"Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity."-Nelson Mandela during an interview for the documentary 'Mandela' in 1996.  

The 18th of July is Mandela day, a day of remembrance to mark the day on which Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. This year it is 100 years since his birth. As time goes by the living memories of Mandela the man are less and the icon or representation of a man comes to the fore. The Iconography of Mandela is now used by different groups for different agendas. As time progresses it will be the archival record which is increasingly important in defining how Mandela is viewed.   SAHA as an archive dedicated to the struggle has many resources that ...

This year marks the 100th year since the birth of Nelson Mandela. Mandela Day is celebrated by encouraging people accross the world to find his legacy in themselves and pay it forward.   To celebrate and honour him, SAHA takes a look at his journey through the poster collection AL2446.          

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison after 27 years on 11 February 1990, we focus on a selection of posters in SAHA's Poster collection (AL2446) with messages ranging from a persistent call for his freedom throughout the eighties to his eventual release from prison, the homecoming rally and the U.S. tour in 1990.  

18 July, 2010 is the 92nd birthday of Nelson Mandela, also known affectionately as 'Madiba'. Mandela spent 27 years in prison after being charged and sentenced for sabotage during the Rivonia Trial. During this time he became an international icon of South Africa's liberation struggle. Recognized as the legitimate leader of a free South Africa, the international solidarity movement rallied for his release. Free Mandela Major international events in support of Mandela's release formed an important part of the international solidarity movement. During ...

The symbol of freedom "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others..." The South African History Archive salutes Nelson Mandela on the twentieth anniversary of his release from prison. His freedom on February 11, 1990, heralded a new age for democracy, turning the tide of an ongoing struggle for the eradication of institutional racism in South Africa and worldwide. After South African President P.W. Botha suffered a stroke in late 1989, he was replaced by F.W. De Klerk, who announced his ...

SAHA is proud to have five of its collections included in the newly launched Rivonia Trial Database, hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). The project falls under the NMF Memory Programme, led by Verne Harris. According to Harris, "the database, and the records audit on which it is built, constitute a first step towards generating a comprehensive archive of the Rivonia Trial." The famous trial took place between 26 November 1963 and 12 June 1964. It was named after a suburb in Johannesburg, where senior members of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African ...

The symbolism of Mandela Day 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of the late Nelson Mandela. Born on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, a small village in the Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela went on to become an international icon and the face of the South African liberation struggle. After his entry into politics in the 1940s, Mandela led the Defiance Campaign in 1952 and as repression increased, he was arrested in 1955 and stood trial for high treason alongside 155 other co-accused in what became known as the 1956 Treason Trial. Following his acquittal, ...

In May 2009, the Nelson Mandela Foundation launched an anti-apartheid movement (AAM) archive resource on its website, listing international organisations involved in anti-apartheid activities and those archives now responsible for preserving and making available records of these organisations. At the moment, the archive contains those organisations for which the Foundation managed to locate records in the time that was available for this project. Unfortunately, many countries and organisations are not included in this overview - partly because the study relied largely on ...