Mohandas Gandhi - 15 Pine Road, Orchards

Gandhi’s philosophy of passive resistance would have a profound impact on human rights movements across the globe. Gandhi lived in the area between 1908 and 1913, first in Orchards and later in Mountain View. The Kraal at 15 Pine Road, Orchards, is a simple structure with strong influences of South African vernacular architecture designed by Gandhi’s great friend, Hermann Kallenbach. It seems likely that the house was designed as their home, and the simplicity of the architecture is consistent with their asceticism. They lived here between 1908 and 1909 before moving to Mountain View. Today The Kraal is a boutique hotel and museum owned and operated by French group Voyageurs du Monde. 

Ann and Issy Heymann - 156 Henrietta Road, Norwood

Ann and Issy Heymann were deeply involved in the Communist Party. Issy is now unfairly remembered as having cracked under torture after his detention in December 1964, giving the Security Branch information that would lead to the detention and torture of Violet Weinberg and the eventual arrest of Bram Fischer. Their son, Stephen Heymann, recalls meeting Nelson Mandela here in the early 1960s:

“I clearly remember the day he came to 156 Henrietta Road... Our parents’ close friend, Wolfie Kodesh, had a dry cleaning business and a panel van for collecting and dropping off.  One Sunday he came and said “Meet my driver.” The driver was Nelson Mandela dressed in a brown dust coat. Apparently pretending to be a van driver was ideal for him to move around from one township to another…"

Helen Joseph - 35 Fanny Avenue, Norwood

In her biography, Side by Side, Helen Joseph says “On 31 December 1956 I moved into my little cottage with the tall trees, delighted to have a home of my own…”. Moving here was an act of faith and optimism as Helen had been arrested just days before that and charged with treason, and would be on trial for four harrowing years. Banned four times, jailed four times, her life became a long saga of police persecution, much of it spent under house arrest at this very address. A number of other activists including Norman Levy, Norma Kitson and Ronald Press lived nearby.

Mannie and Babette Brown - 3 High Road, Orchards

Mannie Brown is well known for the role he played in arranging the getaway car and safehouses for Goldreich and Wolpe after they were arrested following the raid on Liliesleaf, and then for arranging for them to be smuggled across the border into Swaziland. But he is perhaps most famous for the key role he played in one of the most audacious operations of the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980s when he smuggled truckloads of weapons into South Africa under the seats of innocent tourists. The truck used is now on display at Liliesleaf.

Red Square

High Road between Plantation and Nursery Roads was called Red Square by the Security Branch because of the number of residents involved in anti-apartheid activities.

Ray and Michael Harmel - 47 High Road, The Gardens

Michael Harmel was the chief theoretician of the Communist Party, and a member of the MK High Command, but publicly devoted most of his life to journalism. From 1950 he was listed, arrested and then sentenced to house arrest at this address. His wife Ray’s trade union activities resulted in her frequent dismissal, and because Michael’s own political activities made household income erratic she started making children’s clothing to make ends meet. Her skill is evident in the wedding dress made for Winnie Mandela, immortalised in photos taken at this address. 

Violet, Eli and Sheila Weinberg - 11 Plantation Road, The Gardens

Eli became a professional photographer when state repression restricted his political activities in 1948. He become one of the most successful commercial portrait photographers in Johannesburg, and one of the most celebrated photographers of the struggle. Violet Weinberg was active in the Garment Workers Union and in the Communist Party. In 1965, following Issy Heymann’s confession, she was interrogated non-stop for 70 hours until she revealed the whereabouts of Bram Fischer, and then detained for 179 days.

Mark Weinberg, son of Eli and Violet, was a militant Communist Party and ANC supporter. During the frequent power failures targeting 11 Plantation and 47 High Road he could be found on the pavement, reading newspapers under the street light. His sister Sheila became the youngest detainee under the 90 day detention law in 1964 at the age of 19, when she was held for 65 days without charge. Her political activities continued into the 70s and 80s, and she represented the ANC in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 1994 to her untimely death in 2004. Recently renamed Weinberg Park in Savoy has a remarkable sculpture by Hannelie Coetzee and Andrew Lindsay commemorating the family.