Abstract:
Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 saw the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the re armament of
Germany and the road to war. Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 to launch the Second World War. When British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced on Sunday September 3 1939 that Britain was at war with Germany, South Africa was once more divided. Prime Minister Hertzog opted for neutrality as he had done in 1914.The cabinet was split; Deputy Prime Minister Smuts proposed that South Africa should sever relations with Hitler’s Third Reich and join the Allies. Hertzog’s neutrality motion was defeated in Parliament by 13 votes and Hertzog resigned. Governor General Sir Patrick Duncan invited Smuts to form a new government. On September 6th South Africa declared war on Nazi Germany.
