Fundamentally, apartheid was not so different from the policy of segregation of South African governments that existed before the Afrikaner Nationalist Party came to power in 1948. The main difference is that apartheid made segregation part of the law. Apartheid cruelly and violently divided people and had a formidable state apparatus to punish those who disagreed. Another reason apartheid was considered far worse than segregation was that apartheid was introduced at a time when other countries were moving away from racist policies. Before World War II, the Western world was not as critical of racial discrimination and Africa was colonized at that time. The Second World War revealed the problems of racism, led the world to turn away from these policies and to promote calls for decolonization. During this period, South Africa introduced the more rigid racial policy of apartheid. Although apartheid began as a comprehensive legislative project after the National Party came to power in 1948, many of these statutes were preceded by the laws of previous British and African governments in the South African provinces.   An early example is the Glen Grey Act, passed in the Cape Colony in 1894, which reduced the land rights of Africans in planned areas.  People often wonder why such a policy was introduced and why it received such support. There are several reasons for apartheid, although they are all closely related. The main reasons lie in notions of racial superiority and fear.
Around the world, racism is influenced by the idea that one race should be superior to another. Such ideas can be found in all population groups. The other main reason for apartheid was fear, because in South Africa, whites are a minority and many feared losing their jobs, culture and language. This is obviously not a justification for apartheid, but it explains how people thought. Law No. 55 of 1949 on the prohibition of mixed marriages The National Party, in its early efforts to introduce social apartheid, introduced the Mixed Marriages Act in 1949. This law prohibited marriage between whites and any other racial group. Nationalists have shown in the parliamentary debate on this issue that they are concerned about the increasing infiltration of Coloureds into the white group.
When this law was enacted in 1949, there were about 75 mixed marriages versus 28,000 sham marriages. The term «apartheid», an Afrikaans word, is derived from the French term «to set apart», literally translated as «to separate, to delimit». Apartheid is a policy based on the idea of separating people on racial or ethnic lines. Normally, apartheid separation takes place over geographical areas, with part of the population displaced to an area distinct from others or a group denied access to certain areas solely on the basis of racial or ethnic affiliation. In March 1960, black South Africans gathered outside a municipal building in Sharpeville. The plan was to leave black South African men and women with their passports (which they were legally required to carry) at home and surrender for arrest. They hoped to demonstrate the injustice of passport laws, overcrowd prisons and slow down the economy when so many black South Africans were doing important work in cities. The Nationalist Party government developed the concept of unequal distribution of resources such as general infrastructure, education and employment and formalized it as law. The Amenities Act stipulated that there should be separate amenities such as toilets, parks, and beaches for different racial groups. In addition, these facilities should not be of the same quality for different groups. Subsequently, apartheid signs were put up throughout the country, indicating who was allowed to enter or use the facility. Start: October 9, 1953.
This legislation was repealed by section 1 of the Discriminatory Laws on the Appointment of Public Bodies Act No. 100 of 1990. Amendment of South African labour legislation for Transkei. Start: September 1, 1967 The Great Depression and World War II brought South Africa to growing economic problems and convinced the government to reinforce its policy of racial segregation.