Apartheid Museum

About Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg tells the story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

Did you know? The Apartheid Museum is as interesting, and as good, as the guide books say it is. There is no better way to explain the city and the country's history. And it is the ‘missing link' to much of the Johannesburg experience.

Beginning in 1948, the white elected National Party government initiated a process which turned over 20 million people into 2nd class citizens, damning them to a life of servitude, humiliation and abuse. Their liberation in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela, the prisoner who became president, is a climax in the saga of a nations resistance, courage and fortitude.

Just 15 minutes from OR Tambo International Airport or 20 minutes from Sandton (the business center of South Africa), discover the true history of South Africa. Whoever you are, you cannot but come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of this country, its darkest days and its brightest triumphs.

The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid: The racially prejudiced system that blighted much of its progress and the triumph of reason which crowned half a century of struggle. The Museum has been assembled and organized by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, film-makers, historians and designers.

An architectural consortium comprising several leading architectural firms, conceptualized the design of the museum on a seven-hectare site. The museum is a superb example of design, space and landscape offering the international community a unique South African experience.

The exhibits are from film footages, photographs, text panels and artifacts illustrating the events and human stories that are part of the epic saga, known as apartheid. A series of 22 individual exhibition areas takes the visitor through a dramatic emotional journey that tells a story of a state sanctioned system based solely on racial discrimination.

For anyone wanting to understand and experience what South Africa was really like, a visit to the Apartheid Museum is fundamental. The museum is a beacon of hope showing the world how South Africa is coming to terms with the past and working towards a future that all South African's can call their own.