Ruth Fromm moved to Berlin at the start of the 1930s to complete her training as a seamstress. In 1939 she married Walter Abraham, a salesman in the furniture industry.
When her parents were deported from Berlin in July 1942, Ruth Abraham was pregnant. The Jewish doctor Benno Heller helped her give birth to her daughter Reha in the early hours of January 19, 1943. Shortly after that, the Abrahams went underground.
Ruth Abraham received encouragement and help from a stranger, the Berliner Maria Nickel, who spoke to her on her way to her forced labor placement. She gave the Abrahams a postal identity card and her husband Willi Nickel’s driving license. To begin with, they lived in hiding in a cabin in the countryside, east of the River Oder. When they were visited by a police patrol, their papers aroused suspicion, but the Abrahams escaped during the check.
After that the family had to split up. Ruth and Reha Abraham found a hiding place in Neudamm (now Dębno in Poland). Despite the distance and the risk of discovery, the three of them met up regularly.
The Abraham family emigrated to New York City in 1947. Ruth Abraham remained friends with Maria Nickel for the rest of her life.
Ruth Abraham (right) with her sisters, Berlin, 1932. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
Ruth and Walter Abraham, 1939. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
Ruth Abraham with Reha while living “illegally,” Berlin, 1944. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
The Abraham family after their liberation, Berlin, around 1946. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
