Birth
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on September 8, 1901. The setting changed for Hendrik rapidly, at a young age, he moved to from his home in Amsterdam, later to Cape town for ten years, then to Rhodesia, and finally to the Orange Free State in South Africa. His home was important to his success and fame; he got good grades, and was able to get into good schools, which later helped him to become the Prime Minister of South Africa. If not for his family’s early migration, he probably would not have been able to attend the schools he went to receive his fine education.
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on September 8, 1901. The setting changed for Hendrik rapidly, at a young age, he moved to from his home in Amsterdam, later to Cape town for ten years, then to Rhodesia, and finally to the Orange Free State in South Africa. His home was important to his success and fame; he got good grades, and was able to get into good schools, which later helped him to become the Prime Minister of South Africa. If not for his family’s early migration, he probably would not have been able to attend the schools he went to receive his fine education.
Education
As a kid, Verwoerd proved to be a good student and a hard worker. He attended Milton High School, and was awarded the Beit Scholarship because of his hard work and good grades. As he got older, he developed more talents, one of which was becoming a skilled leader and public speaker. In his college years, he often traveled around the world to learn new things. Some of these places included the United States and Germany. After his completion of college, he worked as a psychologist, sociologist, a journalist for ‘Die Transvaal’, and a Statesman.
Achievements/ Obstacles
Verwoerd was awarded the Beit Scholarship, and had a special privilege to travel around the world. Hendrik was a very good public speaker, he knew how to talk to people and get them to agree with what he said. Not everyone agreed with his words, and there were two attempted assassinations on his life. He first became a senator, later the Prime minister of South Africa, and then the “Architect of Apartheid”, the separation of blacks and whites in South Africa. He believed whites did not have any potential for blacks in the community, and they did not fit in stated in this famous quote;
"There is no place for [the Bantu] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour ... What is the use of teaching the Bantu child mathematics when it cannot use it in practice? That is quite absurd. Education must train people in accordance with their opportunities in life, according to the sphere in which they live."
Death
In Hendrik Verwoerd’s last few years he did many important things, and avoided an assassination. In October 1960, White voters were asked by Verwoerd, "Do you support a republic for the Union?” 52% answered “yes”, and South Africa became a republic. On April 9, 1961 H. Verwoerd escaped assassination when, he was shot twice in the face by David Pratt at the Rand Easter Show. H.F Verwoerd had to escape angry protests, assassination, make many convincing speeches to the public. Some of these speeches made many South Africans unhappy, and some of the public weren't big fans of his. Hendrik Verwoerd was assassinated on September 6, 1966 by Dimitri Tsafendas.
Personal Connection
If I were to ask Mr. Verwoerd any two questions, they would be, Why did you want to separate by race or color? Why would you want to separate one group of humans at all? Mr. Verwoerd would probably answer my questions like this; “ If South Africa’s Founders had intended for it to be this way [segregated], who am I to stop that from happening?” And my second question like this, “Whites are better than blacks; we cannot poison our pure race and communities with those of the Kaffir and the Colored. We cannot let our children learn the ways of the Bantu, and to act as they do.”
Hendrik Verwoerd enjoyed his life. He did not have good intentions, and he became famous for them. The Architect of Apartheid was buried in the Hero’s Acre in South Africa and is still there today.