Manie Maritz was a Boer officer during the South African War (1899-1902) and a leading figure in the 1914 Rebellion.
At the outbreak of the South African War he joined the Boksburg Commando and saw action in Natal. He later joined Danie Theron’s reconnaissance corps and then took part in the invasion of the Cape Colony.
In 1913 Maritz was offered a commission in the Active Citizen Force of the Union Defence Force of South Africa and in 1914 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.
At the outbreak of World War 1 he was ordered to the border of South West Africa, but because of his pro German feelings, he refused to do so. He also refused to relinquish his military command. In a skirmish with Union Forces he was wounded and taken to German South-West Africa.
When he returned to South Africa in 1923 he was arrested and charged with high treason. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment but when the National Party won the 1924 election he was released after serving only three months.
In later life Maritz became a Nazi sympathiser and was known as an outspoken proponent of the Third Reich.
He died in Pretoria on 19 December 1940, aged 64.
