In the mining towns owned by Sengier, the Congolese miners faced severe restrictions on their freedom, such as the need for permits to move around and the inability to vote. Additionally, they had to adhere to a strict curfew of 9 pm to avoid harsh consequences. On top of these limitations, the pay they received was extremely low. However, in 1941, Black workers at several of Sengier’s mines began organizing themselves to demand higher wages and improved working conditions, despite being excluded from unions.
The turning point for these mine workers came on December 7, 1941, which was not only a significant day in the course of the war but also a crucial day for the Congolese miners. On that day, Sengier’s Black employees initiated a massive mining strike across Katanga. In Elisabethville, 500 workers refused to start their shifts, and soon, miners who had just finished their shifts joined them, gathering in front of management’s offices to demand a raise. Their strong actions paid off when they secured an agreement with the company that they could come and negotiate the next day.
The following morning, the mine workers gathered at the local soccer stadium to negotiate with Sengier’s company and the colonial governor of Katanga. Reports vary on the number of strikers present, with estimates ranging from 800 to 2,000. The company offered a verbal agreement to raise wages, marking the first open expression of protest in the social history of the Congo. However, when a miner named Léonard Mpoyi insisted on receiving written confirmation of the wage raise, the colonial governor, Amour Marron, ordered the crowd to disperse.
Refusing to back down, Mpoyi challenged the governor, demanding proof of the company’s agreement. In a shocking turn of events, the governor pulled out a gun from his pocket and shot Mpoyi at point-blank range. Chaos erupted as soldiers opened fire on the crowd from all directions. The stadium quickly emptied as mine workers fled, leaving approximately 70 people dead and around 100 injured.
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The next day, the company used a loudspeaker to summon all the miners back to work, symbolizing the brutal suppression of their uprising. Amidst these developments, a significant decision was made elsewhere that would result in the intertwining of the fate of the Congolese miners with the Manhattan Project, the top-secret American effort to develop atomic weapons.
About a year after Pearl Harbor, US President Roosevelt assigned General Leslie Groves to lead the Manhattan Project. On his first day in September 1942, he discussed with his deputy, Colonel Kenneth Nichols, the need to obtain uranium for their ambitious project. Nichols brought up Sengier and his uranium mines, leading to a meeting the next morning with Sengier in New York. The two struck a deal on a yellow legal pad, agreeing that hauling the uranium would begin the following day. Shortly after, Groves recruited J. Robert Oppenheimer to spearhead the construction of the atomic bomb.
Over the next few years, the Congo became a hotbed for American spies under various covers, such as consulate officers, Texaco employees, silk buyers, and live gorilla collectors. Their primary objective was to secure the supply of uranium. General Groves insisted on complete control of the Shinkolobwe mine and recommended its reopening to President Roosevelt. As part of this effort, the Army Corps of Engineers was sent to the Congo to restart mining operations, with the mine’s location intentionally erased from maps. Spies were instructed to avoid using the term “uranium” in conversations and instead use code words like “diamonds.” The miners themselves were also tasked with mining other minerals essential to the war effort. They worked tirelessly day and night, accompanied by the noise of trains and planes from America. Thanks to the earlier mining strike, worker salaries had increased by 30 to 50 percent, but some miners were still forcefully compelled to work. Furthermore, fatal accidents at the company’s plants had nearly doubled from 1938 to 1944. The harsh conditions and the need to evade rubber quotas led many people to flee rural areas and seek refuge in cities like Elisabethville, which saw its African population nearly triple from 1940 to 1945.
The US government was not only concerned about securing uranium but also about the possibility of Nazi spies smuggling Shinkolobwe uranium. On one occasion, a Nazi interception sunk one of Sengier’s shipments of ore. Once the refined uranium arrived in the United States, it was processed in locations like Oak Ridge, Tennessee, before being sent to Oppenheimer in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It took nearly three years for Oppenheimer and his team to develop the atomic bombs. Despite the surrender of Germany in May 1945 and the realization that they were far from completing a nuclear bomb, the war in the Pacific was still ongoing. Finally, in August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with these devastating weapons containing Congolese uranium.
In conclusion, the story of the Congolese miners during World War II is a complex one. They faced oppressive conditions, limited freedoms, and low pay, but they also demonstrated their resilience and determination through a large-scale strike. Their struggle intersected with historical events, such as the Manhattan Project and the development of atomic weapons. The exploitation of the Congolese mining resources and the sacrifices made by these workers are essential aspects to consider when examining the global history of the war.
