ABSTRACT
After a brief exposition of the epic injustices in the colonised and apartheid history of South Africa, the example of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and the role played by the National Archives of South Africa in that process, is used to illustrate some of the difficulties and dangers to which records are subjected in times of turmoil and transition. Even after the TRC closed its doors and in spite of a liberal democratic constitution, some difficulties continue mainly due to lack of funding, divided control, contradictory legislation and competing interests.
