Darker Shade of Pale: why I wrote a book about my grandfather and how it changed my view of him

By: Leslie Swartz, Stellenbosch University and Deborah Posel, University of Cape Town, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 14, 2025

Words: 1,392

Last Updated: 1 week, 3 days ago

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Deborah Posel, the founding director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences in South Africa, has published a new book, Darker Shade of Pale: Shtetl to Colony. Using a combination of personal memoir and historical inquiry, it retraces the early 20th century migration of Jewish people from the Russian Empire to colonial South Africa through one man’s life.

The book uncovers …

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