Status
Call number
Collection
Publication
Description
Award-winning journalist Ruth Gruber's powerful account of a top-secret mission to rescue one thousand European refugees in the midst of World War II In 1943, nearly one thousand European Jewish refugees from eighteen different countries were chosen by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration to receive asylum in the United States. All they had to do was get there. Ruth Gruber, with the support of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, volunteered to escort them on their secret route across the Atlantic from a port in Italy to a "safe haven" camp in Oswego, New York. The dangerous endeavor carried the threat of Nazi capture with each passing day. While on the ship, Gruber recorded the refugees' emotional stories and recounts them here in vivid detail, along with the aftermath of their arrival in the US, which involved a fight for their right to stay after the war ended. The result is a poignant and engrossing true story of suffering under Nazi persecution and incredible courage in the face of overwhelming circumstances. … (more)
User reviews
Thus begins Haven: The Dramatic Story of 1,000 World War II Refugees and How They Came to America as Ruth Gruber tells the compelling story of this journey to rescue these Europeans who originally came from 18 different countries and bring them to safety in the United States. Ruth herself accompanied them every step of the way, from Italy to a camp in Oswego, New York. This trip was made under extremely dangerous conditions as the war was still very much underway. Ruth tells some of the refugees’ memorable stores here in this book, and these stories paint in riveting detail the suffering and persecution that these people suffered under Nazi control.
Once safety in the United States had been achieved, there was a secondary battle, one to allow these refugees to stay as immigrants and again Ruth guided these people through every step that needed to be taken. As one can see, at the heart of this book is Ruth. Her caring and respect for these downtrodden people shines on every page and she gives full meaning to the word humanitarian. I found this to be a very interesting story and, as in the words of poet Emma Lazarus, one more way that America said, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.“