Chapter 25. A Reichstag Fire Trial Replete With A Van Der Lubbe

In the general election of May 1948, the Nationalist Party polled 400,453 votes and its ally, the Afrikaner Party, 41,885, a total of 442,338 votes. On the other hand, the United Party polled 515,373 votes, the Labour Party 32,164 votes and the Independents, who were almost exclusively anti-Nationalist, 76,279 votes. In nineteen constituencies, where the workers had the decisive vote, the Nationalists won by a combined vote of only 9,400. They obtained a majority of seven in the new Parliament, but once in power, pursued a ruthless and fraudulent policy to increase their numbers.

The new Minister of Labour, Mr. B. J. Schoeman, repeatedly assured the trade union movement, during the election campaign, that there would be no interference with their internal affairs, but these assurances had the same value as Hitler's declarations that he had no more territorial ambitions. Most of the trade unions felt grave concern, but only a few, with our union at the head, were determined to fight. Some trade union leaders decided to come to terms with the new Government. Others showed a preference for discretion, rather than velour.

Inspired by the Nationalist victory, a handful of disrupters, mainly from Germiston, soon intensified their intrigues against the union. Some of them started a new terror technique. They would telephone my house late at night and shout threats and abuse. I frequently had to work late at the office, to prepare the union's case for the pending arbitration, which meant my wife, Dulcie Hartwell, who was pregnant at the time, was on her own at home. The Nationalist hooligans apparently watched my movements and invariably telephoned when I was away. Dulcie would answer, expecting a call from me, only to be told in Afrikaans that her Jew Communist husband would share the fate of Charlie Harris. They also threatened and abused Dulcie herself, who, as a former garment worker, had taken a leading part in the fight against the Nationalist policy of race hatred and oppression. Although she is a resolute and courageous woman, the constant telephone calls proved unnerving, especially as the baby was due quite soon. Andrew, our son, was born on the 4th July 1948, but the nightly telephone calls continued. Finally, we had to change our telephone number and keep the new one secret.

The Nationalists had resolved to settle accounts with the Garment Workers Union and all other progressive unions, but, at first, they were not sure how to go about it. They were determined to remove me from my position, but their great difficulty was always to find someone to take my place. In the past, they had chosen workers who had never been in the clothing industry in their lives and these had proved hopeless failures.

Their chance came in 1948.

Early in 1947, Gert Hendrik van der Walt, a young, pleasant-looking Afrikaner, who had recently come into the industry, began to take an active interest in union work. He made militant speeches, vigorously attacked the Nationalist Party, and became an active member of the Labour Party. All the leaders of the union, except myself, were women and we were always on the look-out for a promising Afrikaner man to play a leading role. In due course, van der Walt was elected to the central executive committee, and later became vice-president of the union; he was given every opportunity of becoming a leader, and by the middle of 1948 he had been recommended for a position as union organiser. The committee instructed me to interview three candidates, including van der Walt, to find out their technical qualifications. I had always been very friendly with him and liked to help workers from the ranks to take leading parts in union affairs. At the interview, van der Walt showed keen interest in becoming a full-time official of the union, but I felt that there was something strange about him, which I could not define. But, before I could decide whether or not to recommend him, an old and very loyal member of the executive informed us that van der Walt was a secret agent of the Blankewerkers Beskermingsbond (White Workers' Protection League) and was being paid £11 2s. a week by them. Van der Walt was charged before the executive with being an agent of a disruptive organisation and expelled from the union. The Nationalist press immediately built him up into a hero and martyr, who was being victimised by the "Sachs clique". His photograph, accom­panied by long stories of how he and his family had been deprived of a living, was splashed across the pages of Die Transvaler, organ of the Nationalist Party in the Transvaal. With the help of other members of the White Workers' Protection League, he went about addressing meetings, denouncing the union, emphasising his poverty (neglecting to mention that he was still being paid by the League), and urging the workers to oust me and elect him as secretary in my place.

On the 16th September, 1948, the union held a general meeting at the City Hall, Johannesburg, to receive a full report on the arbitrators' award, granting us the forty-hour week; The meeting started at about five p.m. and, half-an-hour later, while I was reporting on the result of the arbitration to an attentive audience, a mob of several hundred, armed with all sorts of weapons, and led by van der Walt with a revolver in his hand, smashed the doors and burst into the hall. Shouting in Afrikaans:

"Today blood must flow. Solly Sachs and Anna Scheepers will be taken to hospital in an ambulance", they began to assault people left and right. Fifteen policemen and a police commandant stood outside the hall-the union had warned the police that a mob was coming to break up the meeting-but they took no action. The rioters consisted of Nationalist hoodlums from all over the Rand, with some garment workers from Germiston, who had joined them. We subsequently learned that the Railway Administration had put a special train at their disposal to bring them into Johannesburg. The president, Anna Scheepers, closed the meeting and, anxious to avoid bloodshed, appealed to members to disperse. Hundreds of women, worried and excited, ran up to the platform and begged me to leave the hall, shouting that some of the hooligans were armed and threatening to kill me. Passers-by, who saw these scenes, exclaimed: "This is like Nazi Germany"! After breaking up the meeting, the mob threatened to march on the union headquarters but for some unknown reason, abandoned the idea. Johannesburg was stunned by this display of mob violence and disgusted at the failure of the police to do anything about it. At a meeting in Germiston, some time later, one of the mob leaders openly boasted that several of them had obtained revolvers and had come to the meeting meaning to shoot me and then pretend that it had happened in the excitement of the moment or by accident.

