African Oral Narratives (AON) - ‘Military Intelligence in Apartheid-era South Africa’

Comprising interviews from the De Wet Potgieter collection (AL3283) at SAHA, ‘Military Intelligence in Apartheid-era South Africa' is the first of the 20 collections of oral and life histories from Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania to be launched as part of Michigan State University's African Oral Narratives (AON) project.

The 20 oral history interviews with military intelligence operatives active during the apartheid era in South Africa were conducted, transcribed, and translated by long-time investigative journalist and author, De Wet Potgieter, on behalf of SAHA during 2009 and 2010. Audio recordings and transcripts of all the interviews can be accessed on the AON website. Complementing these interviews is a selection of South African news photographer Doug Lee's images of some of the individuals, events, and activities recounted and documented in the narratives.

Other SAHA oral history collections due to be launched as part of this four year project will include the Forgotten Voices of the Present collection (AL3280), and the Tucker Foundation oral history project (AL2984).

AON is a free, open access digital library and a collaborative effort at the Michigan State University (MSU) between MATRIX, the Department of History, and the African Studies Centre and its partners: Ababa University, the University of Ghana, University of Malawi, the South African History Archive, the United Nations, Indiana University, and Oakland University.