Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Ruth Federman - February 13, 2008

I was cooking and friends came and somebody took us to the United States. It was exactly the day of the Shoah. Kissinger, Kissinger was there and Kofi Annan, we shake hands, and he was so happy about it. And people took us to theater and to concerts. And he took it very well. He had a very tough few hours in the hospital but then we, we lived a very normal life there. It was exactly the time when they did out of the park, you know, two artists put uh, kind of flags there. You remember?

We were there, actually.

Yeah, so we went there. I have pictures of it.

Are there things that during the day touch off a memory of something from the war or before?

The war before?

The war or before the war, when you were a child? I mean, is there something that you'll see and it will remind you of something from Prague when you were a child? Or your mother? A song, uh...

Look, if you read the book you will understand about my mother because I start with my mother.

Ah.

You must read it.

Okay. Did you have nightmares?

Hm?

Did you have nightmares, bad dreams?

No.

No? Um, you were here during the War of Independence?

I was here during the World War and Independence, of course.

How, what was that like?

The Independence War?

Yeah.

Terrible, terrible. You know the ???. You don't know. There was a ship in front of our hotel.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And my husband was then--we, we had this, this small hotel, and Bernadotte, you--my husband knew all these people, was very friendly ???, and all these people, they were in the same movement. And because of this they send to, to our little hotel, guests. And my husband wanted that Bernadotte should stay in our hotel, but Bernadotte went to another hotel but the whole United Nation was in our hotel. You know the people who were--how could--how would you call it? Officers of the United Nations who were responsible, what is, what is--it was the war before the war. Yeah, they were here before. The whole hotel were, were these people...

[interruption in interview] Woman: We don't have Internet in here.

Ah.

Yeah.

Okay, let's go to it.

Okay, let's, let's...

I'm sorry that I can't give you this but I, I am adding things. No that's, no--I mean, it's no problem now, the British are not here, but uh, it's not good to talk about it.