The SDB has its origins in the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft für deutsche Erziehung” — abbreviated “AfdE”. The AfdE is a successor organization to the “Deutscher Schulverein zu Johannesburg”, which had already been founded in 1904 as an informal association and in 1922 established statutes for itself and the “Deutsche Schule”.

 

With the adoption of a new name and a new corporate constitution (1925) for the “Deutsche Schule”, and with its registration in 1926 with the “Registrar of Companies” in Pretoria as “Deutsche Schule zu Johannesburg Incorporated”, the legal status of the school—particularly its rights of disposal over school assets—was secured. The school—known as “DSJ”—was now a legally independent entity. However, the “Schulverein” continued to exist alongside it, primarily for the purpose of raising the financial means required to maintain the “DSJ”, which received no support from public sources. The members of the “Schulverein”, consisting of patrons, sponsors, and individuals who were simultaneously active in responsible positions within the school itself, succeeded—through dedication, enthusiasm, and a willingness to sacrifice—in providing the necessary funds largely from their private resources and in ensuring the continued existence and successful work of the “DSJ” throughout the difficult war and post-war years.

 

From the early 1950s onwards, the “DSJ” was increasingly able, thanks to rapidly growing student numbers and higher school fee income, to develop and implement its own initiatives for raising funds and to finance and balance its regular school budget. As a result, the “Schulverein” was compelled to reconsider its purpose and ensure that the use of its available funds remained aligned with its objectives. It achieved this through a revision of its statutes and its registration in 1950 as a “non-profit-earning company in terms of section 21 of the Companies Act”. It now existed as a legally independent entity alongside the “DSJ” and underscored this by changing its name, registered in 1965, to “Arbeitsgemeinschaft für deutsche Erziehung”. A further amendment to the statutes was adopted in 1975 and registered in 1976. In 1976 a new MOI (Memorandum of Incorporation) was drafted for the SDB. This was revised in 2020, and the name change from AfdE to SDB was registered with the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission).

Positioning and Tasks of the SDB

Because of its origins, background, and objectives, the SDB still today sees itself as closely connected to the “DSJ”. It seeks to uphold the generally accepted values of its original donors, benefactors, and supporters and to reconcile them with the requirements of present-day circumstances. The SDB is convinced that long-standing and widely recognized values, as well as certain traditions, remain valid in our time, deserve support, and should by no means be classified as “outdated” or even “hindering progress.” The fact that the SDB’s values are shaped by *German* educational and pedagogical ideals is already expressed in its name: “Stiftung Deutsche Bildung”.

 

Promoting German educational ideals and German cultural heritage in general—including the German language—is the primary goal of the SDB. In addition, the organization continuously strives to maintain good relations with the “DSJ” and to contribute to the school’s positive long-term development. We encourage anyone who feels called and willing to identify with the SDB’s objectives and to support the interests of the “DSJ” to become an SDB member by contributing a modest, self-determined annual membership fee.

 

The SDB pays a membership contribution to the DSJ equivalent to one year’s school fees, adjusted annually. This gives the SDB—through a representative—full and thus voting membership at the Annual General Meeting of the DSJ School Association. One of the long-term goals is the preservation of the DSJ and, associated with this, the promotion of German education for DSJ students. It should also be noted that the SDB administers the ‘Adolph-Wagner-Stiftung’, established in 1930, in trust and pays an annual contribution into the DSJ’s social fund. These contributions will continue until 2030.