Violet Weinberg

Violet Weinberg was born in Johannesburg,  South Africa, the daughter of a Jewish refugee who fled from Latvia, then a part of the Soviet Union, where Anti-Semitism led to discrimination and persecution of the Jews at the start of the nineteenth century. [1]  This shaped Weinberg from a young age as she could relate to the racial discrimination and persecution of Black South Africans. Weinberg’s political activism started in 1930 at the Garment Worker Union, where she worked as a trade unionist. [2] It was at the Garment Worker’s Union where she met her future husband, Eli Weinberg, who also fled to South Africa due to Anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union during the First World War, and the Socialist October Revolution in 1917. [3] Eli Weinberg, who was a member of the South African Communist Party (CPSA), persuaded Violet to join the Party and the struggle for freedom and human rights for all South Africans. [4] Sheila Weinberg, their daughter stated in an interview that Eli’s dedication to the struggle shone brightly as he told Violet that they would not marry if she did not become a member of the CPSA. [5] Similar to Eli’s dedication, Violet also poured her heart into the struggle as a strong-willed and stubborn political activist.

In 1941 Violet Weinberg gave birth to her son, Mark, followed three years later by her daughter Sheila, who was born on 1 October 1945. [6] Sheila Weinberg noted in an interview that her parents usually smuggled magazines, such as China Deconstruct, praising the successes of communism, while teaching their children the importance of equality regardless of race and human rights. [7] These teachings and beliefs came at a high cost. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, Eli worked at the National Union of Commercial Travellers, but due to his political activism as a member of the Congress of Democrats (COD) and the CPSA, he was banned in 1952. [8] As a result he was also banned from his involvement in trade unions. [9] This was just the start of the Weinberg family’s persecution. The loss of Eli’s job and the need to sustain his family, resulted in him becoming a professional photographer. [10] His photos were not only professional portraits or book covers. It also captured historical events, such as photos of the police arresting Black South Africans without their passes and gatherings of the African National Congress (ANC). [11] These pictures became essential, as it fought misconceptions that some White South Africans had about Black South Africans being happy about Apartheid by showing the injustices of the system. [12]

Due to both Eli, Violet and their daughter, Sheila’s political activism in the SACP and ANC they were arrested during the 1960’s. As a result of the Weinberg family’s strong public opposition against the National Party’s  (NP) policies, they lived in a constant state of fear and was prepared for when the police would come to arrest them. [13] As a result Eli always kept a packed bag ready for in case he was arrested. [14] Sheila stated in an interview that her parents believed their house was under surveillance, which brought a lot of tension and fear. [15] With the State of Emergency in South African in 1960 due to the unrest in Sharpeville, both Eli and Violet was detained for three months. [16] Their children were then taken care of by their grandmother who also lived with them. [17]

Violet always believed that Eli would be the first to be arrested, especially after losing his job and being banned from trade unions. [18] It came as a shock when Sheila, their nineteen year old daughter was the first to be detained in Johannesburg Fort Prison, under the 90 day Detention Act, for a pro-ANC slogan she painted in 1964. [19] Sheila was detained for two months in solitary confinement, where she mostly slept and read her bible. [20] In 1965 she was officially charged for the pro-ANC slogan in court and sentenced to 18 months. [21] Upon appeal her sentence was shortened to six months. [22] She served her sentence in the Johannesburg Fort Prison, but was later moved to the Barberton Prison, Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga). [23] Shortly afterwards her father was arrested as a part of the Bram Fischer trail. [24] During the trial he was detained for seven months and then imprisoned for five years for his participation in the banned SACP. [25] In 1965 Violet was arrested and interrogated about the whereabouts of Bram Fischer. [26] She was then imprisoned at the Johannesburg Fort Prison in October 1965. [27] On the day of Sheila’s release, while both her parents were still in imprisoned, her brother died from a gas leak in the bathroom. [28] Violet and Eli now had to mourn the death of their son, without comfort from one another or support.

After the Weinberg’s release from prison, they faced another form of persecution. They became a target of the underground, terrorist police group, Omega. [29] Omega employed terrorist tactics of the Irish Republican Army, such as placing firebombs on cars and throwing bricks against the windows of Anti-Apartheid political activists. [30] Anti-Apartheid activists were also threatened by phone calls from Omega, where they were told that “Omega is after you.” [31] This was enough to make many activists live in fear. It was during an amnesty hearing as a part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that Mr. Erasmus, who founded Omega, stated that their harassment caused Violet Weinberg to leave the country. [32]

In 1976 Eli Weinberg left South Africa for Tanzania, as the Soweto Uprisings was at its peak. [33] Violet joined her husband in 1977 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as the constant intimidation, harassment, imprisonment and banning became intolerable. [34] They became political exiles.

