Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Ruth Federman - February 13, 2008

Golda Meir had a ship--had a apartment there. Most of these apartments--they took these--I don't know, it was all young--I mis...I think mostly young people, and, and, and, uh, and cars--not cars. Uh, how do you call a big car?

Limousine.

No, no. From the kibbutzim.

A van.

Van. Vans were already waiting and took them to the, to the kibbutzim. And these three people from the--from Miami were so impressed, they gave the money, got it back, and after years, they met my brother--in--law in Belgium, one of them, and so we started the Dan Hotel. The Miami group gave the money--the first money for the Dan Hotel. That's the story which is the Dan Hotel.

Amazing. Uh, how did you meet your husband?

I met my husband uh, also a long story. When I have my book--I can't give you my book because I have only one, and I'm go...if you are interested, I print the book by myself--the English book...

Of course we're interested.

...which is a story by itself. Look, this is the Hebrew book, which I will give you this. I'm now--I'm now changing it because I have a lot to tell because this, I didn't know when I wrote the book. This is from the Kindertransport. Just a--what, what is here?

Pictures.

Ah. This, this uh, I give you this part, because here is written about the Kindertransport.

Beautiful...

You see here I put it in, yeah? By myself. It's not uh, now, this is the book in Hebrew which I sent to a friend of mine in New York who doesn't know Hebrew but he--she should be--she used to be a guest of the hotel, of the Arcadia for years and she knows the history of the family. And one day she wrote--writes to me, "You know what? I'm going to tr...uh, translate it to--I, I found somebody who's going to translate it--somebody who works at the consulate in New York." It was such a terrible translation and I send it to my cousin, which I'm going to give the address, yes, who is in Canada, who wr... who is perfect in English. I sent him the Hebrew and I sa...sent him the English, and he said, "It's horrible English and I'm going to translate it properly," so now I have a good translation.