SOAP TO SENATE: A GERMAN JEW AT THE DAWN OF APARTHEID

“When the 18 year old  Franz Ginsberg (1862-1936) arrived in King Williams Town from Beuthen (in Prussian Silesia) in 1880, he would never have dreamt that many years later, his widow would be receiving a message of condolence from no lesser man than General Jan Smuts.

Within 5 years after his arrival in South Africa, Franz began his first factory in King Williams Town, and within a few years he was running several factories that made a variety of domestic necessities such as matches, soap, and candles.  By 1890, he had entered local politics, and within a few years he became a Member of the Cape Parliament. After the Act of Union in 1910, Franz became a Member of the Cape Provincial Council, where he remained until 1927. During all of this time, his industries flourished and he continued to play an active role in the development of his adopted home town. In 1927, Franz became the first elected Jewish member of the Senate of South Africa. He remained a Senator until his death.

In his various political roles, as a Town Councillor, as a Member of the Cape Parliament and then the Provincial Council, and as a Senator, Franz stood up for the underdog whether he or she be a native African, an Indian, or even a Jew.

Adam Yamey writes about the life and times of his great-grandfather Franz Ginsberg in his latest book “SOAP TO SENATE: A GERMAN JEW AT THE DAWN OF APARTHEID”.

This is more than a biography; it is also an insight into the early decades of the 20th century in South Africa, which might well be called the ‘gestation period of apartheid’.

Available on Amazon (Kindle)

and from www.lulu.com (Paperback).”

 

With thanks to Adam Yamey