Ward 2 Development Forum

Georg Schmidt's Diary

Properties3
descriptionThe diary and letters Georg Schmidt wrote at the Cape from 1737 to 1744, the earliest written record of the mission at Baviaanskloof. Published in print in 1981, with no digital copy found. The Forum has not yet traced a copy.
tagstheme/heritage, theme/2038, lang/en
aliasesDas Tagebuch und die Briefe von Georg Schmidt, Dagboek en briewe van George Schmidt, Schmidt's diary

6 min read

Georg Schmidt kept a diary and wrote letters to his church during his years at the Cape, from 1737 to 1744 [MS]. They are the earliest written record of the mission at Baviaanskloof, now Genadendal, and most of what is known about his first students, among them Magdalena, Africo, and Kupido and Willem, comes from them [MS]. In 1981 the diary and letters were published in print, in the languages they were written in, with an Afrikaans translation [IC]. This page describes that edition, what it could settle for this wiki, and how it relates to The Genadendal Diaries kept by the missionaries who came after him.

We have not been able to trace a copy

The moderators have not yet found a copy of the 1981 edition to consult, and no digital version could be found online. The facts on this page come from library catalogue records and from the histories that cite the diary. If you own or can lend a copy, or know of one in a library in the Western Cape, please contact the moderators via How to Submit.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record such as a library catalogue.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from Moravian records, or from the histories that cite Schmidt’s diary. It has not been checked against the diary itself.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

At a glance

Written byGeorg Schmidt, the first Moravian missionary at the Cape [IC]
Period covered1737 to 1744 [IC]
LanguagesGerman and French, with an Afrikaans translation on the facing pages [IC]
Printed editionDas Tagebuch und die Briefe von Georg Schmidt, dem ersten Missionar in Südafrika (1737–1744), with the Afrikaans title Dagboek en briewe van George Schmidt, eerste sendeling in Suid-Afrika (1737–1744) [IC]
Published1981, at Bellville, by the Wes-Kaaplandse Instituut vir Historiese Navorsing (Western Cape Institute for Historical Research), in its publication series B1 [IC]
Prepared byTranscribed by B. Krüger and H. Plüddemann; edited by H.C. Bredekamp and J.L. Hattingh; translated by J. du P. Boeke [IC]
Length504 pages, with portraits [IC]
ISBN0-909075-71-9 [IC]
Digital versionNone found. The Internet Archive and Zenodo were searched in September 2026 [MS].
English translationNone found

Where copies are

  • Second-hand copies are sometimes offered through AbeBooks, ZVAB, and booklooker.de [IC].
  • Stanford University Libraries in the United States hold a copy, call number BV3625 .S672 S353 1981 [IC].
  • The Western Cape Institute for Historical Research, which published the edition, was part of the University of the Western Cape. The university’s library is the likeliest place in South Africa to hold a copy [TBV].
  • Where Schmidt’s handwritten originals are kept has not been confirmed. The Moravian Church’s archives at Herrnhut in Germany are a likely place to look [TBV].

What it could settle for this wiki

Several questions on this wiki could be answered from the diary:

  • The day Schmidt settled at Baviaanskloof. This wiki gives 23 April 1738 [IC], and the tercentenary is set for 23 April 2038. Genadendal: A Long Walk gives 25 April 1738 [MS]. See History of the Valley.
  • The dates of the first baptisms. Most sources give 1742 [IC]. Balie’s history gives 1739, 1740, 1742, and 1743 on different pages [MS].
  • The names of the first students. Whether Kupido and Kybbodo, or Kibido, are the same man [TBV]. See Kupido and Willem.
  • Magdalena in Schmidt’s own words. Histories of her life draw on the diary, including her quarrel with the community in February 1739 [MS]. See Magdalena.
  • Whether Schmidt taught in the tradition of Comenius. See Jan Amos Comenius.

How it relates to the Genadendal Diaries

Schmidt’s diary and The Genadendal Diaries are separate records, 48 years apart. Schmidt wrote alone, from 1737 to 1744 [IC]. The Genadendal Diaries were kept by the missionaries of 1792 and their successors, from the day they arrived at Baviaanskloof on 24 December 1792 [IC]. Parts of the later diaries have been transcribed and published online, with translations [MS]. No such digital edition of Schmidt’s diary has been found.

Both were written for the church in Europe, and both show the Khoekhoe through a missionary’s eyes. Nothing from the first students’ own side survives.

Where this wiki differs

Until 28 September 2026, the pages on Georg Schmidt, Kupido and Willem, and Africo gave the 1981 edition as published by the Genadendal Printing Works. Library catalogue records give Bellville, and the Western Cape Institute for Historical Research, as the place and publisher [IC], and those pages have been corrected. Whether the Genadendal press printed the book for the institute has not been checked [TBV].

What is still open

  • Where a copy can be consulted in the Western Cape.
  • Where the handwritten originals are kept.
  • Whether the digitalherrnhut researchers at TU Dresden, who published the digital edition of the Genadendal Diaries, plan to publish Schmidt’s diary too.
  • Whether any English translation exists.

Have your say

If you have a copy of this book, can read the old German or French hand, or can help translate from the Afrikaans, contact the moderators via How to Submit.

References

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