Ruth Maier

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Ruth Maier (November 10, 1920 in Vienna, Austria - December 1, 1942 in Auschwitz, Poland) was an Austrian woman whose diaries describing her experiences of the Holocaust in Austria and Norway were published in 2007 to generally favorable reviews, leading her to be described as "Norway's Anne Frank."[1][2]

Ruth Maier was born in Vienna to a largely assimilated Jewish family. Her father, Ludwig Maier, held a doctorate in philosophy, was a polyglot (mastering nine languages), and held a senior position within the Austrian post and telegraph service. He died in 1933 of erysipelas.

“ Ich glaube dass es gut so ist wie es gekommen ist. Warum sollen wir nicht leiden wenn so viel Leid ist? Sorg dich nicht um mich. Ich möchte vielleicht nicht mit dir tauschen. (I believe that it is good that it has come to this. Why should we not suffer, when there is so much suffering? Do not worry about me. Perhaps I would not want to trade with you.) ”

—Ruth Maier, last note to Gunvor Hofmo

Ruth's diary is preserved from 1933 to 1942. She wrote in her diary about the deteriorating conditions for Austria's Jewish population following the Anschluss in 1938, her reaction to the many changes in her life, and her yearning for her family. Her younger sister Judith managed to escape to the United Kingdom. Through her father's contacts, Ruth was able to find refuge in Norway, where she arrived by train on January 30, 1939. She was housed for some time with a Norwegian family. She became fluent in Norwegian within a year, completed her examen artium, and befriended the future poet Gunvor Hofmo at a volunteer work camp in Biri. The two became inseparable, finding lodging and work in various places in Norway. Ruth was also the model for one of Gustav Vigeland's statues called "Surprised," now on permanent display at the Vigeland Park in Oslo.

She rented a room in Dalbergstien 3 in Oslo in the early fall of 1942 and was arrested on November 26, 1942 and deported on the D/S Donau the same day. Her friend Gunvor Hofmo had to be restrained from boarding the ship with her. Arriving in Auschwitz on December 1, 1942, she was led straight into the gas chambers. She lived to be 22.[3]

Her close friend and "twin soul" Gunvor Hofmo kept Ruth's diaries and much of her correspondence. She approached Gyldendal to get them published in 1953, but was turned down. After she died in 1995, Jan Erik Vold went through her papers and came upon Ruth Maier's works. After editing them for ten years, they were published in 2007. Vold was highly impressed by the literary value of the diaries, comparing Ruth Maier's literary talent to that of Hannah Arendt and Susan Sontag.[4]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kluge, Lars. "Norges Anne Frank", Oslo: Aftenposten, 2007-10-13. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. (Norwegian) 
  2. ^ Bromark, Stian. "Norsk skamhistorie", Oslo: Dagbladet, 2007-10-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. (Norwegian) 
  3. ^ Vold, Jan Erik; Ruth Maier (2007). Ruth Maiers dagbok - en jødisk flyktning i Norge (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal. ISBN 9788205340381. 
  4. ^ Haagensen, Nils-Øivind. "En pike utenom det vanlige", Oslo: Klassekampen, 2007-10-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. (Norwegian) 
Persondata
NAME Maier, Ruth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Jewish Diarist
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna, Austria
DATE OF DEATH December 1, 1942
PLACE OF DEATH Auschwitz, Poland