Sylvia Löhrmann, former State Minister
Commissioner of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for Combating Antisemitism, for Jewish Life and Remembrance Culture
Chairwoman of the Promotional Society of the Center for Persecuted Arts, Solingen e.V. #We_remember_We_create!

Obituary for Ruth Weiss in September 2025

“Her words will continue to have an impact.”

Ruth Weiss, a witness to history, passed away in Denmark on September 6, 2025, at the age of 101.

"Her weapon was the word," she always emphasized. She vividly described her life and mission in her recently published book: "Remembering Means Acting: My Century of Life for Democracy and Humanity."

I met Ruth Weiss during the anniversary year commemorating "1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany." Her life story, her attitude, and her personality deeply impressed me. Whether in conversations with young people, in intercultural encounters, or in exchanges with academia and journalism, she built bridges, connected experiences, and revealed complex relationships.

Her early experience of injustice during the Nazi era shaped her compass for justice. Even as a child, she was marginalized as a Jew and robbed of her homeland. Later, in South Africa, she experienced apartheid and recognized parallels to her own experience of disenfranchisement. These experiences made her a dedicated fighter against racism, dictatorship, and oppression.

Ruth Weiss's life stands for civil courage, resistance against antisemitism, and the importance of education. Her experiences in Nazi Germany and southern Africa, as well as her lifelong commitment to fighting apartheid, make her a unique witness to history with a global perspective. Her works open doors for young people to topics such as racism, colonialism, and antisemitism, encouraging empathy and a shift in perspective. Her work and her communication with young people embody the educational mission of "remembering for the future." She was a bridge-builder between cultures, eras, and continents.

On January 29, 2023, shortly after her appearance as the keynote speaker at the commemoration for the victims of National Socialism in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, Ruth Weiss spoke to around 160 people at the Center for Persecuted Arts about her eventful life. In 1936, she and her family were forced to leave Germany, emigrated to South Africa, and later actively opposed the apartheid regime. She met freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela and remained a voice for democracy and human rights throughout her life.

Ruth Weiss was born in Fürth in 1924. Even as a child, she experienced the loss of her home and sense of belonging, the disenfranchisement and persecution of her family. Relatives fell victim to Nazi crimes – an experience that profoundly shaped her and which she repeatedly addressed in her literary work.

She lived in Zimbabwe, England, and Germany, among other places, and received numerous honors, including the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, in 2014, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2024, various awards from South Africa, the honorary presidency of the PEN Center for German-Speaking Authors Abroad, and the PEN OVID Prize in 2022.

"It fills us with sorrow and at the same time with gratitude to have known this remarkable woman and to have supported her in her fight against discrimination and exclusion," writes the Ruth Weiss Society.

Ruth Weiss (1924–2025) – The Center for Persecuted Arts and its Promotional Society mourn with her family and friends. Her commitment to democracy and humanity remains our obligation.