Science and society in the early career of H.F. Verwoerd

Abstract

The early career of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd has rarely received either scholarly or political attention. Yet the period between 1924, when he was awarded a PhD in Psychology at Stellenbosch, and 1936, when left academia to become editor of Die Transvaler, was critical in providing him with the organisational and political experience that later made him so successful as a National Party politician and administrator. Equally important, Verwoerd was neither a strident Afrikaner nationalist nor a doctrinaire white supremacist during these years. He played a central role in the campaign against white Afrikaner poverty in the 1930s and sought to encourage joint English‐Afrikaner co‐operation in this work. He was also instrumental in shaping the early South African social welfare movement, where he drew heavily on American experience and research. These activities, combined with his ambition and energy, gave him both the prominence and the platform for launching his political career after 1936.