It was the way that the Broederbond was organized which made it such a powerful force in South Africa. It operated to co-ordinate the Afrikaner force and be sure that Bond members were place in key positions to enable them to advance the volk. This secret society was very similar to the Communist Party in respect to its organization. The strength of the Afrikaner Broederbond was made possible by its internal cell system structure.
Internal Structure of the Afrikaner Broederbond
The Bond hierarchy was composed of five parts:
- The Bondsraad - The Bond's highest authority. It met annually , and was composed of the representatives of all cells and representives of the Uitvoerende Raad. The function was to discuss reports and recommendations put forward by the Uitvoerende Raad, resolutions forwarded by the cells, religion, economics, politics and anything else considered relevant to the organization. It was also responsible for electing the Uitvoerende Raad every second year, and determining business and budget for the coming year. All Bond members were allowed to attend the Bondsraad, but only the Uitvoerende Raad were allowed to vote.
- The Uitvoerende Raad - The highest executive power and therefore the most important. It was composed of eleven elected members and five members co-opted by the elected members. These elections were held by secret ballot. This cell met five or six times per year.
- The Dagbestuur - The management committee of the Uitvoerende Raad, and attended to urgent matters arising between Uitvoerende Raad meetings.
- The Streeksrade and Sentrale Komitee - Regional and central councils respectively, and were located throughout the country.
- The Afdelings - The most basic part of the organization; these are the cells. They were scattered throughout the country and consisted of at least five, but up to twenty members.
This system of organization is part of the reason that the Broederbond became so powerful.
External Structure of the Afrikaner Broederbond
The infiltration of key organizations was the Bond's method of gaining power. This was where the reason for the strict membership policies of the Brotherhood becomes apparent. They deliberately chose men occupying positions of power or policy making posts, and they also assisted Bond memers to get elected or promoted to such posts. As a result of such infiltration, the Broeders were able to gain a strong foothold in important sectors of the public service.
The secret society had enough influence to sway governments, especially the Nationalist Party. Though it helped create the Party, theoretically the Broederbond had never had direct control over it, however, Bond members have held the vast majority of top positions in the Party sincs the late 1930s. According to C. Bloomberg in Christian-Nationalism and the Rise of the Afrikaner Broederbond in South Africa 1918-1948 (Hampshire : The MacMillan Press Ltd. 1990), "an estimated eighty percent of all the MPs and Cabinet ministers belong to the Broederbond at any one time."
The DRC (Dutch Reformed Church) had a membership that was majority Afrikaner, and the brotherhood was strongly sympathetic toward this institution; the DRC became a powerful Protestant church. Bloomberg reports that a letter circulated by the Broeders in 1963 stated that the church had an obligation to: "suppress dissident voices...opposing apartheid."
The civil service was where the Bond had held the most power. It infiltrated all key positions, and came to contol a monopoly of top posts. The Bond also created foundations in order to further and preserve the Afrikaner culture. Among these were:
- The Federasie van Afrikasse Kultuurverenigings (F.A.K.), a public front organization to disguise Broederbond activity;
- the Voortrekker, a youth alternative to the boy scouts;
- Volkskas, a cooperative bank; and Uniewinkels a buy Afrikaner product type promotion.
Bloomberg states: "Every Afrikaans body serves a double function: to integrate Afrikaners internally, and to assert their power externally."
Additional Source:
T.R.H. Davenport, South Africa: A Modern History. [Great Britain: MacMillan Academic and Professional Ltd. 1991]
J.H.P. Sefontein, Brotherhood of Power: An Expose of the Secret Afrikaner Broederbond. [Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1978]
