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A Shared Spatial Symbolism: the Voortrekker Monument, the Völkerslachtdenkmal and Freemasonry

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A Shared Spatial Symbolism: the Voortrekker Monument, the Völkerslachtdenkmal and Freemasonry A shared spatial symbolism: the Voortrekker Monument, the Völkerslachtdenkmal and Freemasonry Alta Steenkamp School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, University of Cape Town Email: [email protected] This article responds to the current fascination around a possible connection between the Voortrekker Monument and Freemasonry. It aims to put forward a fact based argument and analysis to counter the subjective and sensationalized views dominating this debate. The article focuses on the relationship between the Völkerslachtdenkmal (1913) in Leipzig, Germany and the Voortrekker Monument (1949) in Pretoria, South Africa. The article establishes the origin of the influence of the Völkerslachtdenkmal on the design of the Voortrekker Monument and show that the designer of the Voortrekker Monument knew the Leipzig monument. It is then shown that the Völkerslachtdenkmal has strong associations with Freemasonry. A more rigorous analysis of the geometric and spatial correspondences between the two monuments then forms the basis on which an position is put forward that the Masonic spatial qualities in the Voortrekker Monument is probably due to the fact that it borrowed design ideas from the Leipzig monument and inadvertently imported the esoteric qualities. Keywords: Voortrekker Monument, space, symbolism, Freemasonary ’n Gemeenskaplike ruimtelike simboliek: die Voortrekker Monument, die Volkelsagmonument en Vrymesselary Hierdie artikel reageer op die huidige fasinasie rondom ‘n moontlike verband tussen die Voortrekker Monument en Vrymesselary. Dit poog om ‘n argument en analise voor te lê wat basseer is op feite om te staan teenoor die subjektiewe en sensasionele standpunte wat tans die debat domineer. Die artikel fokus op die verband tussen die Völkerslachtdenkmal (1913) in Leipzig, Duitsland en die Voortrekker Monument (1949) in Pretoria, Suid-Afrika. Die artikel ondersoek die oorsprong van die invloed van Völkerslachtdenkmal op die ontwerp van die Voortrekker Monument en bewys dat die Leipzigmonu- ment bekend was aan die ontwerper van die Voortrekker Monument. Daar word dan gewys dat die Völkerslachtdenkmal sterk bande het met Vrymesselary. ’n Analise van die geometriese en ruimtelike ooreenkomste tussen die twee monumente vorm dan die basis waarop ’n posisie voorgelê word dat die Masoniese ruimtelike kwaliteite in die Voortrekkermonument waarskynlik te wyte is aan die feit dat dit mildelik geleen het by die ander monument. Steutelwoorde: Voortrekkermonument, ruimte, simbolisme, Vrymesselary ntil I visited Europe in the late 80s, at the end of my second year of architectural studies, the Voortrekker Monument was the only truly monumental building I knew. UAs a child I was awestruck by its grandeur and atmosphere of dignity, majesty, and reverence. At that point in my life, the monument represented, for me, sacredness as an experience completely separate from its history and ideology. I thought it was a great building. Even now I believe it is a magical building, laden with mysteries still to be revealed. A current ‘mystery’ occupying the popular imagination is the possibility of a connection between the Voortrekker Monument and Freemasonry. A Google search under the combined keywords ‘Voortrekker Monument’ and ‘Freemasonry’ yields around 800 results1. These include the site of the Sons of Sion and a range of chatrooms in which numerous people speculate on the possible relationship between the monument and Freemasonry. This vague public interest and associated speculations, more often than not, originate from the book South Africa – Reaping the Whirlwind of National Idolatry by Denise Woods and published by Struik Christian Books in 2006. In the opinion of Woods (2006), there is little doubt that the Voortrekker Monument is a Masonic Temple, supported by the fact that the architect, Gerhard Moerdyk, himself referred to the monument as a temple2. The Voortrekker Monument, she argues, is a product of nationalism and nationalism, in turn, is the product of satanic wisdom as the men who developed it had rejected the Word of God and embraced occult practices. Because of this the Afrikaner and their SAJAH, ISSN 0258-3542, volume 24, number 1, 2009: 150–160. descendants are bound into a strong covenant with the powers of darkness and it is now up to us, as future generations, to deal with this idolatrous and blasphemous legacy that we inherited from our fathers. (Woods, 2006: 126) The festivities and rituals conducted during the Centenary celebrations of the Great Trek in 1938 and the inauguration of the monument in 1949 confirm, for her, the Masonic characteristics. This includes activities such as the vows made along the ox wagon routes, the torch marathon, the sacred flames lit from the sun and burning today still, and the laying of the foundation stone. In the design Masonic elements and symbols include the altar, the perpetual flame, the floor