-SU A-SIG U The journal of the Southern African Jewish Genealogy Special Interest Group http://www.jewishgen.org/SAfrica/ Editor: Colin Plen [email protected] Vol. 14, Issue 1 December 2013 InU this Issue President’s Message – Saul Issroff 2 Editorial – Colin Plen 3 Meir (Matey) Silber 4 South African Jews Get Their Master Storyteller – Adam Kirsch 5 A New Diaspora in London – Andrew Caplan 8 Inauguration of Garden Route Jewish Association as SAJBD affiliate 11 From Lithuania to Mzansi: A Jewish Life – Walter and Gordon Stuart 12 Preserving our Genealogy Work for Posterity – Barbara Algaze 13 The Dunera Boys 15 2013 Research Grant Recipients for IIJG 16 New Items of Interest on the Internet – Roy Ogus 17 Editor’s Musings 20 Update on the Memories of Muizenberg Exhibition – Roy Ogus 22 New Book – From the Baltic to the Cape – The Journey of 3 Families 23 Book Review – A Dictionary of Surnames – Colin Plen 24 Letters to the Editor 25 © 2013 SA-SIG. All articles are copyright and are not to be copied or reprinted without the permission of the author. The contents of the articles contain the opinions of the authors and do not reflect those of the Editor, or of the members of the SA-SIG Board. The Editor has the right to accept or reject any material submitted, or edit as appropriate. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Southern Africa Jewish Genealogy In August I attended the annual IAJGS conference in Boston. I think about 1200 people were there and Special Interest Group (SA-SIG) I was told that several hundred watched the sessions The purpose and goal of the Southern Africa Special live using a new on-line streaming system. This is a Interest Group (SA-SIG) is to bring together Jewish new technological innovation and will be of great genealogy researchers with a common interest in Southern benefit to those who can't easily get to travel abroad. Africa and to provide a forum for a free exchange of ideas, research tips and information of interest to those From the South African perspective, Roy Ogus gave researching Jewish family history in the communities of South Africa, Lesotho (Basutoland), Botswana an excellent presentation on Southern African (Bechuanaland), Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), Zambia research, highlighting the common resources and (Northern Rhodesia), Swaziland, Mozambique, Kenya, and some new ones. the former Belgian Congo. There was a small, but significant, presence of The SIG has been producing a quarterly Newsletter since 2000 in which is included articles on personalities in the people at the conference either from Southern Southern African Jewish community, religious Africa, or with connections to that part of the world. congregations, communities – past and present and general But many more came up to me in the course of the news about the lives our Southern African families led. conference and asked about research. There was Further information on how to subscribe to the Newsletter, also a very prominent set of talks and workshops on as well as an archive of previous Newsletter issues, can be Lithuania and Latvian research. found at: http://www.jewishgen.org/SAfrica/newsletter/index.htm Next year’s conference will be held in Salt Lake City and promises to be outstanding. In the year If you would like to contribute articles to the Newsletter, following (2015), the conference will be held in accounts should include descriptions of families of the community, aspects of local Jewish life, its institutions and Jerusalem. Planning is well underway for both. particular character. Jewish involvement in the community at large, its history, business life and development could be These conferences are also great for making and featured as well. renewing friendships in the genealogical world, as well as for putting faces to the many e-mail contacts Articles for inclusion in the Newsletter should be sent to Colin Plen, Editor, at [email protected] gathered over the years. General enquiries about the Newsletter can be sent either to By the time this issue is published, it should be Colin or to Roy Ogus at [email protected] public knowledge that Ancestry.com has acquired The SA-SIG maintains a set of Web Pages that can be South African family history records from Media24 found at: http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica (the publisher of the Ancestry24 web site). Heather SA-SIG Board MacAlister, formerly at Ancestry24, is now the content manager for Ancestry.com material that is relevant to South Africa. For any of the previous President Saul Issroff users of Ancestry24, this is great news. Vice-President Roy Ogus Vice-President Emeritus Mike Getz [Editor’s Note: Further details of the Ancestry.com Treasurer Ed Goldberg - Ancestry24 agreement can be found on page 17.] Membership Ed Goldberg Newsletter I hope over the coming year to see more Editor Colin Plen involvement and input from members of the South Layout Roy Ogus African Jewish Genealogy Society. The Society is Webmaster Roger Harris now a full member of the International Association Australian Coordinator Herbert Epstein of Jewish Genealogy Societies. Canadian Coordinator Ed Goldberg Israel Coordinators Rose Lerer Cohen, Beryl Baleson Elsewhere in this issue [see page 16] you will see South African Coordinators Stan Hart, Colin Plen some details of the International Institute for Jewish USA Coordinators Roy Ogus, Ann Rabinowitz Genealogy and Paul Jacobi Center at the National Library of Israel, Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew © Copyright 2013 SA-SIG University, Jerusalem. I've been appointed Deputy SA-SIG Newsletter, Vol. 14, Issue 1, December 2013 © Copyright 2013 SA-SIG Page 2 Chairman (elect). Please look at the website other places, and he opened his home to them as a www.IIJG.org for more details of the organization. shelter. The Jewish Board of Guardians condemned the place and in 1886 opened the Official Poor Jews Saul Issroff Shelter. In the article “New Items of Interest on the London, UK Internet”, we provide more information about the [email protected] Shelter and the associated database of information. My friend Larry Rubin went to Poland some years ago and tried to find out more about his family. One EDITORIAL of the things he did find was the variations on the name Rubin Several months ago when I had sent off the final proofs of the latest Newsletter at the time to Roy On my first visit to London I went to Foyle’s Ogus, who puts the Newsletter together, I gathered because I understood it was the best place to buy some odd bits that I had not allocated, and I put used books in the world. I was looking for the book them in a file which I called “SA-SIG May The Collins Dictionary of the Meanings of Newsletter”. I optimistically thought that I could Surnames. That had been years before and Foyle’s begin work by May. could not help me but across the road was the Collins retail shop, they had the book I wanted. I We are now in November and my conscience has have described the book in a sort of book review. forced me to pick up the pieces! Sorry that there has been a gap, but these things happen! Although not genealogical in nature, and nor to do with South Africa, the story of the Dunera Boys I looked through the material I had collected over should become better known. During WWII the the last few months and I found an article by Walter British Government interned all men of Austrian and Gordon Stuart, which included a critique of the and German, regardless of whether they were books Jewish Life in the South African Country Jewish or Nazi or political refugees and shipped Communities. The father of Walter and Gordon them all off together to Australia in a ship which collected masses of detail relating to the histories of should have been condemned. his family and related families and put this mass of material into a large book, of which there are only 6 We also include several other new articles as well as copies in existence. Walter and Gordon then go on the usual features, “New items of interest on the to show that because they are aware of the huge Internet,” and “Editor’s Musings.” amount of work that goes into a publication, they I thank those several readers who have written to have got great pride in advising South African Jews, me. or Jews with South African connection, to read the 5 books produced by the Beth Hatefutsoth team on the Colin Plen Jews of South Africa. I am not absolutely sure of Editor the meaning of the word critique, because in my Durban, South Africa own mind I thought that ‘critique’ implies negative [email protected] criticism whereas the Stuart’s article is only positive and not negative-critical at all. We have a letter from our friend in Miami, Ann Rabinowitz who reminds us of some postings she Attention: Hardcopy SA-SIG Newsletter has made on the JewishGen Blog. Subscribers David Sandler in Australia has also written to tell us Just a reminder that if you subscribe to the that his latest book, The Pinsker Orphans, has now Newsletter in hardcopy form, and haven’t renewed your subscription for 2013 / 2014, then this will be been published, and he has started working on his the last issue that you will receive. Details on the next book. subscription options and how to renew your subscription can be found on page 26. In the Spring of 1885 in London, a recent immigrant, Simon Cohen, felt sorry for the new Thanks for your support! immigrants coming to London or through London to SA-SIG Newsletter, Vol.