Ruth Weiss, South African Journalist Who Confronted Injustice, Dies at 101

Strategic Insights -

Ruth Weiss's life was shaped by confronting injustice in South Africa and Germany. Born in 1924 in Fürth, Germany, she was a child when the Nazis came to power in 1933, and her family later immigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa. Weiss became a journalist, writing about apartheid and the brutal treatment of Black people, and was expelled from Rhodesia after reporting on the country's evasion of United Nations sanctions. In her later years, Weiss was in great demand as a lecturer in Germany, where she spoke about her experiences as a witness to history. She passed away on September 5, 2025, in Aalborg, Denmark, at the age of 101, leaving behind a legacy of courage and determination.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ruth Weiss was a South African journalist who was born in Germany in 1924 and immigrated to South Africa with her family in 1936.
  • Weiss's hatred of apartheid was unwavering, and she became a determined opponent of the system, writing about it extensively in her articles and books.
  • Weiss's experiences as a journalist were shaped by her twin experiences of discrimination: as a child in post-Nazi Germany and as a young woman in apartheid South Africa.
  • Weiss met Nelson Mandela, who was on the run at the time, and spoke out against apartheid, even when it put her life at risk.
  • Weiss wrote several books, including "A Path Through Hard Grass," which recounts her experiences as a journalist and witness to history.
  • Weiss was a witness to Robert Mugabe's rise to power in Zimbabwe and helped found the Zimbabwe Institute of Southern Africa, a discussion forum intended to help prepare the country for the end of apartheid.
  • Weiss spent much of her later years living on the Isle of Wight in England, where she wrote novels, children's books, and nonfiction.

Statistics:

  • Weiss lived to be 101 years old.
  • Weiss was born in 1924 and passed away on September 5, 2025.
  • Weiss immigrated to South Africa in 1936.
  • Weiss began her career as a journalist in the early 1960s.
  • Weiss was expelled from Rhodesia in 1968.
  • Weiss wrote several books, including "A Path Through Hard Grass," "Zimbabwe and the New Elite," "Sir Garfield Todd and the Making of Zimbabwe," and "Peace in their Time."
  • Weiss was in great demand as a lecturer in Germany in her later years.

Sources:

  • The New York Times (Sept 5, 2025)
  • The Guardian (Dec 30, 2014)
  • Die Zeit (Jan 2023)
  • Deutsche Welle (Mar 2023)
  • Wikipedia Commons (photo by Wilfried Hiegemann)