The Union War histories and the battle for the history of the Second World War in South Africa

• Autorzy: Van der Waag Ian

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.34752/2021-a274

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Military History has three primary audiences: the general public, academe, and the armed forces – each has its own beliefs regarding the purpose and utility of the military past. Recognising the value of a war history for South Africa, Jan Smuts created the Union War Histories section in 1941. Yet the men appointed to write this history realised that they would never be able to satisfy all three competing readerships. This paper examines the research production of the Union War Histories section as well as the official and public response to their work, which is placed within a wider historiographical process. The notion of a historiographical progression – of an intersecting chain of counter narratives – is posited: accounts by journalists, official historians, personal narrators and regimental historians, leading to a post-participant historiography. This is a progression that seems to hold true for South Africa’s other wars, and indeed the wars of other countries.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

historiography; war literature; official history; soldier; narrative; memory

PL

historiografia; literatura wojenna; historia; żołnierz; narracja; pamięć

• Wydawca: Towarzystwo Wiedzy Obronnej
• Czasopismo: Wiedza Obronna
• Rocznik: 2021
• Tom: nr 1
• Strony: 9--33
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 54 poz., rys.

Twórcy

autor

Van der Waag Ian

• Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
• Fellow of the Modern War Institute, U.S. Military Academy, West Point N.Y., United States

• https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6076-2048

Bibliografia

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• SOURCES
• Uys Krige Collection, J.S. Gericke Library, Stellenbosch University (SU).
• BC631 S.F. Waterson Collection, Jagger Library, University of Cape Town (UCT).
• BC1263 Eric Axelson Papers, Jagger Library, University of Cape Town (UCT).
• CAB – Cabinet Office, The National Archives, Kew, London.
• MHAS – archives of the Military Historical and Archival Service, Department of Defence (DOD) Archives, Pretoria.
• MVEF – archives of the Minister of Defence, Erasmus and Fouché Collection, Department of Defence (DOD) Archives, Pretoria.
• UWH – Union War Histories, Narratives and Reports collection, Department of Defence (DOD) Archives, Pretoria.
• UWH Admin – Union War Histories, Administrative files, Department of Defence (DOD) Archives, Pretoria.

Uwagi

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).