News 13

Kimberley Ex-Pats Newsletter #13 - December 2017

Charting business and professional life of the Jews in Kimberley

Since I last wrote in September, our dedicated website supporter, Leon Chonin, who lives in Toronto, has produced a wonderful survey and table of the enormous contribution that its Jews have made to the business life of the City of Kimberley.

Just look at this prime junction of ‘Pan Road and Jones Street in the 50s and you see Blumenthal’s jewellers on the extreme left Joe Sperber’s chemist building in the centre (where Noel Kretzmar opened his first surgery in 1925), and on the right, amongst others, Bargains Unlimited, Goldenbaum’s fabric business next to the famous DB Bazaars now moved lock stock and barrel to the Big Hole Museum. (Was the DB ever a Jewish business I wonder?)

Leon encouraged his friends in Kimberley in the 50s and 60s, notably Milton Jawno now in Jerusalem, and Bernard Benjamin also in Toronto, to remember the Jews who fled persecution in Europe and who contributed so greatly to the commercial and professional life of the city. They have made a comprehensive list of those in various businesses, furniture, men’s and women’s clothing, appliances, food and produce, book-making, wholesale and retail trading and even diamonds. They look at the doctors and dentists, attorneys and accountants. You can read his essay, see the photographs and adverts for the old businesses and see the table he compiled, as the result of his speedy and timely research, on the website under ‘community’ here:

https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kimberley/Business.html

Leon is very grateful also to Delia (Brown) Benn in Baltimore, and Sheila (Frank) Grant in Cape Town and others for their helpful contributions. There may be others that should be included, and some facts may be missing. Leon invites you to contact him at chonin@rogers.com to add what you know – or send some more pictures for this important sector. Leon is pleased that the Kimberley Kehilalink website exists, on which to record the results of the industrious people who settled in Kimberley – and made good for their families – which are now spread out across the world!

Milton Jawno writes to Leon from Jerusalem, ‘I have looked at this posting. You have done a truly magnificent job and created a memorial worthy of all these long-forgotten people. What you have done is a work of the highest professional standard. Never before, and I can assure you never again, will these people be recorded for posterity and you have done this. You have done the memory of our people proud. Hopefully you will get feedback and input from the old Kimberlites.’

(If you have an idea and you would like to research or remember some aspect of life in Kimberley and write it up for the site, do get in touch.)

Do you recognise these gorgeous young people?

Well yes, it’s a matric dance and it’s in the early 1960s. But do you know all these lovely people in the picture? See the very end of the Newsletter for the answers*.

New Family pictures and details on the site

You can read many new family details posted on the website – eg from Michael Sperber (left), (b 1937 – son of Joe and Bertie) now thriving in Sydney. Michael describes his life after his BSc degree in Pharmacy and Chemistry at Rhodes and his work in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals in Cape Town and Sydney.

Hirsh Jocum, (born 1953, son of Cyril and Taube) has sent in his questionnaire and says ‘I went to Kimberley Boys' High School where I matriculated in 1971. Had my Barmitzvah in Kimberley on 26 March 1966 Parsha Va Yikrah. Taught by Rabbi Oscar and Mrs Leah Werner. Remember them very fondly. Was a border at KHS and have very fond memories of Barney Horwitz and his parents; Franklin Dubowitz and his parents who were very good to me. Did a B.Sc and an M.B.,ChB at Pretoria University. Been practising as a General Practitioner in Pretoria ever since’.

The Ramifications of the Frank Family in Kimberley! At last, Sheila Grant has sent us the outline of the complicated and ubiquitous Frank family in Kimberley. As she said in her introduction: ‘Someone once remarked to me that almost every Jewish family in Kimberley was somehow connected to the Frank family, and I do believe this is true. Geraldine has asked me to write a piece about the family for the website – a daunting task but I have for now, and for the sake of brevity, limited this to an explanation of where everyone fits in’.

This is where it all starts: Originally the Frank family were called Podlifsky. They came from Slutzk, Belarus. The Patriarch, Ephroim Boruch (Bernard) Podlifsky, whose surname was later somehow changed to ‘Frank’, married a Miss Borodach (I think her name may have been “Minya”) and they had three children, Judel, Annie and Israel. The family moved to America, where Minya sadly died. Ephroim Boruch returned to Slutzk where he married his late wife’s sister, Stishie (Stella) with whom he had four more children, Solly, Rachael (Ray), Jack and Cyril (the youngest three being the same ages as his elder son Judel’s children Minnie, Nappy and Masel ….

To see how you may be related or connected to the Frank family, look at Sheila’s description at the end of her own immediate family questionnaire on the ‘Families’ pages. https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kimberley/Grant.html

Vicky Weinberg, (Born Capon 1941) daughter of Violet and Aleck sent a wedding picture for the gallery and says: I have had a very busy, and hectic and extremely happy life. I taught Speech and Drama at CBC in Kimberley until we moved to Cape Town in 1969. I then studied Early Childhood Education and opened a playschool for 30 children aged from 2 to 3 years old…. While I lived in Kimberley, I was a member of the amateur theatre group, and took many parts, I acted, sang, danced and we were a strong group of people who did wonderful plays and Old Time Music Halls, where I was the ‘Red Hot Mama’! Here in Cape Town I joined the Milnerton Playhouse.