pattern which represents the blazing star, the obsession with the exhalation of womanhood, and on the bas relief panels, referred to by Woods as the ‘title deed’, the Governor’s hand symbol, the mother and child, the anchor, the building implements and act of building, the circle (mandala) of wagons and finally, obviously, Piet Retief’s water bottle clearly marked with Masonic symbols3. Accordingly, she posits, the monument is infused with occult symbolism associated with ancient practices of Sun worship, and, says Woods (2006: 152): “… all evidence points to the fact that the monument is an altar endowed with spiritual authority to ‘govern’ the affairs of the nation and direct its destiny for a thousand years and more”. In conclusion, she states that the merits of dismantling not only the Voortrekker Monument but also the associated minor monuments erected during the 1938 Centenary Celebrations are open to debate as each offer an entry point for demonic activity. (Woods, 2006: 207) God, she says, leaves the choice up to us… but it is clear what would happen if left up to her. In this article I would like to present another point of view, namely, that because of the strong association between Architecture and Freemasonry, some buildings and especially monuments, can often be ‘read’ by a Freemason in a Masonic way. I will illustrate how this statement applies to a monument that clearly influenced the design of the Voortrekker Monument – the Völkerslachtdenkmal4 in Leipzig – and how, as a consequence of this influence, the Voortrekker Monument also embodies representations that could be regarded as esoteric. This does not make it a Masonic Temple. I will argue that the strongest correlation between the Voortrekker Monument and the Völkerslachtdenkmal is a shared spatial symbolism that derives from Freemasonry and that in the case of the Voortrekker Monument this association was unintended. This is not the first work to draw attention to the similarities between the designs of these two monuments but it is the first to explore this connection more rigorously and specifically in relation to the geometric and spatial orders of the two monuments. In conclusion, I will put forward my speculation that the Masonic qualities of the Voortrekker Monument are due to the influence of the Völkerslachtdenkmal on its design and therefore, in essence, due to the unoriginality of its design. The Völkerslachtdenkmal was inaugurated in 1913 on the centenary of the Battle of Leipzig – a battle fought by a range of nations against the forces of Napoleon. The battle is remembered as one of the largest in history with 100 000 lives lost over three days. It also signified the beginning of the end for Napoleon. This article is interested in three aspects: the origin of the influence of the Völkerslachtdenkmal on the Vootrekker Monument, the geometric and spatial similarities between the two monuments and, finally, the Masonic qualities that derive from this association. The influence of the Völkerslachtdenkmal on the Voortrekker Monument In October 1935 the newspaper, Die Volksblad, published the first description of the Voortrekker Monument – a proposal of a large stone archway in the Egyptian style. It seems that the architect 151 of this proposal, Gerhard Moerdyk, might have had it published as a strategic move to become associated with the project. We know that he did not produce it on instructions of the Central Voortrekker Monument Committee, for at a meeting of the Form Sub Committee, a few months later, the issue of what the monument should look like, came up for the first time5. At this meeting, held on 26 January 1936, it was resolved that the Secretary of Foreign Affairs would be asked to direct a request to the Union Missions in Rome, Paris, Berlin, New York and London to send portraits or drawings of historical monuments from these respective countries. Within a month, the Form Committee started receiving material from the different overseas offices: photos and postcards of a wide range of monuments, a publication on the work of the German sculptor Hugo Lederer, a publication on the Bismarck National Denkmal and three folders on the work of the German architect Bruno Schwitz – the architect of the Völkerslachtdenkmal (although it must be said that this monument was not one of the buildings represented in these folders). In April 1936 another Afrikaans newspaper, Die Volkstem published a description of yet another design by Moerdyk, in this instance based on the Mausoleum of Hallicarnassus. But in less than a week the Central Voortrekker Monument Committee put out an official statement that the design had not been finalised but that the idea was of a massive building in white granite bearing influences from the Zimbabwe style, with the figure of a Voortrekker woman in front, arranged within a wall representing a laager. The monument, the Committee emphasised, would be truly South African and, it cautioned, to say that it would be Greek or any other monument was wholly wrong. A month later Moerdyk was invited to address the Form Sub Committee on the advantages and disadvantages of a design competition.
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