Mannie Stein, 1920-2014 : izindaba - obituary

Mannie Stein was born in Lithuania a few days after Pesach (Passover), but as no exact records were kept, he celebrated his birthday on 1 April. Although the worst of the pogroms were over, there was still overt anti-Semitism and great economic hardship and many Jews emigrated. Emigration papers were hard to come by, but a brother of Mannie's mother, Sam Hackner, had emigrated earlier and sponsored the family. At the age of six Mannie set sail from Hamburg with his mother, his older brother Morris, and Hymie aged one. They arrived in Durban to join Mannie's father, who had preceded them six months earlier and started a small eatery.