The man who built the UN—and got erased from his own country's history.
Jan Smuts is a foremost political figure in South African 20th Century History, and is recognised today by two of the world's leading historians as being at the very centre of the vision for a new world order that emerges from the League of Nations and the United Nations.. Yet, he is virtually persona non grata in his own country.... and largely ignored in school history books. This one hour drama-documentary, with its dramatised cameo scenes in which his look-alike grandson takes on the role of Jan Smuts, battle re-enactments, historical archival footage, comments from historians, political analysts, and South African political struggle heroes, looks back on his life and the circumstances that shaped it in search of some answers.
Direction
Grandson playing grandpa is weirdly haunting.
Production
Battle reenactments give dusty archives cinematic life.
Director
Sandra Herrington
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Smuts coined the term 'holism' and was the only person to sign both Versailles treaties—ending WWI and WWII.
The documentary's use of family members as historical proxies reflects South Africa's struggle to reconcile with its past through personal, not just political, memory.
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📌 Enjoyed this? Explore more in our full South African history playlist: 🎥 South African History Uncovered: Stories That Shaped a Nation 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAleUNY7ZZrqg-enZ6Rf6DMjvSP5C8FVb
@Tekweni
Jan Smuts and Sailor Malan are the two most unacknowledged, unappreciated and undervalued human beings to have been born, bred and died on South Africa soil. 👍🇿🇦
@duncannapier318 15
Thank you for this historical piece. Much appreciated. 🇿🇦🇺🇲
@DWerth-hk5ig 2
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