Issy Heymann was born on the 24th December 1910 in Lithuania. At the age of nineteen, in 1931, Issy arrived in South Africa. In 1935 he became an executive member of the Native Trade Assistance Union and in 1936 he joined the South African Communist Party. He was also a member of the Jewish Workers Club.

Issy Heymann fought during the Second World War and when the war ended he became a member of the Springbok Legion. After the Communist Party was banned in 1950 he became a member of the Congress of Democrats

During the State of Emergency which was declared in 1960 Issy Heymann was detained for 90 days. He was arrested and jailed in 1966 and released in 1971.

Issy Heymann died in 1989.