South African College Students Suspended Over Nazi Posters
Three South African students were suspended on Thursday on suspicion of putting up Nazi-inspired posters at an elite university, at a time of growing tension in race relations.
Stellenbosch University said the images, which copied Nazi youth movement posters without their swastika flags, contained “highly offensive references to Nazi propaganda and Neo-Nazism” and were in breach of the university’s policies on harassment and discrimination.
The posters for an “Anglo-Afrikaner student” event appeared on Tuesday and were taken down on Wednesday. Under the motto “Fight for Stellenbosch” in English and Afrikaans, one series showed a blond brown-shirted man and another a young woman with long blond braids.
“I have decided to suspend the three students suspected of misconduct while disciplinary proceedings are ongoing,” said Wim de Villiers, rector and vice chancellor at the university, who has described the posters as “deliberate mischief-making.”
Scores of mainly black students and some academics held a meeting on Thursday to condemn the posters publicly, a member of the Student Representative Council said.
“Racism is still very much alive, and the posters just showed us once again,” said council spokesman Kamva Somdyala.—Reuters
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30