In their book „German capital at the cape“, independent journalists Birgit
Morgenrath and Gottfried Wellmer report
on how and to which extent German
companies profited by co-operating with the
apartheid-dictatorship in South
Africa. Companies that had no scruples about violating both human rights
and UN-embargoes against the apartheid regime.
The immediate cause of Morgenrath’s and Wellmer’s report was the
Khulumani support group’s bringing an action against approximately 20 large
international companies in the USA in November 2002. 91 victims of the
South African regime were sueing the companies because of their aiding to
violations of human rights and their support of the apartheid system.
German banks were involved in dealing with the cape regime as well as
weapon industry, automobile industry and other enterprises. Amongst others,
five German companies were sued: DaimlerChrysler and Rhine metal,
Commerzbank, Dresdner bank and German bank. They all were involved in
various businesses with the South African regime, thereby supporting
apartheid, and right in the face of international embargo
For their report, the authors were taking into account official statistics,
interviews as well as research in literature and press archives of South Africa
in order to prove, how
approximately 400 German companies and their branches or affiliate
companies were linked directly or indirectly to the discriminating policy of
South African politics.
They supplied machines and motor vehicles as well as electrotechnical
products and electronics. They invested lots of money. They even broke the
UN-embargo against weapons. The apartheid regime at the cape received
German bank credits. And more: the German Federal government supported
German companies’ business in South Afrika with so called Hermes-
Buergschaften, which are given to protect German companies, should their
business-partners abroad be unable to pay their duties.
With concrete examples the authors point out business practices of German
companies in the South Africa of racial segregation times: How they were
treating the workers, who had to produce in the so called ‚homelands’
earning minimal wages and under health-damaging working conditions. How
they were ignoring or disregarding the unions and how they were
collaborating with the military.
In addition the book supplies a detailed outline of the history of apartheid in
South Africa from the beginning during colonialism until it’s end in the year
1994.
Birgit Morgenrath, Gottfried Wellmer: Deutsches Kapital am Kap.
Hamburg: Edition Nautilus, 2003.