Berlin, 9 February 2025 – The German Africa Foundation mourns the loss of Ruth Weiss, who received the Foundation’s Honorary Award in 2019. With her passing, German-African cooperation has lost an extraordinary personality whose life’s work and commitment have made a lasting impact on the lives of people in Africa and Europe for decades.
Ruth Weiss, born in 1924 in Fürth, Bavaria to Jewish parents, was forced to flee to South Africa with her family in 1936 to escape the Nazis. There, she once again faced discrimination and exclusion – this time under the apartheid system. These experiences shaped her unwavering commitment to justice, peace and understanding between people, countries and continents. As a journalist and author, she worked in numerous African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) and Zambia. Her uncompromising reporting on economic and socio-political issues led to her being declared persona non grata in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia in the 1960s. Nevertheless, she continued her work undeterred – from London, Lusaka and finally Cologne, where she helped set up the Africa editorial department at Deutsche Welle and trained young journalists.
A particularly significant aspect of her work was her contribution to building trust between South African liberation organisations and white South Africans. Through her involvement with the Zimbabwe Institute for Southern Africa (ZISA), she laid the foundations for a dialogue that contributed to the peaceful end of apartheid. In her autobiography, released in German just last month, entitled ‘Erinnern heißt Handeln – Mein Jahrhundertleben für Demokratie und Menschlichkeit’ (Remembering Means Acting – My Century of Living for Democracy and Humanity), she drew the lessons of what today’s world can learn from the South African peace process, sending a clear message against hatred and rejection and in favour of dialogue and peaceful coexistence.
In addition to her autobiography, Ruth Weiss published over 30 books, including novels, children’s books and numerous works of non-fiction about southern Africa. As a living witness to history, she remained actively involved in schools and educational projects until well into her old age, teaching generations of young people about the importance of tolerance, remembrance and responsibility. Nadine Gordimer, South African Nobel Prize winner for literature and fellow activist, once described Ruth Weiss as ‘the warmest and most compassionate woman I have ever met’.
In 2019, the German Africa Foundation honoured Ruth Weiss with its Honorary Award for her persistent commitment to fighting the apartheid regime, her journalistic work to promote a nuanced image of Africa, and her extraordinary services to democratic, inclusive and peaceful coexistence between Africa and Europe. Her commitment was also recognised internationally: in 2023, she was awarded South Africa’s highest order for foreign nationals, the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo.
‘With Ruth Weiss’s passing, we have lost not only a sincere friend of Africa, but also a moral authority who always reminded us to take responsibility and learn from history,’ states Dr Uschi Eid, President of the German Africa Foundation.
The German Africa Foundation will honour Ruth Weiss’s memory. Her life’s work remains a reminder and an inspiration.