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Hyman Schauder Collection

  • Collection
  • 2013-

This Collection of photographs were taken in 1934 by Hyman Schauder during a student trip that took him to the USSR, Eastern Europe, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Italy and Switzerland.

Hyman Schauder was studying Economics at the LSE and travelling with an HB Webb Scholarship for overseas study. He took this trip with a party of 8 other economists to study the economic situation in Europe.

Schauder investigated industrial conditions and methods of unemployment insurance and relief in Britain and the United States, and did research work in Geneva.

Hyman Schauder wrote letters to his family and wrote notes on the backs of his photographs. All these sources of original narrative are available today in the collection held by South African Jewish Museum. In some cases Hyman Schauder's notes are availble in this collection and in other cases they have been transcribed.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections. If you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Hedy Davis Muizenberg Collection

  • Collection
  • 2024-

South African Jewish Museum archives a greatly fascinating collection which pertains to the history of the seaside suburb Muizenberg in Cape Town. Hedy I Davis very graciously donated her research to the museum; the research went towards the publishing of her book “Muizenberg: the story of the Shtetl by the Sea” (2014). This collection includes historical photographs, newspaper articles, documents, and brochures. Themes of memory, joy, community, heartache, and revitalization are evident throughout the collection.

The historical photographs document the fun and innocence of children and families in the 1920s until the 1940s. The opening of the Muizenberg pavilion in 1929 certainly attracted a crowd. Boy Scouts frequently camped in the area. Looking at the more modern photographs, the iconic imagery of Muizenberg is captured in a unique spirit, including the mountain, the sea, the beach huts, and the buildings.

Interesting stories come out of the newspaper articles. Refurbishment plans have always been an issue, with the wear and tear of seaside conditions, along with a time-period of poverty in the area, Muizenberg has, on a number of occasions, had to walk the line of reinventing itself whilst remaining true to its “shtetl by the sea” charm.

The article “On Muizenberg” describes the British and Dutch colonies, and how Muizenberg got its name. Other articles share information on Jewish involvement in politics in the area. And some articles report on incidents of anti-Semitism and vandalism.

The Cape Times Peninsula Directories record the main streets in Muizenberg. The Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation AGM agenda in 1980 is in the collection. Other documents include the Southern African Jewish Association of Canada (SAJAC) News booklet – the Rosh Hashanah edition of 2010, and articles about the perspectives of different South African Jews on Zionism.

The collection has several information and advertisement brochures on Muizenberg. Nine copies of the “Corner Chat” community magazine are in the collection.

South African Jewish Museum is grateful to Hedy Davis for donating this terrific collection. These documents were used in the research for her book “Muizenberg: the story of the Shtetl by the Sea”.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Harris Green Collection

  • Collection
  • 2023

My late father, Solomon Charles Green, served as a Sapper in the Third Field Engineers of the South African Army during World War II. His service took him “up north” through Africa – from his home in Cape Town to Gazala in Libya where he was injured.

My dad kept a hand-written diary spanning the period January 1 through May 30, 1942 – two days before he was seriously injured while detonating a minefield. Although I knew this diary existed, I had never, until relatively recently, read it from cover to cover. For me, it was an eye-opener.

What makes the entries so fascinating is that they were written in real time. This is not a memoir. The entries haven't been re-written to make punch lines more dramatic. They are written as my dad witnessed the events. Editing wasn’t an option. Once the words landed on the page, they were there to stay. He wrote this diary for himself. He had no intention of turning it into a best-seller. That’s what makes it so authentic.
The diary relates requests from officers seeking volunteers for "suicide missions", of saying goodbye to friends who volunteered for these missions and my dad’s "farewell letter" to his sister on the eve of such a mission.

I wasn’t there. I never experienced the oppressive heat, the freezing cold or the blinding sand storms. I wasn't subjected to food and water rations. I never had to contend with rats or swarms of flies and mosquitoes. I never had to dig holes to lay thousands of land mines and then dig them up to create escape routes for retreating forces. I never had to seek shelter from air strikes and artillery shelling. I wasn't subjected to the dangers, the despair and the drudgery these soldiers faced on a daily basis for months, even years, on end. Even the most vivid imagination cannot begin to conceive the routines and realities these soldiers were subjected to.

Considering these soldiers were volunteers, makes the overall picture even more complex. They were soldiers, not career officers. They risked their lives to make our world a better place. Their battlefield was thousands of miles from where they lived, in the heart of one the world’s most desolate regions.

