Chestnut Hill College's History Department will be hosting speaker and Holocaust survivor, Ronnie Reutlinger Breslow, who will share her experience and her story. Please join us to hear from this powerful speaker. The event is free and open to the public.

Ronnie was born in Kircheim, Germany where she lived with her parents above the family's dry goods store. When the Nazis passed laws that restricted non-Jews from buying from Jewish establishments, her family recognized that they needed to flee Germany. It was very difficult to obtain passports as many others were trying to leave as well. Her father had to leave first with Ronnie and her mother following on the next ship on May 13th, 1969. Ronnie's ship ended up being the now famous, St. Louis, filled with 936 other Jews heading for Cuba.

Cuba wouldn't let the St. Louis dock, nor would the United States afterward, so the St. Louis had no choice but to return to Europe, and Ronnie ended up in a Dutch detention camp. Thanks to Ronnie's stamp collection, she and her mother gained passage to the United States and reunited with her father.

Through its Holocaust Speakers Bureau, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Community Relations Council provides eyewitness accounts of Holocaust experiences and is an invaluable resource to local educators, schools, and community groups. The participating Survivors provide highly compelling and personal presentations. For more information about JRRC programs, call 215-832-0536.