“She had so much to tell about topics that are so important to us”, commented students impressed after their encounter with Ruth Weiss at the Angell Montessori School Centre. At the Kepler Gymnasium in Freiburg, she also left behind enthusiastic young people who quickly got an autograph in her autobiography ‘Wege im harten Gras’. The press echo confirmed these impressions – see Badische Zeitung of 13.7. about the encounter with a woman who seeks intergenerational dialogue and knows how to share her rich experiences in a targeted manner.
On the evening of July 14, she was a guest at the Catholic Academy for the discussion “Against Prejudice and Exclusion” for an inspiring discussion with the Freiburg public
Here is the invitation text of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, which Ruth Weiss welcomed in Freiburg:
The german-Jewish journalist and author Ruth Weiss is regarded as an important and formative voice against racism and anti-Semitism. As a contemporary witness to the eventful history of the 20th century, she evokes humanity, denounces exclusion and focuses on prevention through dialogue and enlightenment.
Ruth Weiss was born in Fürth in 1924, became a victim of anti-Jewish propaganda with her family days after Hitler seized power and escaped Nazi terror in 1936 by fleeing the family to South Africa. There she witnessed the establishment of the apartheid regime at the end of the 1940s. Under the impressions of the racism experienced first-hand in Germany, discrimination against the non-white population in South Africa was an intolerable state of affairs for them. Her critical journalistic work led in 1966 to the entry ban to South Africa and today’s Zimbabwe and thus to renewed exile. She continued to work in Zambia, England and Germany and now lives with her son and his family in Denmark. Since her retirement from journalism, she has been writing novels in which she shares her great knowledge of Jewish history and her experiences of the African continent through exciting stories (1) .
Has a circle been closed for her when she returns to Germany, can she feel ‘at home’ as a Jew?
Based on the experiences of exclusion in her childhood during the Nazi era as well as the discrimination of apartheid politics in South Africa, Ms. Weiss will build a bridge to the increasing polarization in today’s society, which is marked by ‘fake news’ and half-knowledge about the other religion or origin.
In an open conversation, she would like to share knowledge and take the audience with her on the way (2) in order to reduce prejudices and counter tendencies towards exclusion.