These volunteers had no idea what they were volunteering for. They never knew where they were going, or for how long. Would it be for a few months, a year or a few years?
What motivated them to volunteer? Was it the fear of Adolf Hitler and the threat he posed to the existing world order? Was it their sense of duty to defend their country in its hour of need? Or were they seeking some illusionary adventure to satisfy a lust for action?
What thoughts passed through their minds when they hugged and said good-bye to their nearest and dearest? Where did their minds roam in those moments of solitude, lying in their dug-outs or standing in the freezing cold, manning road blocks and observation posts?

So many died. Nobody ever called them Dad. They never experienced the joys of life. Their unshared dreams and ambitions simply dissipated. They died without a wrinkle on their faces.

Thousands more suffered physical and mental injuries condemning them to lives of pain, anguish and unrealized dreams. For them, the war never ended. Life became one long, lonely, sleepless night after another.
Others were taken prisoner. Often humiliated and tortured, they were robbed of some of the best years of their lives and denied the opportunity to pursue their passions.

And there were those who did make it home after six long years of unforgettable experiences along with sad memories of dear friends who were less fortunate.
These heroes gave our generation a much better life than the ones they experienced. We are duty bound to remember them, to recall their bravery and document their stories.

Wikipedia describes World War II as the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated 70–85 million people perished in the war – around 3% of the world’s population in 1940.

My book focuses on the transcribed diary. To fully appreciate the contents of the diary, understanding the historical, political, social and economic contexts is essential. To this end, I have added sections on my father’s humble background, the diary and its journey, the battlefield, the Battle of Gazala in which my dad was injured and some personal reflections.

I was 36 years old when my father died. We were very close. I never saw him flustered. He never complained. He was always so patient and tolerant. In the diary, there are a few entries in which his frustrations got the better of him. These entries are so out of character with the father I knew. Those days must have been especially tough.

For me, writing a book around my father’s handwritten war diary has been an inspirational and emotional experience. I finally got to reading it from cover to cover. It opened my eyes and filled them with tears on more than one occasion. The diary made me aware of the realities of war and the dangers these heroes voluntarily exposed themselves to – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It made me ask myself so many questions. The what-ifs are too numerous to list. I’ve enjoyed the search for answers and speculating the potential outcomes. Thanks, Dad, for the wonderful legacy you left us.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections. If you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Greenberg Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2015-

The Greenberg Video Collection contains digitised footage. It was donated by Ivan Greenberg and contains videos of the Greenberg family's travels around South Africa and multiple family gatherings.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Glaser Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

The Glaser Family Collection donated by Leon Glaser includes photographs of of the Glaser family, including documents related to members of the Glaser family.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Gitta Usdin and Usdin Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

Donated by Sally Singer, the Gitta Usdin Photograph and Document Collection consists mostly of published pieces of poetry found in newspapers. Born in Latvia, Gitta wrote mainly in Yiddish. Translations of some of the pieces have also been included in the collection. The few photos present are of Gitta and the Usdin family.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections. If you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Giesenow Family Collection

  • Collection
  • YYYY-

The Giesenow Video Collection contains digitised footage. It was donated by Hilton Giesenow and contains 16 videos showing various scenes of children, golfing, the Johannesburg Zoo, metal production at a factory, a wedding at the Pine Street Synagogue, and a University "RAG" parade through the streets of Johannesburg

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Georgina Jaffee and Jaffee Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

NOTE FROM GEORGINA JAFFEE ( RESEARCHER AND COMPILER OF THE ARCHIVE)

This is the archive of Joffe Marks and his family ( Jaffee/Bloom/Pinn Families) tracking his story as an immigrant during the late nineteenth century as he made his way from Port Elizabeth to the gold mines in the Transvaal ; and the founding of first modern mills in the Transvaal which he built and managed for many decades until his death in 1955.
Through his sponsorship, his brother and wife and two children left Lithuania and came to South Africa in 1913. Their families subsequently worked in the mills in Newtown once they had finished school. The next generation also worked in the mills.
No archive is complete and family members are encouraged to contact the administrators if they wish to add anything to this archive.

I wish to thank the Kaplan Centre and the University of Cape Town archival staff who have made this digital archive possible.

Friedlander Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

The Friedlander Family Collection comprises a number of photographs and documents. The photographs are largely individual portraits and images of graves, and the documents comprise correspondence, postcards, newspaper clippings and family documents. Of particular note are correspondence written in pre-Second World War Lithuania and letters written to and from South African author Olive Shreiner.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections. If you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Freedman Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2011-

The Freedman Video Collection contains digitised footage. It was donated by Richard Freedman and contains videos of the Freedman family at Plettenberg Bay and at home.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

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