Chapter 3, the camp administration and organisation are outlined. In the next chapter the focus falls on the camp inhabitants and their interaction with the environment. Then life in the camp is examined. The latter subject constitutes such a voluminous part of the study that it was decided to divide it into three chapters. The first of these chapters concerns itself with those issues over which the camp inhabitants had no control, namely accommodation, rations and education, while the second deals with those daily activities which were largely in their hands, namely religion, recreation, economics, politics and morals. The relationship between the people of colour and whites is also illuminated in this chapter. The third, and final chapter relating to camp life, is devoted to health matters, for the sole reason that concentration camps are historically associated with ill-health and death. Chapter 8 focuses on the interaction between the Merebank Concentration Camp and the city of Durban. The final chapter deals with events in the Merebank Camp after peace was declared, as well as the breaking up of the camp, and a concluding perspective is given. This study is primarily based on archival research. Much archival material, especially in the form of official monthly reports, the British Command Papers, letters, despatches and documents exist, proving of great assistance in offering information about the administration and running of the camp. Insight regarding camp life and the influence the internment had on the camp inhabitants was, to a great extent, provided by the camp inhabitants themselves. Published diaries such as Tant Miem Fischer se kampdagboek Mei 1901 - Augustus 1902, personal reports that were included in the compilations of women such as Emily Hobhouse, M. M. Postma, and E. Neethling, provide a wealth of information. Sources in private collections of individuals, who were prepared to share their archivalia, supplied the researcher with fresh historical perspectives. Newspaper reports, although giving a rather one-sided view, were found to be valuable, especially in ascertaining the attitude of the press and the Colony of Natal towards the Merebank Camp inhabitants. Numerous photographs served as valuable visual images of what life might have been like in Merebank.
Description
Dissertation (M.A. (History))--University of the Free State, 2000
Keywords
South African War, 1899-1902, Concentration camps, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal