Genesis and objectives:

This website was triggered by a WhatsApp call between my brother Wayne (Johannesburg),  Issy Lieberthal (Melbourne) and myself (Tel Aviv) just before Passover eve 2020: the year of Covid-19. Corona upended our routines, destroyed our economies and took many lives. It did, however, provide many of us with the time to do things we had always (or never) dreamt of doing.

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The objective of this project is to create a digital treasury – a place where we can record and share oral histories, documents and old photographs. The window to create this repository is closing. I invite you to join us in sharing and preserving these recollections and images. 

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This website celebrates the personal and collective tenacity of our siblings, parents and grandparents. 

This is, ultimately, an exercise in recording history. I hope it will be a dynamic process and this website will evolve as we get more material and insights. 

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Dedicated to:

I dedicate this effort to my grandparents, Benno and Gertie Sussman, whom I never met, to my brother Dale and my father Isaac, who were tragically lost too early. I also inscribe this website to Boytjie Rohloff, who – along with his wife and family – did so much for my family and our community. When I began this journey our mother Marie, who was a dedicated teacher and taught a few people who feature in the story of the Vryburg community, was alive. On 15 September 2023 she passed away. I am beholden to her for my love of history.    

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Special mentions:

I would like to acknowledge the indefatigable Geraldine Auerbach, who shepherded me with the patience of a saint. Geraldine is the driving force behind the Kimberley Kehilalinks site. I had all but thrown in the towel quite early on when she sent me an email imploring me not to surrender. We all owe a great collective debt of appreciation to Graham Brodovcky for preserving vital material. My sincere thanks to Anney Garnett for her help with the research. She spent hours reviewing old copies of, The Stellelander, Bechuanaland News and The Northern News. Her efforts yielded amazing items and insights. I am also appreciative of the help given to me by Keith Brodovcky, Phil Toube and Lauren Rohloff, who joined me in the archives. Marina Geldenhuys helped with research. Darren Sevitz of the Chevra Kadisha always responded with the information requests in good time. We are all indebted to the South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth, on whose proverbial shoulders our research stands. It serves as our Bible. I would like to thank Elona Steinfeld for all her help. Well into my research if found a moving note from my Mom, when she gifted me the Beth Hatefutsoth study that covers Vryburg. She wrote: "so maybe Vryburg is not so unique after all! However, no matter where one steps, somehow there is a Vryburg connection." In plain speak, all roads lead to Vryburg. 

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An invaluable resource in this exercise was an outstanding dissertation prepared by Paul Cheifitz on the Potchefstroom community. I came upon his study because the Potchefstroom community poached Reverend Kemelman and ended up learning a great deal about Jewish rural life in South Africa. Paul has been gracious with his time and wisdom throughout my journey. 

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Avi Hechter, Gertrude Wald, Myra Sutin (Joffe), Phil Toube, Mervyn Lieberthal and Maurice Joffe not only contributed their stellar memories but also copious amounts of photos and anecdotes. Each photo and each new person who joined kept this lonely process going. My thanks to Charlotte Halle for editing the content. My wife Dorit (nee Bodenheimer) and our kids put up with incessant calls on Vryburg. Finally, my deepest gratitude to all those who spoke to me, sent photos, filled out forms and gave me feedback. 

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Important caveats:

This is an admixture of oral history and limited archival work. History is anything but objective. There are bound to be errors. I undertake to correct these as and when they are brought to my attention. 

This is not a perfect website. When I was researching my PHD, Roelf Meyer sagely quipped at the end of our interview: "Gary, a good thesis is a done thesis." It is in this spirit that I present you with this good – i.e. done – website. 

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This is not the end of the process, but rather the beginning. The photos and anecdotes included here are a reflection of who I managed to reach and those who contributed. As others add photos and memories, the project will evolve. Please consider it a virtual museum, which belongs to all of us. The more you contribute, the more your family can take its rightful place in our history.