Ruth Loeb Forrest papers

Document | Accession Number: 2000.333

The collection includes a fare card issued to Leopold Löb in 1918; a birth certificate, dated 26 April 1939, issued to Bella Sara Heimann; a certificate of naturalization, dated 1 Sept.1945, issued to Bella Löb; a 1932 photograph of Thelma Heimann Gerst, Ruth's maternal aunt, and her husband, Gustav Gerst; a 1935 photograph of Senta and Justin Gerst; a 1937 or 1938 family photograph of the Löb family in Malsch, Germany; and a 1930 photograph of Karolina and Isidore Löb, Ruth's paternal grandparents, in Malsch, Germany.

Date: creation: 1918-1945
Language: German
English
Genre/Form: Certificates.
Photographs.
Extent: 1 folder
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ruth Loeb Forrest

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Document Creator: Ruth L. Forrest
Biography: 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).
Geographic Name: Stuttgart (Germany)
Personal Name: Löb, Leopold.
Löb, Bella.
Gerst, Thelma Heimann.
Gerst, Gustav.
Gerst, Senta.
Gerst, Justin.
Löb, Armin.
Forrest, Ruth Loeb.
Löb, Karolina.
Löb, Isidore.
Corporate Name: Dachau (Concentration camp)
St. Louis (Ship)
Holder of Originals: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Ruth Loeb Forrest in 2000.
Conditions on Access: There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
Conditions on Use: Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
: Record last modified: 2023-02-24 14:24:13
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn523659

Also in Ruth Loeb Forrest collection

Contains materials documenting the experiences of Ruth Loeb Forrest's family during the Holocaust. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.