My Voice: Ruth Lachs

Ruth Lachs was born in Hamburg in 1936. Following the devastating impact of Kristallnacht, her family decided that they should move to Holland. At the age of six, she narrowly escaped deportation. To hide her Jewish identity, Ruth assumed a new name. Under the pretence of being an orphan, she was taken to a gathering place and hidden overnight in a sand pit to avoid being listed by the Germans to be taken away.

Ruth married Werner Lachs in August 1962. They met in Holland and settled in Manchester, where they had three children, Joanne, Sharon, and Martin. Ruth went on to work in healthcare at The Christie Hospital and Tameside General. Ruth has spoken to many schoolchildren over the years about her experiences of the Holocaust.

Ruth’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.