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Haven

Name: Haven
Author: Ruth Gruber
ISBN: 9781453206331

by Ruth Gruber

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Overview

The powerful story of a top-secret mission to rescue one thousand European refugees in the midst of the Second World War

In 1943, nearly one thousand European refugees from eighteen different countries set out on a journey for asylum in the United States. Accompanying them was Ruth Gruber, who with the backing of the United States government, was made a simulated General to escort the refugees on their secret mission across the Atlantic from a port in Italy to a camp in Oswego, New York—a dangerous endeavor that carried the threat of Nazi capture with each passing day.

While on board the ship that was to transport them to America, Gruber recorded the stories of the refugees, and she presents them in vivid detail here. The result is a poignant and engrossing story of suffering under Nazi persecution and bravery in the face of the most overwhelming of circumstances.

Synopsis

The powerful story of a top-secret mission to rescue one thousand European refugees in the midst of the Second World War In 1943, nearly one thousand European refugees from eighteen different countries set out on a journey for asylum in the United States. Accompanying them was Ruth Gruber, who with the backing of the United States government, was made a simulated General to escort the refugees on their secret mission across the Atlantic from a port in Italy to a camp in Oswego, New York-a dangerous endeavor that carried the threat of Nazi capture with each passing day. While on board the ship that was to transport them to America, Gruber recorded the stories of the refugees, and she presents them in vivid detail here. The result is a poignant and engrossing story of suffering under Nazi persecution and bravery in the face of the most overwhelming of circumstances. "A visceral jolt." -The New York Times "Everyone concerned about courage in a grievous time will want to read Haven . . . An enduring and inspiring gift." -Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of Eleanor Roosevelt Ruth Gruber is an award-winning Jewish American journalist, photographer, and humanitarian. Born in Brooklyn in 1911, she became the youngest person to receive a PhD and went on to author nineteen books, including the National Jewish Book Award-winning biography Raquela (1978). She also wrote several memoirs documenting her astonishing experiences, among them Ahead of Time (1991), Inside of Time (2002), and Haven (1983), which documents her role in the rescue of one thousand refugees from Europe and their safe transport to America. Gruber lives in New York City.

About the Author, Ruth Gruber

Ruth Gruber is an award-winning Jewish American journalist, photographer, and humanitarian. Born in Brooklyn in 1911, she is the author of nineteen books, including the National Jewish Book Award–winning biography Raquela (1978). She also wrote several memoirs documenting her astonishing experiences, among them Ahead of Time (1991), Inside of Time (2002), and Haven (1983). Gruber lives in New York City.

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Editorials

KLIATT

A revised and expanded edition of a book first published in 1983. Gruber was 33 years old and an experienced journalist in 1944. At that time, the special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, hired her to escort 1,000 European refugees to America. This was the only group of refugees the U.S. government had decided to bring here, to be housed at a closed military base in upstate New York. One thousand would be saved, out of the hundreds of thousands of people who had applied for visas that would allow them simply to enter America. This book is full of their stories, and full of stories of the bureaucratic mess that followed them around the world. No sooner did one politician declare that something must be done to rescue some of the victims of Hitler's madness than several other politicians would call the scheme impossible, the victims not really victims (?!), and the first politician un-American. Besides, what would the influx of refugees do to the American economy? It's hard to believe that all of this took place such a short time ago. But to a teenager, it's all ancient history. Fortunately Gruber's writing makes it a modern and contemporary tale, and she's able to emphasize how very important it was and is. Young teens might not have much patience for all the historical names and events, but anyone over 15 or so will probably find it fascinating. It would be fun for history buffs of any age—Gruber knew so many people! And influenced so many! And did so much! And she was so young! KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1983, Random House/Three Rivers, 334p, 21cm, 99-087897, $14.00. Ages 16 toadult. Reviewer: Judith H. Silverman; Chevy Chase, MD, November 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 6)