Abstract

Although previous Defence Acts made no provisions for the establishment of military museums, they nevertheless existed. The promulgation of the Defence Act of 2002, (No. 42 of 2002) empowered the Minister of Defence to establish military museums. Now that these have been authorised it is expected that military museums will exhibit memorabilia of the integrated armed forces. This article examines the extent to which military museums enhance the organisational culture of the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Results of the empirical research revealed that Afrikaner military culture and heritage are overwhelming exhibited in military museums and that more people visited military museums during the apartheid era. The SANDF has the authority to restructure military museums should it desire them to exhibit a balanced military culture reflecting the new SANDF.