Tribute to the remarkable Ruth Gruber

Ruth Gruber was one of the most remarkable voices of our generation. She died on Nov. 17, 2016, at the age of 105. My husband, Mel, and I knew Ruth Gruber well, and we visited her each time we went to New York City. We last visited just two weeks ago on Oct. 29. It was a pleasure to visit with Ms. Gruber in her beautiful apartment on Central Park West.

We always were amazed to see Ruth, who welcomed us with a broad smile, looking so beautiful, dressed in bright colors with beads around her neck. We loved to talk to her about her long life; she was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Cologne in Germany at the age of 21. Her thesis on the writer Virginia Woolf was a feminist’s analysis of Woolf’s writings, and she even met and spoke with the preeminent writer. On a recent visit, Ruth told us how she was in Germany at one of the rallies for Hitler. When she came back to the United States, she worked as a foreign journalist and accompanied an expedition to the Soviet Arctic.

During World War II, Ruth Gruber was appointed special assistant to Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, and she carried out a study to see if returning veterans could settle in Alaska. In 1944, Ickes made her a “Simulated General,” and she returned to Italy to bring a group of about 1,000 Jewish refugees from Europe to the United States on the Henry Gibbins. These refugees were to be guests of the U.S. and were housed at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. Gruber petitioned for them to stay in the United States, and many of them made wonderful contributions to the country. Her book “Haven,” which was later made into a movie, chronicles the experiences of these refugees.

After the war, as a photojournalist, Ruth covered stories for the plight of Jewish refugees trying to enter Palestine. She took pictures and interviewed these refugees and was right there as they came to Palestine in 1947 on the ship Exodus. This was the inspiration of Leon Uris’ novel “Exodus.” Her postwar coverage included writing about women including “Felisa Rincon DeGautier: The Mayor of San Juan” (1972) and “Raquela: A Woman of Israel” (1978). She also championed the cause of Ethiopian Jews writing “Ethiopian Jews in Rescue: The Exodus of the Ethiopian Jews” (1987). She was also a frequent contributor to Hadassah magazine.

She married Philip Michaels in 1951, and they had two children, David and Celia. After Philip’s death, she married Henry Rosner. She came to New Bedford and spoke at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2002.

Among the books she wrote were “They came to Stay” and her latest, “Inside of Time” and “Ahead of Time,” which she wrote when she was in her 90s. At our last visit, Ruth did not say much; however, it was clear that she was happy to see us and looking forward to voting.

Ruth Gruber will be missed by all whose lives she touched. She has enabled so many people throughout the world to know what happiness and freedom truly mean. We have been privileged to have known Ruth Gruber, a luminous, courageous and brilliant woman, and to have called her a true friend. Her legacy will always inspire – and enrich – us. She really left an indelible mark on the world.

CYNTHIA YOKEN is co-chair of The Holocaust Education and Memorial Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford.