Werner Blumenthal (1923-2005) was a German Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany in 1934, at the age of 11. His family were from Wagenheim, where his father, Solly (1898-1972) owned a trucking company. Solly first fled to South Africa and then managed to get his wife Martha and daughter Margot and son Werner out. Werner married Ella Vilnesky. She was the daughter of a butcher, Jack Vilensky, who married Rose Engelberg. Rose was the sister of Gertie Engelberg, who married Benno Sussman. Rose and her sisters were from Tukums and were raised in Riga before coming to South Africa. Indeed, it was at Rose and Jack's home that Benno Sussman met Gertie Engelberg. Ella Blumenthal was born on 1932 and passed away in 2007. Both Ella and Werner were buried in Westpark Cemetery. 

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After completing his schooling, Werner qualified to become a mechanic and after marrying Ella in Johannesburg (28 March 1954), they moved to Vryburg, where he worked for Die Boere Helpmekaar. Whilst in Vryburg, their eldest son, Brian, was born in 1958. Later, the couple adopted a daughter Roz. Roz would later married the eldest son of Woolfie Sussman - son of Benno and Gertie. After Vryburg, the family moved to Schweizer Reneke, then Standerton and then Mafeking. Later,Werner went to work for Atlas Aircraft and the family settled in Pretoria.

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