Identity area
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- 1930 - 1976 (Creation)
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Fonds
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Extent254 items
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Leibl Feldman 1896-1975
He was born on 8 June 1896 in Skopiskis, northern Lithuania. He was the second son of Joseph and Minnie Feldman. He came to South Africa in 1910 at the age of 14. His education took place at the Jewish Government School, Johannesburg. Leibl went into partnership, in a small shop trading under the name of Feldman & Stein. After a year Stein sold out to Leibl. The firm then became L. Feldman and survived under this name for 40 years.
Trade did not occupy all his interest and energy. He was a man of wide interests and a strong social conscience. After the World War I he became involved with the Jewish War Victims Relief Fund. In November 1918 he was instrumental in founding a branch of the Socialist-Zionist Poalei Zion Party in Johannesburg. In the late 1920s he became involved in the Organisation for Rehabilitation and Training (ORT). The aim of the body was to reconstruct the nature of Jewish life all over the world. In 1929 he joined the Jewish Workers Club which was anti- Zionist. In 1932 he married Shura Miller. They had one son and two daughters.
When World War II broke out he became involved in the South African Jewish war appeal. In 1946 he volunteered to join the South African Jewish Board of Deputies which visited the Displaced Persons camp in (?).
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The Feldman Papers consist of correspondence, notes, typescripts, press clippings, photographs and printed items. They reflect the many interests of Feldman not only as a Jew, a writer and a politician but also an educationalist. Of particular interest to the researcher from a social and political point of view are the letters to editors and the many articles which he wrote, concerning education, race relations, and the ancestory of the Jews themselves. His greatest achievement was the publishing of his book in 1937 called Yidn in Dorem Afrike i.e. History of the Jews in South Africa. The papers themselves give a clear picture of Feldmans concern for the Jews and the role that they played in the early development of South Africa.
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Copyright Historical Papers Research Archive, The Library, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Note
Alternate title: Feldman, Leibl
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Archivist's note
Compiled by Kathrin Green, 1990