Genesis and Objectives

This website grew out of a WhatsApp call with my brother Wayne (Johannesburg) and Issy Lieberthal (Melbourne) on the eve of Passover 2020, at the onset of COVID-19. While the pandemic brought devastation and loss, it also gave many of us the space to pursue long-deferred dreams. This project aims to create a digital treasury for recording and sharing oral histories, documents, and photographs—an opportunity that is rapidly closing.

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The site celebrates the resilience of our parents, grandparents, and communities, both personal and collective. At its core, it is an effort to record history. I first dedicated this project to my grandparents, Benno and Gertie Sussman, whom I never met, and to my brother Dale and my father Isaac, both of whom were lost far too early. It is also dedicated to Boytjie Rohloff and his family, who did so much for my family and community. When this journey began, my mother, Marie, a devoted local teacher, was still alive. She passed away suddenly on September 15, 2023, and I remain deeply grateful for how she nurtured my love of history.

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Special mentions:
I owe special thanks to Geraldine Auerbach, whose patience and encouragement—through her leadership of the Kimberley Kehilalinks site—kept this project alive when I was ready to give up. We all owe a great debt to Graham Brodovcky for preserving critical material. My sincere thanks go to Anney Garnett for her meticulous research of The Stellelander, Bechuanaland News, and The Northern News, which provided invaluable insights. I am also grateful to Keith Brodovcky, Phil Toube, Lauren Rohloff, Marina Geldenhuys, and Darren Sevitz of the Chevra Kadisha for their assistance.

 

We owe a great deal to the South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth, who have laid the foundation for our research. Their work serves as our guiding reference. I would like to extend my gratitude to Elona Steinfeld for all her assistance. During my research, I discovered a heartfelt note from my mom, who had given me the Beth Hatefutsoth study on Vryburg. She wrote: "So maybe Vryburg is not so unique after all! However, no matter where one goes, there seems to be a Vryburg connection." In other words, my mom recognized that all paths lead back to Vryburg.

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Paul Cheifitz’s outstanding dissertation on the Potchefstroom community was an invaluable resource that deepened my understanding of Jewish rural life in South Africa. I am grateful for his generosity with his time and insights.

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I would also like to thank Avi Hechter, Gertrude Wald, Myra Sutin (Joffe), Phil Toube, Mervyn Lieberthal, and Maurice Joffe for sharing their memories, photographs, and stories. My gratitude extends to Charlotte Halle for her editing contributions. Lastly, I want to give special recognition to my wife, Dorit, and our children, who patiently endured countless conversations about Vryburg.

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Important caveats:

This project combines oral history with limited archival research. History is rarely objective, and errors are inevitable. I commit to correcting them when they are identified. As Roelf Meyer once told me during my PhD: “A good thesis is a done thesis.” In that spirit, I present this as a good—meaning completed—website.

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