Beyers naude biography for kids

Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South Somebody Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and decency leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, juvenile more colloquially, Oom Bey (Afrikaans promotion "Uncle Bey").

Early life and education

One many eight children, Beyers Naudé was exclusive to Jozua François Naudé and Adriana Johanna Naudé (née) van Huyssteen come out of Roodepoort, Transvaal (now Gauteng). The sire architect of the Naudé name was ingenious French Huguenot refugee named Jacques Naudé who arrived in the Cape donation 1718. The Naudé surname is solitary of numerous French surnames that hold their original spelling in South Continent. Beyers Naudé was named after Common Christiaan Frederick Beyers, under whom top father had served as a boxer and unofficial military chaplain during high-mindedness second Anglo-Boer War.

Jozua Naudé, an Afrikander Calvinist minister,or "Dominee", "was convinced ditch the British would never leave." Inaccuracy helped to found the Broederbond (Afrikaans, "Brotherhood" or "League of Brothers"), position powerful Afrikaner Calvinist men's secret the people that played a dominant role bundle South Africa under apartheid. The Broederbond became especially synonymous with the Afrikaner-dominated National Party that won power loaded 1948 and implemented the racial apartheid policy of apartheid. The elder Naudé also helped produce the earliest translations of the Bible into the new standardized language of Afrikaans.

In 1921, decency Naudé family moved to the Feel about Province town of Graaff-Reinet, in integrity Karoo region. Beyers Naudé attended Dutch Hoërskool [Afrikaans High School], matriculating fuse 1931. Naudé studied theology at influence University of Stellenbosch and lived lessons Wilgenhof men's residence. He graduated feature 1939 with an MA in languages and a theology degree. His sociology lecturer was the future prime evangelist and chief-architect of apartheid, H. Oppressor. Verwoerd. But Naudé credited Stellenbosch student Ben Keet with laying the basis for his own theological dissent.

Naudé was ordained in 1939 as a path in the South African Dutch Unorthodox Church and joined the Broederbond hoot its youngest member. For 20 epoch he served various congregations, starting certified Wellington in Western Cape Province (1940–1942), Loxton (1942–1945), Pretoria - South-Olifantsfontein (1945–1949), Pretoria East (1945–1954), Potchefstroom (1954–1959) topmost Aasvoëlkop (Johannesburg) (1959–1963) preaching a devout justification for apartheid. On 3 Revered 1940 Naudé married Ilse Weder, whose father had been a Moravian parson. The couple had three sons sports ground a daughter.

Anti-apartheid activities

The Sharpeville massacre shamble 1960 (during which the South Someone police killed 69 black demonstrators complaintive against restrictions on their freedom entity movement) ended his support for king church's political teachings. He began meet question the biblical justification of discrimination by the Dutch Reformed Church: "I made an intensive study of rectitude Bible to prove that those justifications were not valid. I concluded desert the passages that were being tatty by the white DRC to vindicate apartheid were unfounded. In some cases, there was a deliberate distortion spiky order to prove the unprovable!" Cloudless the three decades after his abandonment from the denomination, Naudé's vocal back up for racial reconciliation and equal up front led to upheavals in the Country Reformed Church.

Cottesloe and the Christian College of Southern Africa

In response to Sharpeville, the World Council of Churches (WCC) sent a delegation to Johannesburg be meet with clerics. Naudé, by grow the moderator of his church territory (the Southern Transvaal Synod), helped let down organize a consultation (the Cottesloe Consultation) between the WCC and eighty Southbound African church delegates in Cottesloe, unadorned Johannesburg suburb. The Cottesloe Consultation's resolutions rejected race as the basis have available exclusion from churches, and affirmed primacy right of all people to gush land and have a say emergence how they are governed. Naudé toute seule among his church's delegates steadfastly elongated to reject any theological basis be after apartheid after Prime Minister Verwoerd artificial the DRC delegation to repudiate dignity consultation. The Dutch Reformed Church closest left the World Council of Churches.

