Abram Louis Fischer, commonly known as Bram Fischer, (1908-1975) was a South African lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defense of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia Trial. 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... A lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ... Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Flemish and Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born July 18, 1918), was the first democratically elected President of South Africa, having previously been a prominent anti-apartheid activist there. ... The Rivonia Trial was an infamous trial which took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to ferment violent revolution. Origins It was named after Rivonia, the suburb of Johannesburg where 19...

He came from a prominent Afrikaner family; his father was Percy Fischer, a Judge President of the Orange Free State, and his grandfather was Abraham Fischer, a prime minister of the Orange River Colony and later a member of the cabinet of the unified South Africa. Capital Bloemfontein Created 1854 Dissolved 1900 Language Dutch (Afrikaans an official language only in 1925) The Orange Free State (Afrikaans: Oranje Vrystaat) was an independent country in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a province in South Africa. ... Abraham Fischer (1850-1913) was the sole Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony in South Africa. ... The Orange River Colony was a British colony created by the annexation of the Orange Free State in 1900, after the Boer War. ...

Prior to studying at Oxford University during the 1930's, he was schooled at the prestigious South African school of Grey College in Bloemfontein. During his stay at Oxford, he travelled on the Continent including a trip in 1932 to the Soviet Union. In a letter to his parents during his trip, he noted similarities between the position of Russian farmers that he encountered along the Volga river and South African blacks. Grey College can refer to: Grey College, University of Durham, England Grey College, Bloemfontein, South Africa This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Fischer married Molly Krige, a niece of Jan Smuts in 1937 and the couple had three children. Molly herself became involved in politics and was detained without trial in the state of emergency declared after the Sharpeville Massacre. She died in 1963 when the couple's car left the road and crashed into a river. Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African statesman and general. ... South African police officers standing over people killed in the Sharpeville massacre. ...

Fischer joined the South African Communist Party ("SACP") in the 1940's and soon rose to leadership positions within the party. The SACP had a close relationship with the African National Congress ("ANC") and in 1943, Fischer co-authored revisions to the constitution of the ANC. In 1946 he was charged with incitement arising out of his position as a leader of the SACP and the African mineworkers' strike of that year. The South African Communist Party (SACP) was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa. ... The African National Congress (ANC) is a centre-left political party, and has been South Africas governing party (in a coalition) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ...

Fischer lead Nelson Mandela's defence at the Rivonia Trial of 1956-1961. The life imprisonment sentence handed down to Mandela was considered a victory for the defence team. Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born July 18, 1918), was the first democratically elected President of South Africa, having previously been a prominent anti-apartheid activist there. ... The Rivonia Trial was an infamous trial which took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to ferment violent revolution. Origins It was named after Rivonia, the suburb of Johannesburg where 19...

Fischer was arrested in September 1964 and charged with the crime of membership of the SACP. He was released on bail to handle a case in London. He decided to skip bail and went underground. Fischer was struck off the advocate's roll in 1965 in a trial completed in his absence. Advocates Sydney Kentridge and Arthur Chaskalson defended him at the hearing. Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,421,328 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... Arthur Chaskalson, (b. ...

Fischer returned to South Africa in cognito and carried on political activities. He was arrested in 1966 (nine months after his return to South Africa) on counts of violating the Suppression of Communism Act and conspiracy to commit sabotage. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

During his incarceration, he contracted cancer. A fall induced by the effects of the cancer in September 1974 left Fischer with a fractured neck femur, partially paralysed and unable to talk. It was not until December of that year, that the authorities had him transferred to a hospital. When news of his illness was publicised, the public lobbied government for his release. Fischer was placed under house arrest at his brother's home in Bloemfontein in April 1975. He died a few weeks later. The prisons department had Fischer's ashes returned to them after the funeral and they have never been located. Coat of arms of Bloemfontein Bloemfontein (Dutch for fountain of flowers) is one of South Africas three capital cities, along with Pretoria and Cape Town. ...

Burger's Daughter, a novel by Pulitzer prize winner and fellow South African Nadine Gordimer, is based on the life of Bram Fischer's daughter; he is the "Burger" of the title. Nadine Gordimer (b. ...

External links

• SACP bio of Bram Fischer, with picture
• Bram Fischer's "A Message from Underground"