| Summary: | The objective of this study is to give some perspective on cultural growth of the factors which influenced the development of the culture of the white inhabitants of Vanderbijipark from 1942 up to 1992. The issue under scrutiny is the culture of white people in Vanderbijipark which was dominated by Afrikaners who had to cope, in their cultural development, with the influx of large numbers and a variety of skilled European immigrants. To be able to accomplish the above mentioned, it was necessary to research a wide field of activities out of which culture consist: economics, politics, social security and welfare, service delivery, health services, sport and recreation, mental health, education and training, cultural organisation and domestic cultural trends.
During the period 1942-1992 three phases were identified. The first was the establishment phase during which the besieging of culture was "compellent" and no influence of other cultures was allowed. The white community of Vanderbijipark, during the establishment phase, 1942-1959, consisted mainly of two groups: The impoverished Afrikaner from the rural areas, who, as a last resort, took to urbanisation for a livelihood and accordingly had to adjust culturally. The second group, the European immigrants, also, as a last resort sought a livelihood as a result of the chaotic situation in Europe after World War II, and intended to adopt South Africa as a new fatherland. Then followed the prosperity phase, 1960-1978, with very strong economic growth and quick wealth creation, which on its own, tends to open up cultural interchanges. The cultural development of the two white groups in Vanderbijipark was influenced by the urbanisation of rural blacks. This influence was thoroughly organised by the government policy. During the third stabilising phase, 1979-1992, new cultural influences surfaced. The most important was the outbreak and surge of violence which brought an awareness of the, up to now ignored, presence of black cultures and their vast variety and impact. In the course of this study it became clear that besieging is no solution to healthy cultural development but rather a crippling stumbling block. === Thesis (PhD)--PU for CHE, 1998.
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