Revitalising Stamverwantschap: The Role of the Nederlands Zuid-Afrikaanse Werkgemeenschap on Dutch-Afrikaner Relations in the Twentieth Century

In the last decades, the concept of stamverwantschap, or the special relationship between the Dutch and Afrikaner nation, has become out of vogue. This article tries to revitalise the concept by looking at its persistency over time, even during the apartheid era. The Nederlands Zuid-Afrikaanse Werkgemeenschap (NZAW) played an especially important role in maintaining the old idea of stamverwantschap as a principle to stand up for each other's nation, even until the present day. Although the organisation lacked influence at the governmental level, they succeeded in keeping the Dutch-Afrikaner relation alive by focusing on exchange programs for journalists, politicians, students and teachers, while propagating a ‘critical dialogue’ to reform apartheid.