From June 1963 to October 1964, ten antiapartheid activists were tried at South Africa’s Pretoria Supreme Court. Standing among the accused with Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, and Walter Sisulu was Denis Goldberg. Charged under the Sabotage and Suppression of Communism Acts for ‘campaigning to overthrow the government by violent revolution, ‘ Goldberg was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. The only white man convicted during the infamous Rivonia trial, he played a historic role in the struggle for justice in South Africa.
In this remarkable autobiography, Goldberg discusses growing up acutely aware of the injustice permeating his homeland. He joined the South African Communist Party and helped found the Congress of Democrats. It was his role as an officer in the armed underground wing of the African National Congress (ANC), however, that led to his life sentence—the outcome of which was a staggering twenty-two years behind bars. While he was incarcerated, the racist dogma of apartheid imposed complete separation from his black comrades and colleagues, a segregation that denied him both the companionship and the counsel of his fellow accused.
Recounted with humor and humility, Goldberg’s story not only provides a sweeping overview of life in South Africa both during and after apartheid, but also illuminates the experiences of the activists and oppressors whose fates were bound together.
Inhoudsopgave
Foreword by Z. Pallo Jordan
Preface
1. The Mission: Break Down the Walls
2. Respect for All: Childhood in Cape Town, 1933-1949
3. University
4. Political Activity, 1953-1964
5. Last Resort: Armed Resistance
6. Underground in Johannesburg: May-July 1963
7. Arrest at Liliesleaf
8. The Rivonia Trial
9. Emotional Desert: Prison, 1963-1985
10. Problems of Imprisonment
11. The Escape
12. More about Prison
13. A Negotiated Release, 1985
14. Out of Prison: Life Number 6; Born 28 February 1985 as a Free Person
15. New Activist: London-Lusaka-Dar es Salaam
16. The World Is My Oyster: Life Number 7, 1985-1994
17. T-Shirts, Music, and More Solidarity
18. Training in Asia: Commonwealth Secretariat Study Program
19. Affairs of the Heart and Community H.E.A.R.T.: Life Number 8
20. Life Number 9, 2002-2014
21. Last Thoughts-For Now: 2015
Appendix 1: Torture and the Future
Appendix 2: Time Line of South African History
Appendix 3: The Freedom Charter
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Over de auteur
Denis Goldberg is founder of the Community H.E.A.R.T. development fund, which is based in Britain and Germany and supports health and education projects in South Africa. From 2002 to 2006, he served as special adviser to the minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in South Africa. He has received numerous awards from several countries, including the Order of Luthuli in 2009, in recognition of his work against apartheid.
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