A Virtual Exhibition on the Life and Times of Nelson Mandela

By The Nelson Mandela Foundation

Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory viewed from the front (2009-12-01) by © NMFThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Celebrating the life and legacy of Madiba
Located at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, the exhibition offers a perspective on Mandela's life within the contexts of colonialism, apartheid and democracy. This virtual version also includes a behind the scene tour of the archive repository and of the facility itself.

Personal papers: church membership cards (#4) (1931/1931)The Nelson Mandela Foundation

Church membership cards, 1931
"Congregation of the Wesleyan Church of South Africa Children’s Class Three monthly ticket June 1931
“Your word I have hidden in my heart” – Psalms c119 v11."

Hiding from the police (1955) by © Jurgen SchadebergThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Colonialism
By the beginning of the 20th century most of Africa had been colonised. Long struggles for liberation saw the start of the independence process from the early 1950's but in some countries formal colonial government was replaced by various forms of European settler rule. South Africa was the last country in Africa to have such rule ended by a transition to democracy.

Gilbert Nzimeni Collection Healdtown photograph (front)The Nelson Mandela Foundation

School photograph, 1938
Earliest school photo of Nelson Mandela taken in 1938 at Healdtown School. Nelson Mandela is in the back row, 5th from the right.

Mandela with his law class at the University of the Witwatersrand (1944) by WITS University archiveThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Arriving in Johannesburg
In 1941 Mandela arrived in Johannesburg, having fled an arranged marriage, and after a brief interlude as a gold mine security guard he finished his degree by correspondence and worked as a clerk in a law firm.

Walter Sisulu and Anton Lembede was Mandela's earliest political influences and Sisulu became his mentor and a lifelong comrade and friend. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress when he co-founded its Youth League, he also married his first wife, Evelyn Mase in the same year. They had four children during this marriage.

Migrants crossing the road, Johannesburg (1950) by Museum AfricaThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Apartheid
In 1948 an Afrikaner nationalist class alliance assumed power with a broad racial ideology offering the protection of the "Afrikaner people" and also the maintenance of white supremacy. The term Apartheid was used by the National Party as an election slogan in 1948.

With Moses Kotane at the Treason Trial (1961-03-29) by © Jurgen SchadebergThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Facing down the enemy
Nelson Mandela quickly rose to leadership positions within the ANC (African National Congress). By the late 1950's he was a prominent public figure and a thorn in the apartheid regime's flesh. His work as an attorney with OR Tambo in South Africa's only black legal firm at the time mostly involved in defending black victims of the Apartheid system. As Volunteer-in-chief in the 1952 defiance campaign, he led thousands to break apartheid laws. He was frequently arrested and banned.

Nelson Mandela in Algeria (1962) by UWC , Robben Island, Mayibuye archivesThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Nelson Mandela in Algeria, 1962
Mandela at a meeting in Addis Ababa during his trip through Africa in 1962.

Mandela photographed without his permission - Robben Island (1977) by © National Archives of South AfricaThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Learning the language of the enemy
In 1962 Nelson Mandela was sentenced to five years in prison for leaving the country illegally and for inciting a strike. The next year, from prison he became accused number one in the Rivonia trial, which saw most of the senior internal leadership of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage. Mandela would be a prisoner for over 27 years.

Nelson Mandela made a dramatic entrance into the court wearing a Thembu royal costume. (1962-10-22) by Associated PressThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Nelson Mandela made a dramatic entrance in court wearing a Thembu royal costume, emphasising his African identity.

Nelson Mandela's Cell (1977) by UnknownThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Nelson Mandela's prison cell on Robben Island, 1977.

Nelson Mandela addresses spectators from the Balcony of the Town Hall, Cape Town (1990-02-11) by Leon MullerThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Talking to the enemy
In 1986 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela took the fateful decision to inaugurate "talks about talks" with representatives of the apartheid state. He did this before consulting with his comrades in the prison or ANC President OR Tambo. It was a moment of great leadership, but also of great danger. Even though Mandela established lines of communication with Tambo and other leaders, comrades outside feared that he might have "sold out'. They need not have worried. He managed the process masterfully, and ensured that it was integrated with other 'talks about talks' processes that emerged from 1987. Soon after his release in 1990, he led the formal negotiations with the National Party and its allies.

Mandela and his Cabinet (1994) by Courtesy NMFThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

Democracy
Resistance to apartheid was led by the ANC and other allied organisations. When it became clear that the slow disintegration of the Apartheid system could not be stemmed, the regime engaged its opponent in a process of negotiated settlement.

In February 1990 the ANC and all other outlawed organisations were legalised, and Mandela was released from prison. This began a period of formal negotiation leading to South Africa's first democratic election in April 1994. Although the ANC won a sweeping victory, the first five years was governed through a Government of National Unity.

Alec Erwin (1996) by Benny GoolOriginal Source: To download a photograph click here

Discovering new enemies
Mandela's presidency (1994-1999) focused on the challenges of nation-building, reconciliation, and reckoning with the past. Rebuilding South Africa's reputation was also high on his agenda. He relied on his deputy president, Thabo Mbeki and his Cabinet to look after governance and the nuts and bolts of transformation. The challenges were many. Apartheid socio-economic patterning was resilient. The damage wrought to the social fabric by centuries of oppression was profound. And there was considerable vested interest in avoiding significant restructuring of the state and the economy.

Retire coverThe Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Nelson Mandela Foundation
On stepping down as President of South Africa in 1999, Nelson Mandela founded the Nelson Mandela Foundation to manage his post-presidential office and support his continued work.

Tap to explore

Thank you for joining us on our virtual tour.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is open to the public by appointment.

We hope you will visit with us soon.

Credits: Story




Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent party and may not always represent the views of the institution, listed below,who have supplied the content.
Bobby Heaney
Museum Africa
Jurgen Schadeberg
Heritage Agency
National Archives of South Africa
Chris Ledochowski
Matthew Willman
A.M Duggan Cronin, Mcgregor Museum
Nelson Mandela Foundation

The permanent exhibition is curated by the NMF's Research and Archive team and designed by Trace Media.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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