Ruth Wiener was born on 4 August 1927, the eldest daughter of Margarethe Minna Sara Saulmann (1897-1945) and Alfred Wiener (1885-1964).^[1] Her father worked at the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens that documented, among other things, anti-Semitism in Germany.^[2] The family lived in Berlin, but after Hitler's rise to power, they emigrated to the Netherlands in the autumn of 1933.^[1]

The family was registered in Amsterdam from summer 1934 and lived at Jan van Eyckstraat 16hs.^[3] From 1939, the family also felt the threat of war in Amsterdam. Therefore, Ruth's father left for London to arrange the family's emigration and move his work there. Although the family received a residence permit in England, they arrived in the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 when it was too late. On that day, war broke out in the Netherlands and Ruth could no longer travel to England with her mother and sisters Eva (1930) en Mirjam (1933).^[1]

School

Ruth Wiener attended the 1st Montessori School on Corellistraat before primary school and then the Municipal Lyceum for Girls on Reijnier Vinkelskade. From the school year 1941-1942, Jewish students had to attend separate schools and Ruth went to second grade at the Jewish Lyceum.^[4] At the same time, Ruth moved with her mother and sisters to more affordable housing at 25-III Westerscheldeplein (now Europaplein).^[5]

The family were members of the Liberal Jewish Congregation and, like the Frank family, attended the synagogue on Tolstraat. Ruth also attended the class of Rabbi Ludwig Jacob Mehler (1907-1945), who also taught Anne and Margot Frank.^[6]

Camps

On 20 June 1943, a large razzia took place in Amsterdam Zuid and Oost. Ruth was also rounded up with her mother and sisters and transported to Westerbork transit camp. They stayed there for almost seven months.^[7] On 4 August 1943, Ruth turned sixteen and had to perform forced labour. This included harvesting potatoes and later working night shifts at the laundry.^[1]

On 11 January 1944, Ruth was transported with her mother and sisters to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.^[7] There they ended up in the Sternlager and Ruth was put to work in the kitchen. Later, she had to take shoes apart.^[1] She was at Bergen-Belsen for a year.

From her time in Westerbork, Ruth kept a small diary in which she noted things that caught her eye. On 20 December 1944, she wrote: 'Anne and Margot Frank in the other camp!'^[8] Her diary is the only contemporaneous document attesting to Anne and Margot Frank's presence in Bergen-Belsen camp. She later said in an interview that she only saw Anne and Margot but did not speak to them.^[4]

On 21 January 1945, Ruth, her mother and sisters were on a list to be exchanged for German soldiers captured by the Allies.^[7] They went by train to neutral Switzerland. Her mother was already severely weakened at the time and died a few days later, on 25 January 1945.^[1]

After the war

Together with her sisters, Ruth travelled via Switzerland to southern France where they joined a Red Cross ship, the Gripsholm, for New York. There, after six years, they were reunited with their father. Ruth and her sisters stayed in the United States (US) for 18 months while their father worked in London and arranged for his daughters to emigrate to England.^[1] In 1947, Ruth and her sisters moved to join their father in London. Ruth went on to study foreign languages at Birkbeck College, graduating in 1950.^[1]

Ruth married Paul Gustav Klemens (1925-2012) in 1950 and emigrated with him to Australia a year later. In 1959, the couple moved to the US. Ruth died there on 29 October 2011 at the age of 84.^[1]

Source personal data.^[1] Addresses: Berlin (1927); Amsterdam, Jan van Eyckstraat 16hs (1934), Westerscheldeplein 25-III (now Europaplein) (1941);^[9] New York (1945); London (1947); Australia (1951); United States (1959).^[1]