Repatriation of the World Council of Churches' 1948-1960 archives from Switzerland to South Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of repatriating the World Council of Churches' (WCC) archives from Switzerland to South Africa. These archival collections document the role played by Chief Albert Luthuli as a church leader and president of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. In the context of South Africa's struggle for liberation, Albert Luthuli was viewed as an important figure and political leader who fought against apartheid and colonialism. He served as the President-General of the ANC from 1952 to 1967. Furthermore, he urged the United Nations and European countries, as the global multilateral policy watchdog and main trading partners of the South African government, respectively, to apply arms embargoes, boycotts, and economic sanctions (Vinson 2018). This study used a systematic literature review and focus group interviews. The review of the literature and focus interviews conducted with the National Archives of South Africa staff confirmed that the WCC records, which are of significant historical, social and religious value for Southern Africans, have not been repatriated to South Africa. The study highlights the importance of the repatriation of the WCC records to South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]