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01 January 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
ISG’s Sarah Frank researches impact of historic conflicts on society
Dr Sarah Frank, postdoctoral researcher at the ISG.

History has an interesting connection with society, as we all grow up learning about our country’s history and studying it at school. However, what we learn at school is often a glorified version of events. It can sometimes be challenging for historians to come to grips with the most accurate version of a particular ‘history’. 

Dr Sarah Frank is a postdoctoral research fellow with the International Studies Group (ISG), who fell in love with history at a young age. She says, "I was very lucky to have outstanding history teachers at school who fostered my interest and curiosity." Early on, though, she experienced disappointment. "In school, there was a series of biographies of American leaders and presidents written for children. I remember feeling betrayed when I subsequently learnt that the biographies had not presented a well-balanced narrative. That is when I learnt that history could be debated and interpreted—and it is full of nuances."

Interested in conflict shaping lives

Dr Frank was particularly intrigued by the social and political history of the Second World War (WWII). She describes her interest in this way: "The Second World War looms in popular memory as much as in the historical one. I am interested in how conflict shaped people’s lives during and after the war." Being a speaker of French helped her to focus on the impact of the war on France, and having spent a few years living in West Africa, confronted with the lingering colonial past, she decided to home in on the French empire, with particular attention to colonies, captivity, and the repercussions of war experiences when soldiers returned home. Additionally, she explores the themes of decolonisation, the roots of independence movements, and the lingering ties between the former imperial powers and former colonies.

Although she grew up near Boston, Massachusetts, studied for her master's in Dublin, and has lived in far-flung places such as Guinea (while serving with the Peace Corps) and Dakar, Dr Frank says, "I have lived in a lot of places, but Bloemfontein is definitely one of my favourites!"

“I was very lucky to have outstanding
history teachers at school who
fostered my interest and curiosity.”
Dr Sarah Frank

Colonial POWs her new focus

Currently, Dr Frank is writing a book based on her PhD research, which delved into the experiences of approximately 85 000 soldiers in captivity from across the French Empire, who fought in France from 1939-1940. The Germans decided to racially separate the colonial prisoners of war (CPOWs), taking white prisoners to Germany and leaving the colonial prisoners in camps across occupied France. This created opportunities for colonial prisoners to interact with the French civilians, something which rarely occurred in the strict hierarchical colonial regime. Perhaps surprisingly, considering the racism of both the French and German regimes, Colonial prisoners fared better in captivity in France than their French counterparts did in Germany.

Dr Frank's next project will trace the return of the African soldiers who fought during the Second World War. She seeks to understand what happened to them as well as their families when they returned, and to see if their experience actually impacted the growing independence movements which arose following 
WWII.

News Archive

Relief for baby and child care at the UFS with donation from Fuchs Foundation
2007-11-17

 

At the launch of the Beds of Hope campaign were, from the left: Dr Riaan Els, Chief Executive Officer of the Carl en Emily Fuchs Foundation, Prof. André Venter (Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Care), Ms Corné Booyens (National Grants Manager at the Carl en Emily Fuchs Foundation), Dr Nick van Zyl (Clinical Head at Universitas Hospital), and Prof. Niel Viljoen (Chief Director: Operations).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Relief for baby and child care at the UFS with donation from Fuchs Foundation

The Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) has received relief for their need of specialised healthcare for babies and children with a donation of R1,5 million from the Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation.

As a result of this, the Beds of Hope campaign was launched today on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. With the campaign, the department wants to address the serious need for specialised healthcare for babies and children in the central regions of South Africa.

The department is one of four out of 19 children hospitals in South Africa to receive such a donation. .

“We take care of babies and children in the Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals in Bloemfontein who have a serious need for specialised healthcare. We are, however, the only supplier of this kind of care in the Free State, North West, Eastern Cape and Lesotho and are responsible for the specialised healthcare of more than 100 000 children. Many of our equipment are outdated and must be urgently repaired or replaced,” said Prof. André Venter, Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Care at the UFS.

“Because we are concerned about our patients, the department launched the Beds of Hope campaign with the help of the donation we received from the Fuchs Foundation. With the campaign, we aim to raise some R15 million in the space of two years to purchase beds and specialised equipment for the intensive care and high care units for both hospitals,” said Prof. Venter.
According to Prof. Venter, this includes babies and children with needs for specialised healthcare in the fields of intensive care, oncology, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, gastro-enterology, neonatology and infectious diseases.

“About ten children are currently not receiving the care they need due to the lack of beds in the intensive care unit. Much more neonates can annually receive critical care if we can supply adequate facilities,” said Prof. Venter.

The other hospitals that are also supported by the Fuchs Foundation’s donation are: Healing Jozi Kids, Boikanyo Foundation and the Groote Schuur Hospital’s neonatal department.

The donation is the beginning of the first phase of the national Fuchs Healing Kids Project, which aims to improve the quality of paediatric care in South Africa.

The aim of this phase is to assist the hospitals to develop the systems and skills needed to collect more money. The research part of phase two and the building up of the hospitals’ children trust funds to be self self-supporting, will happen simultaneously. This phase will be launched early in 2008.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
16 November 2007
 

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