Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd (1958-1966) is widely regarded as the mastermind of apartheid in South Africa. This study examines how he developed the ideology of racial separation into a comprehensive system. It also looks into Verwoerd's intellectual development and his academic career before he entered politics. Apartheid was to Verwoerd less a defense of colonialism but a policy for the future, he was an authoritarian modernizer and a true representative of the Age of Extremes.
"Marx's meticulous analysis of Verwoerd's scientific oeuvre reveals fascinating insights into the politician's mindset - his notion of an absolute truth that could be established once and for all through scientific means, his dismissal of emotions, and his uncompromising dogmatism" - Julia Tischler (Universität Basel ) in H-Soz-Kult (19.12.2024), https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-94648.
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"Dem Autor ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Geschichte der Apartheid gelungen, deren Ursprünge jetzt genauer geklärt werden müssen." - Eberhard Zimmermann in Das Historisch-Politische Buch 71 (2023) 3-4, 490
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"Dem Autor ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Geschichte der Apartheid gelungen, deren Ursprünge jetzt genauer geklärt werden müssen." - Eberhard Zimmermann in Das Historisch-Politische Buch 71 (2023) 3-4, 490