Leo and Mina Fink
For the Greater Good
During the darkest days of the Holocaust, Europe’s Jews faced annihilation. In faraway Melbourne, immigrants Leo and Mina Fink rallied to rescue the survivors. It was a massive task. Undaunted, they battled bureaucrats, public opinion and at times the Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell. Marshalling the might of local and international agencies, they spearheaded the urgent relief and resettlement of thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors desperate to leave a shattered Europe, a graveyard continent of dust and ashes. By 1954, 17,000 survivors called Australia home.
Following the chaos of war, Leo and Mina remained at the forefront of communal life. They initiated expansive welfare programs, while personally helping countless individuals. Mina’s devotion to a group of war orphans known as the ‘Buchenwald boys’ was testament to her and Leo’s relentless efforts to improve the lives of others.
But survival of the Jewish world remained paramount. Leo pioneered the first Australian business venture in Israel, in a bid to underpin the young nation’s fragile economy. Mina’s global outreach and humanitarian vision transformed the National Council of Jewish Women into a proactive force with a clear feminist agenda. When ‘Holocaust denial’ launched its assault on historical truth and memory, Mina championed the establishment of Melbourne’s Holocaust Museum, pushing its mandate beyond remembrance to education, to combat all forms of racism.
Leo and Mina Fink’s remarkable story is skilfully told through the turbulent, rapidly changing times in which they lived. This is a compelling account of how and why two individuals set out to change the world for the greater good.
'An inspiring biography of a remarkable couple who dedicated their lives to restoring the forsaken and broken.' — Arnold Zable
'In this biography of the working lives of an impressive 20th-century power couple, the competing forces of hope and catastrophe are clearly at work. Historian Margaret Taft has expertly detailed how and why Leo and Mina Fink, successful businesspeople, assisted Holocaust survivors to leave the horrors of Europe and forge new lives in Australia...This is a fascinating and inspirational Australian story.' — Julia Taylor, Books+Publishing
Dr Margaret Taft is a research associate at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University. For the past twelve years her research has focused on the reconstruction of Jewish immigrant life in pre-war and post-war 20th-century Australia. Her particular interest lies with the Yiddish speakers from Eastern Europe whose personal agency, leadership and cultural identity transformed what had been a predominately Anglo Jewish community.
Margaret is an experienced author, teacher, lecturer and public speaker. Her publications include From Victim to Survivor: The Emergence and Development of the Holocaust Witness 1941–1949 and A Second Chance: The Making of Yiddish Melbourne, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Victorian Community History Awards.
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