The following morning, the president of the union sent a telegram to the Minister of Justice:

"General meeting garment workers Johannesburg branch held City Hall Johannesburg and attended by 2,500 women and several hundred men attacked by organised mob and broken up by force. Many people seriously assaulted. Much damage caused to property. Several people openly incited to violence and murder. Mob consisted mainly of non-garment workers. Officials and union property still being threatened by force. Respectfully request you to take steps immediately against lawless mob, also to institute public inquiry".

No reply was received to the telegram.

The Minister of Justice took no action, but a few days later his colleague, the Minister of Labour, acting under the Commissions Act of 1947, appointed a commission with the following terms of reference:

"To enquire and report upon:

(a) The disturbance, which occurred at a meeting of the Garment Workers' Union, held at Johannesburg on the 16th day of September 1948, and the circumstances which gave rise to such disturbance.

(b) The affairs and administration of the Garment Workers' Union and in particular-

(i) The extent to which, and the circumstances in which the union has, by suspending or terminating the membership of members of the union, caused such members to lose their employment in the clothing industry in the Transvaal by reason of provisions in industrial agreements negotiated by the union in terms of which employment in the said industry with employers who were parties to such agreements was limited to persons who were members of the union,

(ii) The procedure followed in suspending or terminating the membership of any such members,

(iii) The justification or otherwise of such suspensions or termination, and (iv) The administration of the funds of the Garment Workers' Union and to submit such recommendations as it may deem necessary in the light of its findings".

Instead of bringing the criminals to trial, the Nationalist Government had appointed a "smear" commission, with the object of maligning the union and its leaders and reinstating van der Walt to membership so that he might become secretary of the union.

The chairman of the commission, Mr. H. J. Graham-Wolfaardt, was a second-grade magistrate from a small town in the Orange Free State, who knew nothing about trade unions or industrial affairs. Mr. J. F. Malherbe, a very old, retired magistrate, was the other member of the commission. The Nationalists were rubbing their hands with glee. Their chief witness was to be van der Walt, who had been vice-president of the union, and he would "expose" to the world the "sinister" activities of the Garment Workers' Union. The commission had power to subpoena witnesses and documents and thus the private affairs of the union would be made public property.

The Nationalists did not know what was in store for them.

Before the 14th August, 1948, when van der Walt had been expelled from union membership for "association with and actively participating in the work of certain disrupters who are aiming at dividing and disrupting the Garment Workers' Union", a member had told us that van der Walt had been convicted for a serious crime and had served time in gaol. In due course, we obtained of van der Walt's criminal record, which was indeed impressive.

The commission began its public sittings on the 22nd November 1948. The first witness to be called was Gert Hendrik van der Walt. In the many hours he spent in the witness box, he meandered in his evidence and showed no particular viciousness towards any other or me official of the union. There was nothing remotely sensational in his testimony which proved damp squib reporters of the Nationalist press.

The chairman of the commission seemed unmoved when the ness finished. We had advised the anti-Nationalist papers that our side would produce a "sensation" at the inquiry and the as well represented.

The court was crowded when counsel for the union, Mr. I. A., K.C., stood up to cross-examine van der Walt. The following is taken verbatim from the record of proceedings of the commission of inquiry into the Garment Workers' Union:

Maisels: Well, Mr. van der Walt, we will just examine you on your work in the garment workers' industry and your ability speaks as a worker. I understand from your evidence this morning that you entered the garment industry in February 1946?

V.d. Walt: Yes.

Q: What previous experience had you in the garment work Industry?

A.: I had never been a member of the Garment Workers Union before. At a trade school I learnt the trade as a tailor and on that experience I worked.

Q.: Mr. van der Walt, you started with the African Clothing in February 1946? .

A.: That is right.

Q.: And previous to that, where had you worked?

A.; I had worked in Ladybrand in a tailor shop and I had been in the industrial school. I was there for four years.

Q.: You worked in Ladybrand, was that for three and a half

A.: Yes.

Q.: Oh, I see. When did you work in Ladybrand for three and a half years?

A.: It was between the years '38 and '40.

Q.: I think you had better be a little careful, Mr. van der Walt. With whom did you work in Ladybrand in those years?

”¢  Q. A Mr. Thompson.

”¢  What is his business?

A.: He is a tailor.

Q.: And you worked for him for three and a half years during what period?

A.: Between '38 and '42 or '41, between that time.

Q.: When?

A.: 38 and '42.

Q.: Was that all you did between 1939 and 1942?

