DARKER SHADE OF PALE

Shtetl to Colony

‘Part memoir, part global history, part meditation on inherited trauma … a stunning book’ – Jacob Dlamini, Princeton University

DEBORAH POSEL

A sweeping historywith intimate roots,Darker Shade of Paletraces a little known chapter in the history of global migration: the journeying of families at the turn of the twentieth century from the Jewish territories of the Russian Empire, called the Pale of Settlement, to the far-flung British colony of South Africa. At the heart of the book by Deborah Posel, is the story of her grandfather, Maurice Posel.An ordinary man whose struggles and disappointments mirror those of countless others, this book challenges the common narrative of Jewish immigrant successes in South Africa.

Date: 29 January 2026

Time: 19:00

Venue: Lecture Theatre 3, Middle Campus, Kramer Law Building, University of Cape Town Webtickets: https://bit.ly/48n1FsI

This is a free book launch however booking

via Webtickets is essential