“Subjects or Citizens?”: Black South Africans and the Dilemma of the Second World War

Abstract

In 1940 Yusuf Dadoo was arrested and charged with the publication of the above pamphlet in contravention of war emergency regulations. He was fined and imprisoned for a month. The actions taken against him provoked a groundswell of popular support with black South Africans agitating for his release. People attended meetings in their droves and made their feelings clear with the numerous slogans painted throughout the city of Durban. The support for Dadoo‟s views was an indication of a significant change in South African protest politics that laid bare the contradictions of the Second World War.