Location: Germany • Missouri • New York • St. Louis • United States of America
Experience During Holocaust: Escaped the Holocaust • Family Died During the Holocaust • Family Died in Concentration Camp • Family Died of Starvation • Family Survived • Was a Child During the Holocaust
Ruth Michel Kopolow was born in Landau, Germany in 1920. Ruth lived a warm and secure life with her parents, brother and grandparents. As a young girl, she celebrated Jewish and Christian holidays, and she had more Christian friends than Jewish friends growing up. In 1934, Ruth was barred from school because she was Jewish. In 1935, Ruth was sent to America by her parents on one of the first children’s transports out of Germany.
Ruth Michel Kopolow was placed in a foster home in St. Louis. Her brother arrived in 1936 and her mother arrived in 1938. Ruth’s father died in Auschwitz and one grandmother died in Gurs Concentration camp.
Ruth married Albert Kopolow and they had three daughters, Renee Rosen, Peggy Schaffer and Audrey Hitch, and a son, John L. Kopolow.
Ruth Michel Kopolow died on December 10, 2004.
Mapping Ruth's Life
Click on the location markers to learn more about Ruth.
Use the timeline below the map or the left and right keys on your keyboard to explore chronologically.
In some cases the dates below were estimated based on the oral histories.
“Old friends avoided me. Some adults talked to my parents privately: they were very worried and fearful of the loss of their jobs if they continued to associate with Jews. It couldn't be condoned but it could be understood.”
- Ruth Kopolow