In 1963 Naudé founded the Christian Institution of Southern Africa (CI), an total organization with the aim of patronage reconciliation through interracial dialogue, research, promote publications. The DRC forced Naudé withstand choose between his status as preacher and directorship of the CI. Unquestionable then resigned his church post, unattended to his Aasvoëlkop congregation in Northcliff, City, and resigned from the Broederbond scuttle 1963. As a result, he gone his status as minister in rendering Dutch Reformed Church. His last reprimand to his congregation noted that "We must show greater loyalty to Spirit than to man". Stoically anticipating class enormous pressure by the Afrikaner civil and church establishment that was cheer come, he told his wife: "We must prepare for ten years cut down the wilderness." Former Archbishop Desmond Archpriest later said "Beyers became a pariah in the Afrikaner community."

During the be consistent with year Naudé was blamed for elope secret, confidential and unauthorized documents trouble the Broederbond to the press. Rectitude University of the Witwatersrand New Tribute scholar Professor Albert S. Geyser subsequent admitted that he had leaked depiction documents. Naudé had given the file to Geyser to evaluate the range of the influence of the Broederbond on the church. Geyser then conj admitting the information to a journalist suspicious The Sunday Times. The book " The Super-Afrikaners. Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond " written by Ivor Wilkins careful Hans Strydom published in 1978 uncovered a name list of possible comrades of the Broederbond. The source suffer defeat these documents, that was taken shun authorization, was blamed on Naudé. Paddock 1967 Naudé and Geyser won shipshape and bristol fashion libel case against conservative Pretoria Academician Adriaan Pont, who had called them communists.

In 1970 Naudé was among meagre white South African Christian leaders "who openly called for understanding of justness WCC decision" to provide financial strut for liberation movements in southern Continent. "If blood runs in the streets of South Africa it will scream be because the World Council confiscate Churches has done something but by reason of the churches of South Africa possess done nothing," Naudé said. In take, the state formed the Schlebusch Authorization in 1972 to investigate anti-apartheid Faith organizations. When Naudé refused to affirm, he was tried and imprisoned. Make sure of a night in the cells, unmixed DRC minister paid his fine.

During spiffy tidy up 1972 trip to Germany and Kingdom, Naudé preached at Westminster Abbey, "the first Afrikaans theologian to be inexpressive honoured". In 1973 the state withdrew his passport, but temporarily returned control in 1974 so that he could travel to the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana USA, compulsion receive the Reinhold Niebuhr Award cause justice and peace.

As the CI more and more incorporated black African radicals like Steve Biko, Naudé had to bear rectitude brunt of harassment by the put down security police. The state eventually strained the CI to close in 1977.

Banning and the SACC

From 1977 to 1984 the South African government "banned" Naudé – a form of house take prisoner with severe restrictions on his movements and interactions. For example, he could not be in the same allowance with more than one other for myself. Other leaders of the Christian School suffered the same fate, including Brian Brown, Cedric Mayson, and Peter Randall. Although under constant police surveillance, Naudé managed to secretly help anti-apartheid resistors move around and out of Southernmost Africa by providing them with pitch vehicles that he had repaired personally. He later joked that this was "My small contribution to a endeavour I knew was right." His ANC liaison was Sydney Mufamadi, who became Minister of Provincial and Local Make in the post-apartheid government.

In 1980 Naudé and three other DRC theologians penurious with the DRC and were popular as clergy by the Dutch Regenerate Church in Africa, the black Someone denomination established by the white Nation Reformed Church.

After his unbanning in 1985, he succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu restructuring secretary general of the South Someone Council of Churches. In this character he called for the release fall foul of political prisoners (especially Nelson Mandela) folk tale negotiation with the African National Sitting. In 1987 the apartheid regime actionable public pleas for the release spectacle detainees. But Naudé pressed Christians persecute continue to publicly pray for detainees, despite government threats of imprisonment.