On 18 July 1982 Eli passed away. [35] Thereafter, Violet, who was alone in Tanzania, wanted to return to South Africa. She struggled to return to South Africa as she left the country on an exit visa. [36]  The ANC also forbade her to contact her daughter. [37] The ANC did not want information transferred between family members, as letters could contain confidential political information. [38] Finally, in 1983 Violet’s daughter visited her for the first time after having her passport refused on multiple occasions. [39] Violet was also ill and Sheila desperately wanted to visit her mother. [40] Sheila was only allowed to visit her mother for ten days. [41] They only saw each other three years later when they met in Mozambique and then again in 1988 in Tanzania. [42] Finally, in April 1990, after endless calls between Sheila and the South African Department of Home Affairs, she procured a passport for her mother to return to South Africa. [43] Violet returned in 1990 to South Africa.

Violet and her family’s sacrifice, fighting alongside the oppressed masses for human rights, equality and a democracy, are not forgotten. In 2014 the artists, Hannelie Coetzee, created a Weinberg Park Heritage Commission exhibition in Savoy (Johannesburg) with statues acknowledging Violet and Eli for their role in creating a democratic South Africa. [44] Violet and her whole family’s contribution came at a high cost. Broken familial ties, living in fear and terror, constantly being under surveillance, imprisoned, banned and harassed – this became a part of the Weinberg family’s daily life. Violet and her husband, Eli, were not only political activists in the public sphere, but also within their family. As a result, their daughter understood the values they stood for and strove, regardless of persecution, to achieve a free South Africa.

End notes

[1] Biographical contributions by Gail Nattrass, Mary Metcalfe and Charlene Smith, “Die Donkere Kamer van Eli Weinberg”,(Uploaded: 14 May 2010), (Accessed: 30 March 2020),  (online), Available at: https://www.vpro.nl/speel~POMS_VPRO_157752~de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg-de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg~.html, ↵

[2] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[3] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[4] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[5] Ibid. ↵

[6] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[7] Ibid. ↵

[8] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[9] Ibid. ↵

[10] Ibid. ↵

[11] Biographical contributions by Gail Nattrass, Mary Metcalfe and Charlene Smith, “Die Donkere Kamer van Eli Weinberg”,(Uploaded: 14 May 2010), (Accessed: 30 March 2020),  (online), Available at: https://www.vpro.nl/speel~POMS_VPRO_157752~de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg-de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg~.html, ↵

[12] Biographical contributions by Gail Nattrass, Mary Metcalfe and Charlene Smith, “Die Donkere Kamer van Eli Weinberg”,(Uploaded: 14 May 2010), (Accessed: 30 March 2020),  (online), Available at: https://www.vpro.nl/speel~POMS_VPRO_157752~de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg-de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg~.html, ↵

[13] Ibid. ↵

[14] Ibid. ↵

[15] Ibid. ↵

[16] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[17] Ibid. ↵

[18] Biographical contributions by Gail Nattrass, Mary Metcalfe and Charlene Smith, “Die Donkere Kamer van Eli Weinberg”,(Uploaded: 14 May 2010), (Accessed: 30 March 2020),  (online), Available at: https://www.vpro.nl/speel~POMS_VPRO_157752~de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg-de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg~.html, ↵

[19] Ibid. ↵

[20] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[21] Ibid. ↵

[22] Ibid. ↵

[23] Ibid. ↵

[24] Ibid. ↵

[25] Ibid.   ↵

[26] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[27] Biographical contributions by Gail Nattrass, Mary Metcalfe and Charlene Smith, “Die Donkere Kamer van Eli Weinberg”,(Uploaded: 14 May 2010), (Accessed: 30 March 2020),  (online), Available at: https://www.vpro.nl/speel~POMS_VPRO_157752~de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg-de-donkere-kamer-van-eli-weinberg~.html, ↵

[28] Ibid. ↵

[29] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[30]Author Unknown, “Amnesty Hearings: Truth Commission Special Report”, South African Broadcasting Committee, (Uploaded: 16 October 2000), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/documents/amntrans/johannesburg/54553.htm ↵

[31] ↵

[32] Ibid. ↵

[33] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[34] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[35] Author Unknown, “Sheila Weinberg”, South African History Online, (Uploaded: 3 September 2019), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sheila-weinberg ↵

[36] Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[37] Ibid. ↵

[38] Ibid. ↵

[39] Ibid. ↵

[40] Ibid. ↵

[41] Ibid. ↵

[42]Mac Maharaj, “16 September 2003: Weinberg, Sheila”, O’Malley the Heart of Hope, (Uploaded: 16 September 2003), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03833/05lv03891/06lv03906.htm ↵

[43] Ibid. ↵

[44] Author Unknown, “Weinberg Family Park”, Hannelie Coetzee Contemporary African Artist, (Uploaded: 29 November 2014), (Accessed: 31 March 2020), Available at: https://www.hanneliecoetzee.com/weinberg-park-heritage-comission-2014/ ↵