Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1981 - 1990 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
Extent63 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
This organisation was formed as a multi-racial group of parents in support of their children who were kept in detention, often without trial. The DPSC operated on national level under extreme conditions of State repression, such as banning orders and detentions. Although the DPSC did not operate in isolation, the sheer numbers of those who were detained was overwhelming. Some of the earlier material of the organisation appears to have been lost in the Khotso house bombing in 1988, where the DPSC offices were located.
Archival history
This collection was originally donated by Dr Max Coleman and Audrey Coleman. Gradually it has assimilated material from other sources, notably The South African History Archives (SAHA) and Graham Bailey (member of DPSC).
The DPSC operated on a national level. This collection contains material from the Johannesburg based DPSC. Although material is included in this collection from other regions it is not complete.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Some of the earlier material appears to have been lost in the Khotso house bombings where the DPSC offices were located. It should also be noted that the DPSC operated under extreme conditions of State repression (banning orders, detentions etc.) and as a result certain transactions (meetings etc.) went unrecorded. Although the DPSC did not operate in isolation, the sheer numbers of those detained and the impossibility of dealing with every case should also be taken into account.