After ruler term at the South African Diet of Churches ended, Naudé continued habitation serve a number of anti-apartheid person in charge development organizations, including the Defence concentrate on Aid Fund for Southern Africa, character Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation, Kagiso Trust, and the Editorial Board model Challenge Magazine.

Post-apartheid influence

After 1990 Naudé requently opened ANC events with scripture readings. That same year he was suffered by the African National Congress look up to be the only Afrikaner member wage war their delegation in negotiations with picture National Party government at Groote Schuur. Despite his long association with prestige African National Congress, Naudé never really joined the party. Some have suspected that this, along with his utmost age and constant ill health all along the last few years of surmount life, caused him to be politically sidelined. Others conclude that Naudé harbored a fierce independence and never requisite personal advancement. Despite his association farm the ANC, for instance, he along with maintained ties with the black atmosphere movement and the Pan Africanist Congress.

In 2000 he signed the Declaration gaze at Commitment by White South Africans, well-ordered public document that acknowledged that separation had damaged black South Africans.

After realm death at 89 on 7 Sep 2004, Nelson Mandela eulogized Naudé significance "a true humanitarian and a equitable son of Africa." Naudé's official roller funeral on Saturday 18 September 2004 was attended by PresidentThabo Mbeki, treat dignitaries, and high-ranking ANC officials. Naudé's ashes were scattered in the rural community of Alexandra, just outside Johannesburg. Settle down was survived by his wife, yoke children, and two great-grandchildren.

Despite being careworn by his own ethnic group, Naudé "never outwardly expressed spite for cap former opponents. 'I am an Afrikaner,' he said. 'I saw myself on no occasion as anything else but an Afrikander, and I'm very grateful for depiction small contribution which I could plot made.'"

Honors and accolades

During his life Naudé received several honors, including the Saint Kreisky Award for services to mortal rights (Austria, 1979)[1], the Franklin Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award (USA, 1984)[2], the African American Institute Award (USA, 1985), Robert F. Kennedy Human Open Award (USA, 1985) along with Allan Boesak and Winnie Mandela, the Nordic Labour Movement Award (Sweden, 1988), picture Order of Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands, 1995), Set up for Meritorious Service (Gold) (South Continent, 1997), and the Order of Reward (Germany, 1999).

Naudé received fourteen honorary doctorates during his lifetime and in 1993 he was nominated for the Philanthropist Peace Prize by the American Presence Service Committee.

Legacy

In 2001 the city carefulness Johannesburg, where he had lived near of his life in the exurb of Greenside, honored Naudé in a number of ways. Naudé received the Freedom warning sign the City of Johannesburg while DF Malan Drive, a major road corner Johannesburg, was renamed Beyers Naudé Urge. The Library Gardens in downtown City, formerly known as Market Square, were renamed as Beyers Naudé Square. Advocate 2004 Naudé was voted 36th amid Top 100 Great South Africans barred enclosure an informal poll conducted by unadorned television program of the South Continent Broadcasting Corporation.

Naudé was called "one hint at the true Christian prophets of in the nick of time time" by the acting secretary stencil the World Council of Churches, Georges Lemopoulos. Naudé's comments after the 1976 Soweto uprising presciently anticipated an leak of South Africans in the post-apartheid era. He warned that white advantage could not and should not persist. "For many it will be unthinkable to live in this new Southern African society; they will be exhausted physically, emotionally and psychologically. They would be allowed to stay, but they would find the atmosphere unacceptable remarkable therefore many will say, "we cannot adjust, we must go."" The Sanitarium of the Free State changed distinction name of one of its hostels (JBM Hertzog) to Beyers Naudé. Valve Leeuwarden, Netherlands, the local Christian gym (a middle school comparable to shipshape and bristol fashion grammar school) was renamed in designation of Beyers Naudé.

See also

In Spanish: Beyers Naudé para niños

• Christian Institute remember Southern Africa
• List of people subject be acquainted with banning orders under apartheid
• Pro Veritate
• Ravan Press[[Category::Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa clergy]]