A 94-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Returns to Auschwitz Concentration Camp for First Time
NBC News / YouTube
First Return After Eighty Years
Ruth Cohen was 14 years old when German forces deported her family to Auschwitz in 1944. For nearly 80 years, she never returned to the site. Now 94, Ruth came back to the camp where her mother, younger brother, cousins, and many relatives were murdered.
In May 1944, German authorities forced Ruth, her parents, her 12-year-old brother Ari, and other family members into cattle cars. They were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau simply for being Jewish. When they stepped off the train, Ruth did not know it would be the last time she’d see most of her family. Her mother, brother, and cousins were likely sent to the gas chambers shortly after arrival.
A Painful Visit
Ruth returned to Auschwitz with a tour group from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She entered through the infamous gate reading “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which falsely claimed that labor brought freedom. Minutes later, she felt a wave of pain. She described feeling like her heart might give out.
Though she tried to remain strong, Ruth avoided certain parts of the camp. She did not look at the hair of victims kept on display, nor did she walk through a gas chamber. “I can’t go in there,” she said. “I don’t want to see where my whole world was killed.”
A Family Torn Apart
Ruth was born Renee Friedman in Czechoslovakia. Her family owned a liquor business and helped those in need through a soup kitchen. Her parents had also taken in two young cousins, Estee and Leo Haber, to protect them. The cousins were later killed in the camp, along with Ruth’s grandmother and many other relatives.
She recalled that her father was likely held in Auschwitz I, where she once saw him through a fence while she was imprisoned at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, just over a mile away. She remembered seeing him carry blankets, possibly toward the crematoria. That memory stayed with her for decades.
Living Conditions in the Camp
Ruth remembered specific details of the barracks where she stayed. She asked her daughter to photograph her standing at the site of Block 30, where a single chimney remained. Twelve women shared one wooden platform in a small space. Her older sister Teresa slept beside her. “That saved my life,” Ruth said.
Although she was offered a wheelchair for the tour, Ruth mostly walked. She wanted to see the place fully for herself. One place she felt drawn to visit was the section where she had lived as a prisoner. The structures were mostly gone, but the memories were still strong.
A Life After Liberation
Ruth and her sister were later transferred to other camps. After the war, they reunited with their father. They immigrated to the United States and started a new life. Ruth now lives in North Bethesda, Maryland, and shares her experience with visitors at the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Survivors Desk.”
Even in her 90s, Ruth remains active in telling her story. With hate and antisemitism rising, she believes it is more important than ever to speak out. “I have to be a witness to the world,” she said. “I survived. I made a life. I have children who will carry my history.”
Bearing Witness
During her visit, Ruth’s daughter Barbara found the name of Ruth’s mother, Bertha, in a memorial book. Seeing that name brought her to tears. “It’s just so real,” Barbara said. “My grandmother is part of me.” Ruth believes that love can prevent hate from growing. “Love will never permit something like this to happen,” she said.
Keep going for the videos below:
View this post on Instagram
