Ruth Salm Perlman collection

Ruth Salm was born on January 22, 1924, in Bruhl, Germany, to Julius and Jeanette Salm. Julius worked as a cantor and an animal broker, while Jenny cared for Ruth and her twin younger siblings, Erwin and Inge. The family lived with Julius's mother, Theresa Salm. The family was arrested on Kristallnacht and imprisoned for hours, but because Julius hid himself, he was neither arrested nor imprisoned, though the family's home was ransacked. After Kristallnacht, Julius and Jeanette arranged for Ruth to leave the country. She said goodbye to her parents and siblings and moved to Denmark, where she lived with family of Aage and Signe Davidsen. In 1942, Ruth was given a spot in a nursing program in Copenhagen and moved into a dormitory. She kept in close contact with the Davidsen family, who warned her about rumored arrests and attempted to hide her when German police came to arrest her. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and on October 1, 1943, Ruth was arrested and sent in a cattle car to Theresienstadt (Terezin). The Davidsens found a way to send her packages. In April 1945, Ruth was taken from Theresienstadt to Sweden as part of an arrangement made by Count Folke Bernadotte. After she recovered, Ruth reunited with the Davidsens. Though she continued her nursing studies, she soon became frustrated by the immaturity of her fellow students, and contacted her paternal uncle Max, who lived in New York. In 1946, she immigrated to the United States. Ruth was the only survivor of her immediate family.