Ruth Dresel née Goldmann was born 4 November 1910 in Beuthen, Upper Silesia. Her father, Leo Goldmann, a paper-hanger and decorator, joined the army at the beginning of the First World War. He was wounded and discharged and later killed in a train accident.

Life was difficult for her mother, who worked very hard to make ends meet. Ruth’s grandmother persuaded her mother to let Ruth go and live with her in Breslau. In 1933 at the age of 14 she became an apprentice milliner. She loved living with her grandmother and aunts so found it very difficult to adjust to her grandmother’s death. Ruth continued to live with her aunts in Breslau until she married Richard Dresel in June 1938. 

Her aunt’s milliner’s shop was badly damaged on the night of the Novemberpogrom. After a period of fear and uncertainty trying to work out ways to flee the country, her aunt found out about the ship the St Louis which was scheduled to leave Hamburg for Cuba on 13 May 1939. They had the miraculous good fortune of meeting a police officer who was sympathetic to their predicament and who helped them procure passports. Richard Dresel’s brother had already immigrated to South America. He helped raise sufficient foreign funds to pay for visas for Richard, Ruth and their new born baby daughter, Zilla. Ruth’s mother came to Breslau to see them off. This was the last time they saw her- Charlotte (now Krebs) was deported to her death in May 1942. 

The excitement and relief of setting off from Hamburg disappeared when they arrived at Havana, Cuba, and were told that no-one could disembark. In the confusion that followed Alfred, Ruth’s brother in law, was told he could disembark in France which ultimately resulted in his murder via Gurs, Drancy and Auschwitz- see correspondence from Alfred in this collection 1903/2. By another stroke of good fortune Ruth, Richard and Zilla were allowed to transfer to the ‘Rhakotis’ which took them to England where they were saved.

See  ‘Ruth’s narrative’ for the remainder of the story 1903/3