WORLD WAR 2 REVENGE:

WORLD WAR 2 REVENGE:

During the world cup in South Africa, fate brought two super-powers in an encounting battle of titans and the day went to the Germans’ glory when they hammered England 4-1, in an encounter many termed as the repeat of World War 2. Let me take you back to a bit of history journey and fill you in…

See, Bloemfontein is a city which honors South Africa’s difficult history with pride. The Free State, of which it is the capital, is the heartland of the Afrikaners- better known for their passion for rugby- and was the main battleground of the 19^th century wars between the Boers and British.

bloemfontein city

In 1912, the African National Congress-ANC was founded in Batho, Bloemfontein and it led Mandela to the 1994 election victory. Infact, Bloemfontein is often referred to as: “the city of roses.”

Bloemfontein city- known in the Sotho language as: “the place of cheetahs”, was the convenient place that fate chose to unite rugby fans and the 2010 world cup football fans.

the battle ground

The old racial divide between rugby and football has been changing as white fans, who would never normally dare venture in Soweto, were welcomed hands wide by residents during a rugby cup final in the township prior to the commencing of the world cup.

Add caption

the soweto township

Even the war museum of the Boer Republics, a splendid collection of artifacts on the Boers’ struggles against the British, was one stop visitors for the world cup were treated to a special display. A display that detailed some of the history of football in the region, with an account of Scottish soldiers taking a team of Boer prisoners and other regimental matches between battles.

It also highlights other nationalities involved in the war, among them, world cup participants: the French, Italians and Germans, on the Boer side against the Australians, New Zealanders and Portuguese.

“A lot of foreigners fought on the Boer side,” museum director John Zyl said in an earlier interview.

“Europe was envious of the British Empire and was very interested in seeing small republics give the British Lion, a punch on the nose.”

And those words, England did bear in mind, when fate, as always this thing called fate, brought them to Bloemfontein in the second round and they faced the Hitlers’ alias the Germans’ humiliation.

the reaction

the fans