Ronnie Mink – a true scholar and mensch

DON KRAUSZ

Ronnie was born in 1946 in Vryheid, Natal. He gained a BA in education and a history honours at Wits.

In 1977 he became a history teacher at King David High School, Linksfield (KDHS). In 1980 he studied Jewish history at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, specialising in the Holocaust and during 1984/85 he studied at Melton College in Israel. Upon his return to South Africa he became head of the Jewish history department and eventually became a vice principal at King David.

From 1988, for eight consecutive years, Ronnie led learners on the March of the Living to the extermination camps in Europe.

He returned to lecture on the final paths trodden by those kadoshim, with deep emotion and empathy. For the children who accompanied him and those who heard him speak upon his return, it was an unforgettable experience.

Ronnie’s lectures on that unbelievable period of Jewish experience and suffering became a part of Shoah narrative. He was a lecturer par excellence, with a vast knowledge of his subject, backed by an enormous library.

He established and chaired a branch of Yad Vashem in Johannesburg and organised regular seminars and lectures. He was also responsible for bringing the renowned scholar of the Holocaust, author and lecturer Yehuda Bauer, to Johannesburg.

Although not a Shoah survivor himself, Ronnie developed a profound empathy for the subject and its victims, as well as a passion for teaching it.

On a personal level he was a warm and loving husband and father, strongly supported by his wife, Marla, his children and their families. Their home was a haven of Jewish culture, Yiddishkeit, menschlikeit and humour.

After retiring from KDHS, Ronnie continued to lecture until a few months before his death.