Jews in Hospitality

Jewish families in Vryburg played a significant role in the town’s hospitality scene. At one point, they owned all three local hotels, all situated on Market Street. These hotels provided a welcoming place for Jewish travelers and, in some cases, served as long-term homes for retirees. Each hotel featured a large inner courtyard with garages.

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Today, none of these hotels are still open. The economics of operating hotels in rural South Africa have shifted, and travelers now prefer smaller boutique inns. The former hotels have been repurposed as retail spaces. 

 

An authoritative account of Vryburg’s hotels was written by Graham Brodovcky.

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The Grand Hotel:

The first hotel in Vryburg, the Criterion Hotel, was established in the mid-1880s by the German-Jewish Abt brothers, Daniel and Hermann Abt. In 1901, they sold the property and moved north to Kuruman and Geluk. The Geluk property—later owned by Elias Helfer—included the only country-licensed hotel in the district, according to a 1908 sale notice. This property was sold as part of Hermann Abt’s estate after his death in Cape Town in June 1905. Daniel Abt died in Kuruman in 1936.

The Criterion later became known as the Grand Hotel, which maintained a long association with Jewish ownership and management.

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• 1901–1906: Owned by Morris Silverman

• 1906–1917: Owned and managed by Jos Smollan and Solomon Smollan, who was married to Leah (née Eisenberg)

• 1917 onward: Owned by Jos and David Smollan

 

In 1917, Solomon Smollan’s wife died. Jos Smollan later left Vryburg and amassed a considerable fortune. A generous philanthropist, he left money in his will to construct a synagogue in Vryburg and to support other Jewish causes. This decision caused controversy within parts of the family.

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Snippets of Time: Memoirs of a Maverick, Lola Watter wrote critically of Jos Smollan’s estate planning, suggesting that family members had expected a substantial inheritance. Lola submits: “Flattering relatives always took him out, fetching and carrying him when he called on them. For he always smilingly remind them that one day they would feature in Big Letters in his Wil!” She later adds, “Great Uncle Jos chose this small town of Vryburg as suitable for his memorial – a big fish in a small pond. But by the time great Uncle Jos died, the joke had turned on him. For there were scarcely enough Jews left in Vryburg to make up the ten necessary for a service.”

 

While the bequest was generous for its time, it constituted only a portion of the total estate, a point some family members contested.

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The Perel Years

In 1927, Jack Perel and Jacob Cohen purchased the Grand Hotel. (Cohen’s brothers owned the competing Savoy.) From 1929 to 1935, Jack Perel managed the hotel alone. Under the Perel family’s stewardship, the hotel became a renowned haven for Jewish travelers.

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Felicia Perel recalled that Jack Perel’s wife, Bobba, was an exceptional cook. Jewish traveling salesmen would go out of their way to stay at the Grand on Fridays to enjoy her legendary Shabbat table, which featured traditional dishes such as herring, cold meats, and recipes from de heim—Lithuania, from where many South African Jews originated.

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The Rohloff Era

In 1941, the Grand was sold to Jack Silbert, and later to Maurice (Morris) Rohloff, who purchased it in 1947. Born in Windau, Morris Rohloff had farmed in Vryersdale and Upington before settling in Vryburg. The Rohloff family owned the hotel until 1981.

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During this period, the Grand served as Vryburg’s principal restaurant. Maurice Joffe fondly recalled its salted butter served on ice. Many locals remember Sunday lunches—especially lamb chops—and the Rohloff family living on the premises. Features included a swimming pool and offices behind reception.

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One of the most memorable events was the joint birthday celebration held on 25 December for Morris Rohloff and his grandson Justin, remembered as the best Christmas party in town. Frank (“Boytjie”) Rohloff, who later studied at a Swiss hotel school, ran the Grand with distinction. Under his leadership, the hotel was named Country Hotel of the Year by the Travelers’ Association for three consecutive years in the mid-1970s.​

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The Central Hotel

Directly opposite the Grand stood the Central Hotel, originally known as the Vryburg Hotel. It was owned as early as 1893 by Solomon (Sigmund) Hammershlag, married to Jenny Abt, sister of Daniel and Hermann Abt.

Subsequent owners included:

• The Blumgart family

• Ludwig Salomon (confirmed by a 1905 Northern News advertisement discovered by Anney Garnett)

• William Heppel

• Harry and Annie Allschwang (1928–1931)

• The Wailer family (1931–1937)

• Kevi Levin (1937–1944)

• The Zwarenstein family (1944–1946)

• The Jacobsons (1946–1957)

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The International Hotel

The International Hotel, formerly known as the Vryburg Hotel and later the Savoy, was situated opposite the Stellelander and the Land Bank. It too passed through many Jewish owners:

• Lowitz and Radowsky (1918–1919)

• Maximillian Isaac Cohen (1919–1920)

• Harris Bernard Cohen (1921–1924)

• Morris Friedman and David Samuel Cohen (1924)

• David Samuel Cohen alone (until 1925)

• Jon Mandle Silbert (1925)

• Herman Greenberg and Abraham Blashker (1925)

• Herman Greenberg alone until his death in December 1928

• Kevi Levin (1929–1936)

• John (Jeannot) Weinberg (1936–1944)

• Brodovcky–Allen families (1944–1964)

John Weinberg fought on the side of the Boers and captured by the British fighting for the Boers in early 1900, serving as a prisoner of war. Graham Brodovcky preserved an article about him published in the Jewish Report in 1999.

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Liquor:

Each of the hotels held lucrative licenses to sell alcohol.