Comrade Goldberg

On the Rivonia Trial roll of honour, after Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki, Motsoaledi and Kathrada, comes Goldberg. While the rest of those facing the death sentence in 1963 for taking up arms against the apartheid state have become household, if not street names, Dennis Goldberg is only dimly remembered. This film is a personal and political history of the white man who became an MK commander, bomb-maker and saboteur and spent 22 years in Pretoria Central as a consequence. Told in his own words, in interviews with family and old comrades, and including rarely-seen amateur footage of the first halting steps of the armed struggle, Comrade Goldberg offers an unusual perspective on our recent past. Goldberg’s story, unique though it is, is a testament to the sacrifices made by handful of white revolutionaries and their role in keeping the ideal of a non-racial society alive.