Listen to this review: Darker Shade of Pale – from Shtetl to Colony
Reading Deborah Posel’s Darker Shade of Pale – from Shtetl to Colony is a dive into that highly volatile subject of immigration. If that sounds like an opportunity for heated debate – stop right there! Because it is so much more than that.
It is a family story, revolving around Posel’s grandfather Maurice; an unremarkable man. It is the story of the many Jewish immigrants from the Pale of Settlement, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and part of Poland, who came to South Africa in the early twentieth century. It is an empathetic uncovering of a history that many share. A personal look at family origins, identities, the challenges faced, the how and where myths emanate, assimilation – or not – into a new life, the agony of settling, the hope and the dread of a new beginning, of fitting in. It debunks the myth that all Jews are exceptional because most of those immigrants were not; exactly like Posel’s grandfather. How did these Jews integrate from the shtetl to another version of Empire – ‘a British colony preoccupied by its wealth and Whiteness;’ As a Jew you were seen as ‘a darker shade of pale’, even though you were White.
Posel was not too fond of grandfather Maurice – not an endearing personality, his wife Erna was much warmer and she baked! So what made Posel, renowned sociologist, historian, and academic, pick up these fragments of her family life and pursue a grandfather that she had never warmed to?
It reads like a detective novel, starting with the first discovery amongst her late father’s papers. The steamship ticket bringing her great-grandmother Beila and children to Cape Town piqued her curiosity. It seemed to be the only retained piece of family history. Why this?
Posel is nothing if not meticulous and her searching has documented an important piece of Jewish history, one that is accessible and relatable to the layman, and has filled in some of her own family puzzle. Because, like most immigrants, the older generation did not speak of their past. Unless there were ‘farribels’ which were carried through generations – and there were…
From that first clue, she started looking for others, rewarded at times, frustrated at others, but persistent, she sifted through mountains of material which revealed not only the family picture but is of significance in understanding the plight of the Jewish immigrant, reverberations that echo down the centuries.
Her scope is vast yet never unwieldy, clear, concise, friendly. In Cape Town, the melting pot of District Six embraced her early immigrant family. She tracks the Jewish contribution to Johannesburg, discovering ‘Posel’s Yard’, exposing the settlements, the living conditions: crafting a story from many scraps, the informed speculation is as engaging as the facts.
I am not normally a non-fiction reader but this book drew me in deeply as Posel unpicks the tiny pieces of the fabric of Jewish immigration. Maurice certainly did not fit the picture that all Jews were achievers, but he had adopted a British façade with not a trace of Yiddish to be heard. Always referring to Sir Carruthers Beattie – who? The discovery of this esteemed gent is a deliciously told story which will have you laughing out loud.
It touched me as I recognised the parallels of my own family. Although I am 2nd generation British-born, my grandparents came from the Ukraine, seeking a better life, escaping pogroms. But about their lives there is little information other than our memories. And so this has been enriching for me on a personal level.
Posel has written an important memoir that will speak not only to the South African Jewish community but those curious about cultural heritage. Easy to read, with many references, short chapters allow you to process the story. A vividly wrought picture, it goes a long way in creating understanding of a very misunderstood population. ●
The book is available at the Gitlin, the Book lounge and all good bookstores.
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