Ruth Loeb Forrest papers

Ruth Loeb Forrest was born on August 9, 1932, in Rastatt, Germany and had a brother Armin (1930-1976). Her father, Leopold Lob (1898-1989) was a horse trader and her mother, Bella Lob (nee Heimann, b. 1903), took care of the children. They lived in Malsch, a small town near Stuttgart, Germany. Leopold was well educated, played piano, and was an observant Jew and served as the president of the local synagogue. In November 1938, during Kristallnacht, Leopold, his father, and other men in the family were arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp.

Leopold was released after six weeks and immediately arranged for his and his family's departure from Germany. Leopold left in December 1938 aboard the SS Orinoko for Cuba before immigrating to the United States six months later. He purchased tickets for the rest of his family on the MS St. Louis to take his family to Cuba in 1939. Ruth Lob, Armin, Bella, and Ruth’s paternal grandparents, Isidore and Karolina Lob, sailed from the port in Hamburg, Germany. Ann Lob, Ruth's paternal cousin, along with her mother and her grandparents and Tante Mala Lehman, Ruth's great aunt, were also on board the ship. When the St. Louis reached Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 1939, its passengers were denied entry. The Lob family was among the 214 Jews allowed to disembark in Antwerp, Belgium, on June 17, 1939. The family stayed in Brussels for ten months, and in April 1940 Ruth, her mother, and her brother sailed for the United States. Isidore and Karolina Lob perished in Auschwitz.

Ruth, Armin, Bella, and Leopold settled in Elmira, NY. Ruth Loeb Forrest had seven children: Lisa (b. 1960), Susan (b. 1961), Robert (b. 1963), Steven (b. 1965), Richard (b. 1967), Jonathan (b. 1969), and Barbara (b. 1971).