Jewish Life in South Africa

The South Africans. By Saraha Gertrude Millin. Constable & Co., London. 330 pp.

Little is known in the United States about life in South Africa, and even less is known about the life of the Jews in South Africa.

For those who want to have a fine picture of the present state of the Jews in South Africa, the book by Mrs. Millin can be freely recommended.

“The South Africans” is one of those books which make delightful reading. In sprightly manner Mrs. Millin presents an excellent view of life in South Africa today. In ###rt-to-heart talk she presents the lives of the Boers, the English, the Jews, the Asiatics and the half-castes in South Africa.

Her chapter on the Jews deserves high praise. One does not have to live in South Africa to realize how truthfully Mrs. Millin pictures Jewish life there. The chapter is written with such warmth and with such a fine objectivity that both Jews and non-Jews will enjoy reading it simply because it presents, facts truthfully and sincerely.

The book by Mrs. Millin is highly praised by General Smuts, who certainly knows South Africa. General Smuts describes “The South Africans” as a “thrilling book.” All that can be added to this phrase of praise is that while being thrilling this book is at the same time a serious survey replete with valuable information.

Of the dozens of books I have read recently, few have impressed me as much as Mr. Millin’s. It is the kind of book which must be included in the library of every intelligent person. Jews will especially enjoy this book, since it describes Jewish life in South Africa in its true colors, beginning from the early immigration days to the present days of Nazi propaganda.

Milton Brown