Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Quotes

We must have the courage of men and be strong. But the will to resistance of a volk/people is linked to the kind of leadership which he chooses for himself. If he has the will to resistance, he searches for strong leadership and not weak leadership. If you want to be victorious, you have to be prepared to follow leaders who are not prepared to cave in.

Translated from Afrikaans: Genl. Smuts en sy aanhangers het sonder enige weifeling al hul veelgeroemde strewe na versoening en die skepping van een volk uit Afrikaans- en Engelssprekendes op die altaar van die Britse Ryk gelê. Helder staan dit uit dat hul strewe nie was om 'n waarlik Suid-Afrikaanse volk te laat ontstaan nie, maar 'n vertakking van die Engelse volk woonagtig in Suid-Afrika. Daarin moes die Afrikanerdom opgelos word. Hierdie oorlogskrisis was nodig om dit vir almal glashelder te stel.

Translated from Afrikaans: Die Transvaler kom met 'n roeping – hy kom om 'n volk te dien deur die geluid van troue en verhewe nasionalisme te laat weerklink waar sy stem ook reik. Uit hierdie roeping sal sy besieling spruit, dié strewe sal sy karakter bepaal.

Translated from Afrikaans: In die lig van die menings wat namens die ander lederegerings insake die rassebeleid van die Unieregering uitgespreek is, en die aanduidings van hul toekomsplanne teenoor die rassebeleid van die Unieregering, is besluit om Suid-Afrika se aansoek om lid van die Statebond te bly wanneer die land op 31 Mei 'n Republiek word terug te trek. ...hierdie betreurenswaardige stap dui die begin van die disintegrasie van die Statebond aan.

Joint declaration issued after meetings between Verwoerd, Eric Louw (minister of foreign affairs), Vittorio Carpio (chairman of UN special committee on South West Africa) and Martinez de Alva (his vice-chairman) in May 1962, as quoted by N. F. Hefer & G. C. Basson in Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, Pictorial Biography 1901-1966, p. 102. Voortrekkerpers (1966)

It was not the Republic of South Africa that was told, 'We are not going to support you in this respect.' Those words were addressed to the monarchy of South Africa, and yet we have the same monarch as this person from Britain who addressed these words to us. It was a warning given to all of us, English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking, republican and anti-republican. It was clear to all of us that as far as these matters are concerned, we shall have to stand on our own feet.

Genl. Smuts and his followers, without any hesitation, laid all their much-celebrated quest for reconciliation and the creation of one nation of Afrikaans and English speakers on the altar of the British Empire. It is clear that their aim was not to create a truly South African people/volk, but a branch of the English people living in South Africa. And in it Afrikanerdom had to be dissolved. This war crisis was necessary to make that transparent to everyone.

We won't allow anyone to kill us, we won't fall prey to anyone; we shall fight for our existence and we shall stay alive! ... South Africa's future is greater today than its past. The history of South Africa is characterised by crisis upon crisis, but from every crisis a greater triumph was born.

As Prime Minister, as quoted in the Die Transvaler newspaper (4 July 1960)

On 26 May 1960 at a large political rally at Meyerton, Transvaal, as quoted by N. F. Hefer & G. C. Basson in Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, Pictorial Biography 1901-1966, p. 83. Voortrekkerpers (1966)

Britain must now take our hand of friendship or reject it. I do not believe it will be rejected.

Israel is not consistent in its new anti-apartheid attitude... They took Israel away from the Arabs after the Arabs lived there for a thousand years. In that, I agree with them. Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state.

[No evidence exists to support the assertions that a threat to world peace or security exists in South West Africa.]

The white man that came to Africa – some to trade, others to bring the gospel – came here to stay. Especially we in this southernmost point of Africa have such claims here that we justly consider it our homeland; we have nowhere else to go. We occupied bare land, and the Bantu likewise came and occupied certain parts for them. The thinking of Africa is to grant those complete rights that we agree with you that all people expect. We believe in providing those rights to the fullest extent in those parts of South Africa that our white ancestors occupied for themselves, but similarly we also believe in equilibrium. We believe namely that equal opportunity must remain at the disposal of the whites who made all this possible. Furthermore we consider ourselves part of the Western world, a true white state in Africa, which holds every promise of a complete future for the black man in our midst.
We consider ourselves indispensable to the white world. If a division were to arise in future – how would South Africa fulfill its best role both in cooperation with the white nations of the world and in befriending the black states of Africa? How can these black states strengthen the arm of those who fight for the civilization we believe in? We are the link. We are white, but we are in Africa. As such it imposes an extraordinary duty on us and we realize it. And if you came here with nothing more than to make it known everywhere that no one can achieve anything by trying to hurt one with whom he differs, but that good can only be born from attempts to do good to others, then your journey as far as this southern frontier was well rewarded.

Translated from Afrikaans: Daar bestaan geen getuienis om die bewerings te staaf dat daar 'n bedreiging vir wêreldvrede en -veiligheid in Suidwes is nie.