Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
03 January 2023 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Evert Kleynhans
Dr Dolf van Niekerk
Dr Dolf van Niekerk.

The University of the Free State (UFS) would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of South African author, Dr Dolf van Niekerk, on his passing.

Dr Van Niekerk, the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the UFS, passed away on 31 December 2022. The UFS awarded a Doctor of Letters to Dr Dolf van Niekerk during its April 2021 graduation ceremony. 
 
Dr Van Niekerk was a celebrated author who also achieved fame as a dramatist and radio presenter. An alumnus of the UFS, he received a BA degree from the university cum laude in 1949. He also played a role in academia and was an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria until his retirement in 1994. His work includes 27 books in philosophy, poetry, fiction, drama, and memoirs, for which he has received numerous awards. These include the Eugene Marais Prize, the MER Prize, and the Scheepers Award for Youth Literature.
 
“Dr van Niekerk is a Kovsie alumnus with a deep connection to the Free State. He played a significant role in the country’s literary history, and it was an honour for the university to award him with an honorary degree. A wordsmith of note, Dr van Niekerk’s contributions to South African literature, radio, and stage will live on," says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

News Archive

Complicity, tragedy and shameful prejudice displayed in exhibition
2013-06-06

 

The history of the persecution of homosexuals during the Nazi era on display.
Photo: Johan Roux
06 June 2013


The exhibition In Whom Can I Still Trust? portrays the history of the persecution of homosexuals during the Nazi era. It cuts even closer to home, as it also explores the protection of sexual minorities in South Africa as well.

Richard Freedman, Director of the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation, was the guest speaker during the opening.

The exhibition is brought to South Africa thanks to the efforts of the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation. The foundation redesigned and developed the exhibition specifically for South Africa. Originally under the curatorship of Dr Klaus Mueller from Berlin, on behalf of IHLIA (Homosexual and Lesbian Archive, Amsterdam), the exhibition highlights the largely-untold history of the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. Archive photographs, personal testimonies and video clips relate the historical narrative to the prejudices still facing homosexuals today.

Through additional panels, the exhibition aims to focus attention on the protection of sexual minorities in South Africa. The It Gets Better South Africa Project – a collection of videos that discourages homophobic bullying – forms an important part of the exhibition. The interviewees range from struggle hero Ahmed Kathrada and Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to TV personality Joanne Strauss.

In Whom Can I Still Trust? is hosted by the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice at the UFS in partnership with the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery and Student Affairs.

Exhibition runs: 6 –14 June 2013
Place: Thakaneng Bridge

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept