Antisemitism - Die Boerenasie (The Boer Nation) A Natal based Nazi Organisation c.1950’s
These ephemeral flyers are highly significant and disturbing artifacts from a radical fringe of South African political history. They represent the propaganda machine of Die Boerenasie (The Boer Nation), a far-right, localized National Socialist (Nazi) movement active in South Africa during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
The Pietermaritzburg & Natal Connection
These flyers were produced on a home-operated, manual printing press in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The movement was heavily driven by Raymond Kirch Rudman (1898–1978), a prominent fascist propagandist who operated from Pietermaritzburg. Rudman originally served as the Natal leader of the "Greyshirts" (the South African Christian National Socialist Movement) before heading the fiercely anti-Semitic Boerenasie group. After World War II, he ran the "Aryan Book Store" from Pietermaritzburg, distributing hate speech, Holocaust-denial literature, and local print runs of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion globally.
Adaptation of Global Tropes to Local Language
The flyers demonstrate how international Nazi propaganda tropes were adapted into a bilingual South African context (English and Afrikaans) to target both segments of the white population:
The "Kosher Slaughter" Flyer: The top-right flyer attacking ritual slaughter is a classic example of a tactic used by European anti-Semites since the 19th century—disguising anti-Semitism as animal welfare concerns to appeal to a broader, "civilized" Christian public.
The "Jews' Star" Flyer: The bottom-right piece borrows the grotesque caricature styles popularized by Julius Streicher's infamous German propaganda newspaper, Der Stürmer. It pairs this with a biblical citation (Acts 7:43–54) to weaponize religious text against the Jewish community, while calling for people to join Die Boerenasie.
The Post-WWII Context and "Spring Cleaning"
The flyer bearing the serial reference REN No. 2/5/6/57, dates from 1957. The text—"You Jews robbed the Arabs of Palestine—Go there we dont WANT you here!"—captures a specific rhetorical shift that occurred among global fascists after 1948.
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany and the establishment of the State of Israel, right-wing extremists like Rudman pivoted. They began using the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East to justify the forced expulsion of South African Jews, using the crude metaphor of "Spring Cleaning" to imply sweeping a minority population out of the country.
Historical Epilogue:
For decades, these small, cheaply printed flyers were distributed clandestinely. Decades later, Rudman's original antique printing press—the machine used to churn out vitriol like the documents was discovered intact in the Natal Midlands. In a twist of historical irony, it was acquired and donated to the Durban Holocaust & Genocide Centre, where it is now permanently exhibited on the grounds of the Durban Jewish Club to educate modern generations against the dangers of discrimination and hate speech.
Various sizes
Worn; torn and creased.
R2,250
