The papers contain correspondence, arranged in chronological order, concerning the formation and activities of the anti-Semitic Greyshirt Movement in Port Elizabeth in the years 1933 to 1939.
These activities culminated in a court case brought against the Greyshirts by Rev. A. Levy on a charge of defamation.
The court case dealt with the authenticity of a document, bearing the signature of the Rev. A Levy, which was allegedly stolen by the Greyshirts from the Western Rd. synagogue.
The outcome of the trial showed the document to have been fabricated by a Mr. Inch (leader of the Greyshirts in the Eastern Cape) and his accomplices in an attempt to discredit Jews.
The papers also contain correspondence between members of the Port Elizabeth Jewish community (in particular Mr. A. Schauder) and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. It concerns the growing unease felt by the Jewish community in the face of the spread of the anti-Semitic campaign of the Greyshirts, and their concern at the South African Jewish Board of Deputies call for “no response”/ “silence” and to remain “lawful” in spite of the course of events.
The papers also contain documents and pamphlets (challenging the anti-Semitic propaganda circulated at the time), as well as photographs of the Schauder family.