Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII

Date: 28 Jan 1942
Updated: 20 Jul 2026

Vaal power station. The two cooling towers shown were completed in 1940. Source: Eskom

Five power stations are blown up by pro-Axis power saboteurs in an attempt to destabilise the Rand gold mines. During the Second World War supporters of the Axis powers (Germany, Japan) came into conflict with the South African government, who supported the Allied forces led by Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States of America.

The conflict was a result of old feelings of kinship between many Afrikaners and Germany, not only because many Afrikaners have German blood, but also because of the latter country's support for the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War. The pro-German or pro-Axis groups resented the government's (led by Prime Minister Jan Smuts) decision to support the Allies, because of the previous conflict between the Boers and the British.

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01About.Com,"1942, 28 January",From: About.Com,[Online], Available at:africanhistory.about.com,[Accessed: 20 December 2013

Last updated · 20 Jul 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/xh/ref/E-0011624

South African History Online (2011) 'Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/xh/ref/E-0011624 (Accessed: 22 July 2026).

South African History Online, Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII [website], https://sahistory.org.za/xh/ref/E-0011624, (accessed 22 July 2026).

"Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/xh/ref/E-0011624. Accessed 22 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Five power stations are blown up as tensions rise during WWII." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/xh/ref/E-0011624.