South Africa’s lessons from World War II

A close-up view on a re-enactor dressed as a World War II German Wehrmacht infantry soldier. Picture: iStock With Europe set to celebrate Victory Day over the Nazis tomorrow, it’s important to remember that South Africa’s role inWorld War IIwas meaningful, but not decisive. Anecdotal testimonies from black veterans remind us that Pretoria’s position was that of a coalition partner – present, yet not central.

The war remained a European conflict, with America’s entry tipping the balance. But South Africa’s contribution underscored the global reach of a struggle that left Europe profoundly depleted by theNaziadvance. France capitulated within weeks, the Vichy regime cooperated with the occupiers, and governments in Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium were integrated into the German framework.

Industry in Bohemia and Moravia was absorbed into the German war economy, while Denmark pursued accommodation. Across occupied and semi-independent states, volunteer units were dispatched to the Eastern front. Finland fought alongside Germany, while Hungary, Romania, and Italy committed substantial forces.

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Even neutral Spain sent the Blue Division. The Eastern front thus became the decisive theatre, drawing in not only German forces, but also their allies. It was there that Germany sustained the bulk of its losses.

The battles of Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk deprived Berlin of the strategic initiative and marked the turning point of the war, culminating in the capture of Berlin. The price of victory was staggering: the Soviet Union lost more than 20 million people, with some estimates at 27 million. These figures illustrate the scale and intensity of the Eastern front, without diminishing other nations’ suffering.

A key question is rarely asked: what would have happened had the Soviet Union failed to hold? The question matters because today, former allies confront each other as rivals, forgetting that they once fought side-by-side. China, the US and Britain, for instance, allied to defeat Imperial Japan in the ’40s, yet today, Washington views Beijing as an adversary in economic and geopolitical terms.

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