SOUTH AFRICA / POLITICS: General Smuts addresses great crowd at parade held in South Africa (1943)
BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWSREEL (REUTERS)
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South African Prime Minister General Jan Smuts giving speech to crowd of people during World War II.
Full Description:
SOUTH AFRICA: Johannesburg: Turffontein Racecourse:
EXT
General Jan Smuts (Prime Minister of South Africa) speaking into microphone (not heard)
CUTAWAYs
– Long lines of lorries and men
– Lorries and men, camp on left side
– Lorries and men in them lined up
– Various of people in crowd listening
SLATE INFORMATION: Then The Great ‘Unite For Victory’ Parade
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**PLEASE NOTE – THIS CLIP IS MUTE, BUT THE SPEECH TRANSCRIPT WAS AS FOLLOWS:**
SOUND EFFECTS. SV Smuts talking into microphone. “You see today what is probably the greatest military display ever staged in South Africa.”
(GTV Long lines of lorries. GTV Lorries and men, camp at side.) “It is a great recruiting drive. It is a renewed drive for war service..”
SV Smuts speaking. “…and for keying up the spirit and the will of our people to a maximum effort in the further prosecution of the war.”
(LTV Lorries and men in them lined up.) “The products of our munition factories and…”
SV Smuts speaking. …”engineering workshops have gone not only to our own forces but also added largely to the supplies of our Allies. In spite of ups and downs success has crowned our efforts beyond our fondest hopes, and our name is mentioned with honour wherever the story of this war is told. We are glad to have among us today representatives from our forces who took part in all those theatres and the main battlefields of our far flung African fronts.”
(TV Crowds listening.) “We know now that we can win,…”
SV Smuts speaking…”but we also know that the winning may mean the heaviest fighting of the whole war. No mistake could be worse, could indeed be more fatal, than for us or any of the Allies to sit back or go easy at this stage, under the impression that our job is mostly done and that final victory is near. It is not, and victory will mean greater efforts than we have made so far.”
(SV. People listening. CU Types listening.) “Victory complete and unconditional is in sight for us…”
SCU Smuts speaking…”but the main struggle for it on the continent of Europe is still to come – this year and perhaps to be continued to a conclusion next year. That is the real truth about the war situation at present. For that main struggle the Allies are now marshalling all their man-power and material resources. The great hour is approaching. There is a hush of expectancy in men’s hearts. “The wide world’s prophetic soul is dreaming on things to come.”
“In that approaching and perhaps prolonged struggle the heroic manhood of South Africa must play their part, a part worthy of our past record, and of the immense issues at stake for all, including ourselves.”
(SV people leaning on fence listening. SCU Types listening. SV Types listening.) “It is under these circumstances and with this situation before us that I now renew today…”
SCU Smuts speaking…”my appeal to South Africans not to rest content with the cleaning up of Africa, but to follow the tide of war across the Mediterranean to the final and decisive European fronts. Europe calls. Our Springbok prisoners of war in Italy call. They, the captors of the fortresses at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya, the captives of Tobruk, call to us to come and release them.”
GV Smuts on stand talking. “Hence this my present appeal…”
SV Smuts speaking…”…for more volunteers for service beyond Africa. We must answer the call not only of comrades in Italian Camps but also of all the smaller nations now victims of aggression under the Nazi heal.”
CU Smuts speaking…”Our magnificent air squadrons, our unrivalled engineers, our new Tanks Division, our little Navy in the Mediterranean have all decided for the battlefronts. These units hove to be maintained and as far as possible expanded, and our young men will in increasing numbers feel the pull of the front, the call to battle, and move where the sterner duty calls. These are the two alternatives before them, defence service in Egypt and North Africa, or offensive service across the Mediterranean – both of them important, necessary and patriotic services. Of the two I advise our men to choose the sterner, the harder, the more dangerous fighting task, because it is in that way that South Africa will be best able to make it her largest contribution to the winning of the war. I urge our women,…”
(SCU women listening.) ..”so beautifully and loyally devoted to their menfolks, to encourage them on this severer path of…”
SCU Smuts speaking. …”service and duty, and to be helpful to them in following their deeper pa…
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