Leslie Stein, (b. 1937 – in Kroonstad), retired professor of economics in Sydney is presently occupied in writing a book on Western intellectuals, the Islamic threat and anti-Semitism. Since retiring in 1987 from being a professor of economics, he has written three books on Israel's history. That is, The Hope Fulfilled: The Rise of Modern Israel, The Making of Modern Israel and Israel Since the Six Day War. You can view them in Amazon.

Leslie writes on his family page: When in Israel I became an ardent Marxist and on my return, I joined Hashomer Harzair which was a Zionist Marxist group. But my journey to the left did not stop there for in next to no time I left the Zionist movement and became active in the anti-Apartheid movement serving as a trade union organizer, which explains why I did not go to university in South Africa. In the wake of the Sharpville massacre, a state of emergency was declared and all hardened leftists (and I am not talking about student movement liberals) were rounded up and detained for months on end. Luckily for me, Norman Friedmann let me hide in his apartment. When, Clara, my future wife, went to my flat to get a change of clothing, a neighbour told her that at 4 or 5 in the morning the police were hammering on my door. Soon after that, I drove down to Cape Town and boarded a boat for Britain.

All in all, we already have some 47 family entries. You can read them all via the ‘Families’ pages. Some are in the form of eulogies at their funerals from Barney Horwitz and relatives. You can read Barney’s tribute to his aunt Pamela Joseph (nee Horwitz b 1926) who died this year in London. You can also read obituaries of Jules Katz and of Dan Jacobson (left) – possibly one of our most significant sons. There is also an appreciation of Poddy Shein. Fairly recent additions from living contributors are the family details from Ester Strano (nee Benjamin – born 1927) and Delia Ben. Marion (Schild) Lewis b c1945 to go up soon. Mike Dalrymple (b about 1942?) who grew up in the Perel household, has written his memories of being associated with the Jewish community in the 50s and 60s. Lance Michalson has contacted us and wants to write about his stepfather Ivor Brown. (b 1939). We have 19 weddings on the family weddings page

To list yourself and your own family, please go to the contact page on the site and fill in your family details. Or if already listed, maybe you can send some photographs?

Alfred Beit – a new version

On another historic note, I have completely re-developed my monograph on Alfred Beit. His story is fascinating and illuminating from beginning to end. I have included more pictures and with more in-depth reading from his contemporaries, I can reveal more of his special and unlikely character, for the great financier he became and get a better understanding of the immense risks taken with no clear picture of how things would turn out.

There is more about those involved in IDB, sometimes thought of by some as a Jewish ‘profession’. There is also more about Jews who came to South Africa at the time, and why Jews were always involved with the diamond trade. If you have not read it yet, you can read it here: https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kimberley/Alfred_Beit.html

Now I am getting on with part 2 of his life beyond Kimberley. The colour changes to gold and we consider how Alfred Beit transferred his capital and expertise in diamond mining and financing to sorting out the efficacy and finance of gold extraction and his important role in making the difficult gold formations on the Rand into a profitable industry. Also, we look at how Beit continues to support Cecil Rhodes in his empire moves. This involves much drama and upset in exploration, takeover, in Matabeleland and raid and war over Johannesburg, not to mention the ups and downs of labour and all the old rivalries. I don’t know how long it will take me, but I’m enjoying the ride.

I look forward to hearing from you and about your family story.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Chanukah and New Year 2018.

Geraldine

Geraldine Auerbach MBE

Geraldine.auerbach@gmail.com Tel 020 8907 1905 mobile: 07971 818 262

* That Matric Dance Picture in full

Leon Chonin sent this wonderful picture of the GHS Matric Dance of 1963 — with Alan Huth, Sandra Diamond, Leon Chonin, Pamela Hotz, Marvin Cohen, Pearly Goldenbaum, Fleur Sack, Ronny Heynes, Ruth Witepski and Eric David.

This is what he knows about their current whereabouts:

Alan Huth (family from Upington) is an accountant in Cape Town. He was a boarder at KHS

Sandra Diamond lived in Johannesburg for a long time and was a friend on Facebook but I am not sure what has happened to her

Pamela Hotz lives in Johannesburg and was a Facebook friend

Marvin Cohen (family also from Upington) lives in Melbourne Australia and is a Facebook friend. He was also a boarder at KHS

Pearly Goldenbaum lives in Florida USA

Fleur Sack who is a doctor also lives in Florida USA

Ruth Witepski I understand lives in Japan

Eric David (Pamela Hotz's cousin) lives in LA, California, USA

I wonder if they are all on the mailing list for this Newsletter? If you know their contact addresses, please send the newsletter – and also send me their email addresses.