Bram Fischer - Family and Education

Family and Education

Fischer came from a prominent Afrikaner family; his father was Percy Fischer, a Judge President of the Orange Free State, and his grandfather was Abraham Fischer, a prime minister of the Orange River Colony and later a member of the cabinet of the unified South Africa.

Prior to studying at Oxford University (New College) as a Rhodes scholar during the 1930s, he was schooled at Grey College and Grey University College in Bloemfontein, he was a resident of House Abraham Fischer which is named after his grandfather Abraham Fischer. During his stay at Oxford, he travelled on the European continent, including a trip in 1932 to the Soviet Union. In a letter to his parents during his trip, he noted similarities between the position of Russian farmers that he encountered along the Volga river and South African blacks.

In 1937, Fischer married Molly Krige, a niece of Jan Smuts; the couple had three children. One of their sons died of cystic fibrosis in adolescence. Molly herself became involved in politics and was detained without trial in the state of emergency declared after the Sharpeville massacre. In 1963, Bram and Molly were driving to Cape Town for their daughter's 21st birthday. Bram swerved the car to avoid hitting a speeding motorcyclist on the road. The car veered off the road and overturned into a river, causing Molly to drown. Bram was devastated and inconsolable, devoting himself more than ever to his secret life as a leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP).