One of the outstanding mysteries of the twentieth century, and one with huge political resonance, is the death of Dag Hammarskjold and his UN team in a plane crash in central Africa in 1961. Just minutes after midnight, his aircraft plunged into thick forest in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), abruptly ending his mission to bring peace to the Congo. Across the world, many suspected sabotage, accusing the multi-nationals and the governments of Britain, Belgium, the USA and South Africa of involvement in the disaster. These suspicions have never gone away.British High Commissioner Lord Alport was waiting at the airport when the aircraft crashed nearby. He bizarrely insisted to the airport management that Hammarskjold had flown elsewhere - even though his aircraft was reported overhead. This postponed a search for so long that the wreckage of the plane was not found for fifteen hours. White mercenaries were at the airport that night too, including the South African pilot Jerry Puren, whose bombing of Congolese villages led, in his own words, to 'flaming huts ...destruction and death'. These soldiers of fortune were backed by Sir Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Rhodesian Federation, who was ready to stop at nothing to maintain white rule and thought the United Nations was synonymous with the Nazis. The Rhodesian government conducted an official inquiry, which blamed pilot error. But as this book will show, it was a massive cover-up that suppressed and dismissed a mass of crucial evidence, especially that of African eye-witnesses. A subsequent UN inquiry was unable to rule out foul play - but had no access to the evidence to show how and why. Now, for the first time, this story can be told. Who Killed Hammarskjold follows the author on her intriguing and often frightening journey of research to Zambia, South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Britain, France and Belgium, where she unearthed a mass of new and hitherto secret documentary and photographic evidence.
Show moreOne of the outstanding mysteries of the twentieth century, and one with huge political resonance, is the death of Dag Hammarskjold and his UN team in a plane crash in central Africa in 1961. Just minutes after midnight, his aircraft plunged into thick forest in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), abruptly ending his mission to bring peace to the Congo. Across the world, many suspected sabotage, accusing the multi-nationals and the governments of Britain, Belgium, the USA and South Africa of involvement in the disaster. These suspicions have never gone away.British High Commissioner Lord Alport was waiting at the airport when the aircraft crashed nearby. He bizarrely insisted to the airport management that Hammarskjold had flown elsewhere - even though his aircraft was reported overhead. This postponed a search for so long that the wreckage of the plane was not found for fifteen hours. White mercenaries were at the airport that night too, including the South African pilot Jerry Puren, whose bombing of Congolese villages led, in his own words, to 'flaming huts ...destruction and death'. These soldiers of fortune were backed by Sir Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Rhodesian Federation, who was ready to stop at nothing to maintain white rule and thought the United Nations was synonymous with the Nazis. The Rhodesian government conducted an official inquiry, which blamed pilot error. But as this book will show, it was a massive cover-up that suppressed and dismissed a mass of crucial evidence, especially that of African eye-witnesses. A subsequent UN inquiry was unable to rule out foul play - but had no access to the evidence to show how and why. Now, for the first time, this story can be told. Who Killed Hammarskjold follows the author on her intriguing and often frightening journey of research to Zambia, South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Britain, France and Belgium, where she unearthed a mass of new and hitherto secret documentary and photographic evidence.
Show moreDr Susan Williams is a senior research fellow in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Her pathbreaking books include Who Killed Hammarskjöld?, which in 2015 triggered a new, ongoing UN investigation into the death of the UN Secretary-General; Spies in the Congo, which spotlights the link between US espionage in the Congo and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945; Colour Bar, the story of Botswana’s founding president, which was made into the major 2016 film A United Kingdom; and The People’s King, which presents an original perspective on the abdication of Edward VIII and his marriage to Wallis Simpson.
'[Williams] has done a fine job of marshalling new evidence and
painting a vivid picture of a past era of Rhodesian colonists in
long socks and white shorts, and of cold war politics played out
through vicious proxy wars in Africa.'
*Sunday Times*
'Part detective, part archivist, part journalist, Williams
schmoozed spies, befriended diplomats and mercenaries and won the
trust of Hammarskjold's still grieving relatives and UN colleagues
to get her tale. She unwinds each thread of the narrative with
infinite patience, leading us carefully down the tortuous paths of
Cold War intrigue.'
*The Spectator*
'A startling, meticulous, convincing book, written in the
understated prose of a Scandinavian crime thriller.'
*Simon Kuper, The Financial Times*
'Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues
surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the
help of her engaging and no-nonsense style - part Miss Marple, part
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - we are led through the messy, ugly
and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white
supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at
home.'
*Times Higher Education*
'This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story
sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjold,
arguably the most significant and influential UN secretary general.
... What the book does very well, through extremely thorough
research of an international nature, is to highlight the
controversies surrounding the crash and the numerous investigations
into it. ... this is an important piece of research. It should be
read by all those concerned with the activities of right-wing
politicians and businessmen and their links to mercenaries,
intelligence operations and European economic dominance in the
post-independence Congo; and by those concerned with whoever may
have been responsible for Hammarskjold's death and the weakening of
the UN.'
*International Affairs*
'This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the
historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death.
... This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and
easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.'
*African Affairs*
'Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously
secret archived material and witness statements never before aired.
The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and
quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing
whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations,'
*The Canberra Times*
'Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental
amount of historical detective work and encounters with an
extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely
shady.'
*The Witness (South Africa)*
'Fascinating book...'
*New Internationalist*
'Immensely impressive … Williams writes with clarity and knowledge,
demonstrating a depth of understanding of this crucial period in
the history of the UN.'
*Irish Examiner*
'Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues
surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the
help of her engaging and no-nonsense style – part Miss Marple, part
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency – we are led through the messy, ugly
and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white
supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at
home.'
*Times Higher Education*
'This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story
sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjöld,
arguably the most significant and influential UN secretary general.
… What the book does very well, through extremely thorough research
of an international nature, is to highlight the controversies
surrounding the crash and the numerous investigations into it. …
this is an important piece of research. It should be read by all
those concerned with the activities of right-wing politicians and
businessmen and their links to mercenaries, intelligence operations
and European economic dominance in the post-independence Congo; and
by those concerned with whoever may have been responsible for
Hammarskjöld's death and the weakening of the UN.'
*International Affairs*
'This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the
historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death.
… This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read
study of the events surrounding the episode.'
*African Affairs*
'This is an extraordinary story, narrated with clarity and
devastating effect. Susan Williams is to be congratulated for
shining a light onto a very strange and disturbing incident. The
result is a gripping and astonishing read.'
*Alexander McCall Smith, novelist, author of The No. 1 Ladies
Detective Agency series*
'Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously
secret archived material and witness statements never before aired.
The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and
quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing
whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations,'
*The Canberra Times*
'Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental
amount of historical detective work and encounters with an
extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely
shady.'
*The Witness (South Africa)*
'Williams has done remarkable research … to gallantly demonstrate
that the UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa, directly
or indirectly, caused Hammarskjold's crash. I recommend this book
to anyone interested in the history of the Congo and
decolonization; it is very well researched, lucidly written and
provides an alternative point of view to a subject that Europe
refuses to claim responsibility for.'
*African Studies Bulletin*
'The author's scrupulous research shines through this book's
carefully argued narrative. … All the evidence she uncovers points
to the Hammarskjöld plane crash being the culmination of an
assassination plot—and put into current context, with Congo peace
talks breaking down at the AU in Addis Ababa … it is a story that
continues to unfold.'
*Stephen Williams, African Business*
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