RIP Ruth Gruber

Photo via WaPo; David Michaels/U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Ruth Gruber has passed away at the age of 105, WaPo reports.

During World War II, Gruber, with the backing of the U.S. government, escorted some 1,000 refugees across the Atlantic from Italy to Oswego, New York.

The refugees, from eighteen different countries, were all escaping the Holocaust and seeking asylum in the United States.

If you haven’t read it, her autobiography about the experience, Haven, is a gripping read. She details how she was chosen by the government to go overseas on this journey, the perils of the journey itself, the detention of the refugees in Oswego, New York, and their eventual release. It’s powerful stuff.

Rest in peace, Ruth.

-KitJ