Ruth Deutsch was born on 6 February 1920 in Vienna , Austria to Angela ( née Reis ) and Arnold Deutsch . Her father was a merchant and she grew up in a household with a younger brother , her parents and a grandmother . Deutsch 's father was born in Vienna and though his politics were left-leaning , he was not a communist . He had an appreciation of the fine arts , which he passed on to his daughter . Her mother and maternal grandmother were from Mislitz , Czechoslovakia and celebrated the Jewish holidays . Though the Anschluss annexed Austria to Germany and most Jewish people went into hiding , Deutsch continued her studies at the '' Realgymnasium '' , a type of school which focuses on natural sciences , mathematics and languages , earning her '' matura '' in 1938 . Though the family was not particularly religious , her father got a warning that Kristallnacht was coming and they went into hiding . Because her mother 's brother lived in Mexico , they made plans to emigrate , but the visa process was slow . In December 1938 , the family tried to sneak across the border to Holland , but were captured and returned to Vienna . They sent their furniture ahead of them to Mexico and when the transit visas finally came through , the family went to Vlissingen ( known as Flushing at the time ) . Leaving the grandmother behind for the time being , the family boarded the '' S. S. Gerolstein '' in Flushing , Holland and arrived at the port of New York on 21 January 1939
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Ruth D. Lechuga