Please welcome Dr. Judy Ribak to Bossard Library on Saturday, June 14 at 2:00 PM as she tells the story of her parents and how they survived the Holocaust.
Dr. Ribak tells the story of her parents, Elliott and Ester (Ozechov) Ribak. Ester was one of seven siblings and Elliott, one of six brothers growing up in the close-knit community of Lazdaji, Lithuania. In 1941, Ester and Elliott were forced into the Kaunas Ghetto just six weeks after being married. After three years in the ghetto, they were separated from each other and their families; Elliott to Dachau concentration camp, and Ester to Stutthof concentration camp. Miraculously, Elliott escaped Dachau and was working in Italy for the underground. While in Italy, he located Ester's name on a list of liberated individuals from Stutthof. Ester was transferred to a displaced persons camp in Milan, Italy and the couple was reunited. Elliott was unable to locate any of his family except one aunt, Esther, who had immigrated to the United States before the war. She along with her husband, Joe Eslow, sponsored Elliott and Ester to come to Dayton, Ohio in 1950 with their infant daughter, Judy who was born in 1954.
Judy retired as Associate Professor Emerita from Wright State University, where she was responsible for undergraduate nursing education in psychiatry and mental health. She also had a long career as an Advanced Practice Nurse specializing in complications of aging. Dr. Ribak is a member of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center's Coppel Speakers Bureau and is a docent at the Center.
The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center exists to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust inspire action today. Located at Cincinnati's historic Union Terminal, HHC impacts more than 2.5 million people every year through digital and in-person events, museum tours, educational experiences, social media, and virtual content. From Australia to India, individuals from more than 25 countries and 30 states engage with the Center's mission. For more information, visit www.holocaustandhumanity.org.
This event is free and open to all.