. . "Ruth H. Windmuller papers"@eng . "Ruth H. Windmuller (b. 1925) was born in Nordhausen am Harz, Germany, to Bruno (b. 1882) and Selly (Grete, b. 1890) Heilbrun. Her father owned a department store, Kaufhaus Heilbrun, and she had two older brothers, Kurt (b. 1913) and Hans (b. 1917). In May 1939 the family sailed on the MS St. Louis to Havana. After the ship was forced to return to Europe, the family was offered refuge in France. Ruth was placed in Villa Helvetia, a children's home run by the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE) in Montmorency and transferred to Montinin in 1940. Her parents settled temporarily in Le Mans and then in Perigeux, and Bruno Heilbrun was detained for part of the time in Gurs. In the spring of 1942 the family received visas for the United States. Ruth joined her parents in Marseilles, and the family proceeded to Casablanca to board the SS Serpa Pinto for New York. In 1947 Ruth married Hans (John) Windmuller, a fellow passenger on the MS St. Louis. Ruth's oldest brother Kurt, who did not travel with the family on the St. Louis, was killed during the war in Zagreb while trying to get to Palestine."@eng . "Ruth H. Windmuller papers"@eng . .