Skip to main content

Ruth M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2534) interviewed by Joni-Sue Blinderman,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2534

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Ruth M., who was born in Kassel, Germany in 1931. She recounts her close, extended family; their orthodoxy; being hidden on Kristallnacht; her father's deportation to Buchenwald the next day; expulsion from school due to anti-Jewish restrictions; joining a children's transport to Amsterdam in 1939 (her sister went earlier); reunion with her sister; separation when placed with different families; joining eighty children on a transport to England in May 1940; living in an orphanage in Wigan, then with a non-Jewish family; and moving to Manchester to live with a Jewish family. Mrs. M. discusses learning of her mother's death in Stuffhof from surviving aunts who were with her; her father's escape to England; his emigration to the United States after the war; and continuing contact with her English foster mother. She shows photographs.
Author/Creator: M., Ruth, 1931-
Published: New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1993
Interview Date: February 4, 1993.
Locale: England
Germany
Kassel (Germany)
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Wigan (England)
Cite As: Ruth M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2534). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Blinderman, Joni-Sue, interviewer.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 59 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Child survivors.
Crystal Night, 1938.
Antisemitism Prewar.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Women. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue. Kindertransports (Rescue operations) World War, 1939-1945--Children. Kristallnacht, 1938. Sisters. Jewish refugees. Jews--Migrations. Foster parents. Orphanages--England. Germany. Kassel (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Wigan (England) Oral histories (document genres) M., Ruth,--1931-

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Special Collection: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Link to Yale University Library Catalog:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4318182
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:45:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4318182

Additional Resources

Librarian View

Download & Licensing

Terms of Use
This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.

In-Person Research

Request Access from Yale University Libraries

Requires Yale University Libraries Permission
Accessing Fortunoff interviews
Log in to Request and View
About the Fortunoff Archive

Once requests are approved, you must be at a Fortunoff Access Site to view the testimony.

Contact Us

Give Feedback

Learn About the Holocaust

These additional online resources from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will help you learn more about the Holocaust and research your family history.

Holocaust Encyclopedia

The Holocaust Encyclopedia provides an overview of the Holocaust using text, photographs, maps, artifacts, and personal histories.
Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center

Research family history relating to the Holocaust and explore the Museum's collections about individual survivors and victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos

Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volumes I-III of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.

Further Your Research