A.: We had a farm there, too, and there were periods when

I was on the farm.

Q.: Were there periods when you were elsewhere?

A.: No, I don't think so.

Q.: You don't think so?

A.: No.

Q.: Or would you try thinking a little bit harder, Mr. van der Walt. I want to know between the period of 1938 and 1942 where you were.

A.: Mr. Chairman, I do not wish to answer that question because it is irrelevant to the case, on the evidence I am giving in regard to the garment industry today.

Q.: Now, I am not surprised that you gave that answer, Mr. van der Walt, but I think Mr. Commissioner will pull me up when I ask you questions which I am not entitled to ask you. Mr. van der Walt, I want to know from you where you were in this period when you say you were working for a tailor. I am going to tell you v/hat you said then was just a deliberate untruth. Now, come along, Mr. van der Walt. Where were you during this period?

A.: I refuse to answer this question.

Q.: You refuse to answer this question. Well, then, shall I tell you where you were?

A.: If you wish. You may please yourself.

Maisels: Mr. Chairman, would you mind asking the witness to answer the questions?

Chairman: Is this on a question of credibility, or what is it?

Maisels: This is a most important question.

Chairman: In which respect?

Maisels: Mr. van der Walt has made a most serious accusation with regard to the manner in which certain disturbances arose, and made most serious accusations against persons holding positions in the trade union movement, and I think it is necessary for this commission to know who this person is, and what his qualifications are for making such statements.

Chairman: You mean that you wish to test his credibility by exposing his character, Mr. Maisels?

Maisels: Briefly, I am going to show you, Sir, if you will allow me, that this person is a convict, convicted not merely of theft, but crimes of violence, and also a person who has spent a considerable period of his life in a lunatic asylum, and that is the person who has set himself up as the liberator of the garment workers. Now, Mr. van der Walt, will you answer my question?

The cross-examination which followed established that at the age of twenty-six, the "hero" and "martyr", who was built up as a great leader by the Nationalist Party and press and as the man who was to succeed me as general secretary of the union, had the following criminal record:

The next morning, the Rand Daily Mail came out with a poster:

"Sensation at Garment Union Inquiry". The enemies of the union dropped their hero like a hot brick.

The appearance of the first witness against the union had been tragic. The second proved a complete farce.

Miss Anna Knoetze had been a loyal member of the union from 1928 until 1940, when she came under the influence of a minister of a Dutch Reformed Church. During the War, she had left the clothing industry to take a more lucrative job in a munition factory. When she resumed work in a clothing factory, she became an active agent of the White Workers' Protection League, but conducted her activities quite openly. There was something queer about her and the workers treated her persistent attacks on the union as a joke and a nuisance, but did not take her seriously.

As soon as the Nationalist Party came to power, she became very active and was expelled from the union at the same time as van der Walt. At the riotous City Hall meeting. Miss Knoetze had been second in command.

The chairman of the commission was most friendly to her and she spent three days in the witness box, giving full vent to her feelings against the union, denouncing it as a "Kaffir", communist organisation.

Under cross-examination, she was pressed by Mr. Phillips, counsel for the union, to produce some concrete evidence of the communist activities of the union. She replied that she had run through the pages of the union magazine, the Garment Worker/Klerewerker , and found it full of "communism".

The following is taken from the record (page 496):

Mr. Phillips: What sort of communist methods? Please give us one or two examples. Miss Knoetze.

Miss Knoetze: When you read it, you can see that it is not a paper for a Christian.

Q.: But that is not what you said. You say it is full of communist methods. Give me examples, please.

Chairman: That is her idea of an example.

Mr. Phillips, however, was not satisfied and, before the tea adjournment, he handed Miss Knoetze all the Garment Workers for 1947 and 1948 and asked her to look through them during the interval. When the commission resumed, Miss Knoetze produced the Garment Worker for September-October, 1947, and said: "Here it deals with Abraham Lincoln". She pointed to a picture of Lincoln and two short passages, referring to him and quoting his famous speech on liberties.

Mr. Phillips: Is that communist propaganda. Miss Knoetze?

Miss Knoetze: That is how I feel, because I feel that this man (again pointing to Abraham Lincoln) is one of the great living communists.

Q.: Abraham Lincoln?

A: Yes, that is how I feel, I speak as I feel. I can't act otherwise.

The South African Press featured Miss Knoetze's evidence with headlines reading: "Abraham Lincoln is the greatest living com­munist", and it became a standing joke. Only the chairman of the commission did not laugh. He had probably never heard of Abraham Lincoln either.

The commission dragged on for about twelve months, but after the exposure of van der Walt, people lost interest in the proceedings. This " Reichstag Fire" trial, complete with a van der Lubbe, staged by the Nationalists, not only misfired, but also brought much discredit to them. In the first round with the Nationalist Government, the union emerged victorious. Van der Walt disappeared from the scene and was not heard of again. The Government spent over £20,000 on the commission, but when its report was published eighteen months later, no one took any notice of it.