| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | 9 | Reference code | 19M.1.BP.TZ0.16 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | To what extent | Question number | 16 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to case study 2: Apartheid South Africa (1948–1964) — Protests and action: non-violent protests: Freedom Charter.
Source M
Robert Sobukwe, the leader of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), making a speech at the opening of the PAC’s first meeting (April 1959).
The Europeans are a foreign minority group, which has exclusive control of political, economic, social and military power. It is the exploiting group responsible for the harmful doctrine of White Supremacy which has resulted in the humiliation of the African people. It is this group which has robbed the African people of their land … It is this group which states that the Native is still backward and savage …
The African people can be organised only under the banner of African nationalism in an All-African organisation where they will, by themselves, decide on the methods of struggle without interference from groups of minorities who arrogantly claim for themselves the right to plan and think for Africans …
Against multi-racialism we have this objection … [it] would mean giving way to European prejudice and arrogance …
We aim, politically, at government of the Africans by the Africans for Africans, with everybody who owes his only loyalty to Africa and who is prepared to accept the democratic rule of an African majority.
Source N
Eli Weinberg, an African National Congress (ANC) photographer, depicts some of
the 156 people charged with high treason by the South African Government in a
detail from the composite picture Treason Trial (December 1956).
[Source: Eli Weinberg, UWC-Robben-Island Museum Mayibuye Archives.]
Source O
Anthony Sampson, a British journalist who had met and worked with leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, writing in the obituary of Lionel Bernstein in the British newspaper The Guardian (26 June 2002).
Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein was one of the most influential and dedicated members of the small group of white revolutionaries who supported the black liberation movement.
He played a crucial role in drafting [writing] the 1955 African National Congress (ANC) Freedom Charter … [and] coined [wrote] the document’s opening slogan “Let us speak of freedom”, including rousing phrases like “the people shall govern” and “all shall be equal before [under] the law”.
In 1956, Bernstein was among the 156 people charged—and acquitted—in the so-called treason trial …
He was, quite simply, driven to protest by his sense of outrage at the segregation and oppression of black people …
As the only multi-racial party, the SACP [the South African Communist Party, which Bernstein and his wife had joined in 1938] acquired a heroic reputation among blacks leading the fight against racism, and the Bernsteins were always welcoming to the black ANC leaders …
Restricted by bans and harassment [by the authorities], in 1955 Rusty resigned from his high-earning architectural partnership. He and his wife were now totally committed to the struggle.
[Source: adapted from Lionel Bernstein: White fighter in South Africa’s black freedom struggle, by Anthony Sampson,
from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jun/26/guardianobituaries1, reprinted by permission of
Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of Anthony Sampson.]
Source P
Saul Dubow, a professor of African history, writing in the academic book Apartheid 1948–1994 (2014).
Note: “Africanists” refers to black leaders who believed that the anti-apartheid struggle should be fought only by black people.
Whereas Africanists within the African National Congress Youth League, like Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo, came to value cooperation with non-Africans through the struggles in the early 1950s, others … remained deeply suspicious of white and Indian interference. They were able to exploit popular thinking that viewed freedom as synonymous [identical] with African leadership.
The highpoint of multi-racial opposition to apartheid came in 1955 [in a meeting that came to be known as the Congress of the People] when the African National Congress (ANC) and its partners, the Indian Congress, Coloured People’s Organization and the Congress of Democrats (mainly consisting of white members of the outlawed Communist Party), met to agree the Freedom Charter … Africanists resented the inclusion of whites, coloureds and Indians. Some left-wing critics objected that the multi-racialism of the Congress of the People mirrored the official racial categories of the apartheid state …
Although the Freedom Charter was said to have been produced by “the people” in a democratic process of consultation, critics alleged that its formulation [production] was controlled and manipulated by a group of white left-wingers in the Congress of Democrats … It is now widely accepted that Communist Party intellectual Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein was the guiding hand in the formulation of the Freedom Charter.
[Source: Saul Dubow, Apartheid, 1948–1994 (Oxford University Press, 2014). © Saul Dubow 2014.
Reproduced with permission of Oxford Publishing Limited through PLSclear.]
Using the sources and your own knowledge, to what extent do you agree that, during the 1950s, the struggle against apartheid represented a clash between black and white South Africans.
Markscheme
Apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and award credit wherever it is possible to do so. The following material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. While it is expected that there will be coverage of at least two of the sources, candidates are not required to refer to all four sources in their responses.
Indicative content
Source M
There was clear hostility towards any white participation in the anti-apartheid struggle. The source identifies white South Africans as enemies of the black people. Thus, Sobukwe is totally opposed to any cooperation with the whites whom he regards as responsible for the doctrine of white supremacy.
Source N
The number of white faces in the photograph suggests that it is too simplistic to see the struggle against apartheid as a clash between black and white South Africans.
Source O
Some white revolutionaries played a central role in the anti-apartheid struggle. This source, in particular, emphasizes the contribution of Lionel Bernstein. For example, his crucial role in drafting the ANC Freedom Charter, his co-operation with black leaders, and his resignation from a well-paid professional career so as to devote himself fully to the fight to end apartheid.
Source P
While some black members of the ANC Youth League saw no place for whites or coloureds or Indians in the anti-apartheid struggle, others, like Mandela, valued co-operation with white South Africans. Consequently, opposition to apartheid was multi-racial. Further, the source refers to the contribution of a group of white left-wingers, including Lionel Bernstein, to the writing of the Freedom Charter.
Own knowledge
Candidates may discuss the role of significant non-black individuals, such as Father Trevor Huddleston, an English priest who opposed the Group Areas Act, 1950 and later published the book “Naught for Your Comfort”, which told of his experiences in Sophiatown. This book did much to encourage anti-apartheid activism in Britain. Candidates may also discuss the role of Yusug Dadoo, an Indian participant in the anti-apartheid struggle. Some white women also played an important role; in 1955, a group of white women founded the Black Sash organization to fight against the South African government’s plans to withdraw voting rights from coloureds. In 1956 the Federation of South African Women held a huge demonstration in Pretoria against apartheid in general and against the Pass Laws in particular. The president of this organization was a black woman Lilian Ngoyi, and its secretary was a white woman Helen Joseph.
On the other hand, in 1959 the Pan-African Congress led by Robert Sobukwe broke away from the ANC partly because it objected to the ANC’s multi-racial composition.
Examiners report
As noted above, it was pleasing to find that many candidates offered a developed response for the final question. In addition, most responses were focused on the set question and had made some reference to, or use of, the sources to support the analysis. For example, many candidates effectively used the sources to argue that ultimately the international response to German aggression was ineffective for Q12, or that the struggle against apartheid was more complex than a clash between black and white South Africans for Q16. However, there were responses that lacked development which may suggest some continued issues with time management. Some candidates did not include any own knowledge to support their analysis, and conversely, a notable number responded relying only on their own knowledge and without reference to the sources at all. There were also responses that tended to list the content of each source without reference to the question. A few candidates wrote extensively on background material at the expense of a full discussion of the set question.
