Born: Ruth Kubowitzki
Brussels, Belgium
October 13, 1933
Ruth Deitch was born in Brussels, Belgium on October 13, 1933. Ruth’s father, the son of immigrants from Belarus, worked as a civil servant for the Jewish community organization (called the Consistoire). Deich’s mother, herself born in Poland, stayed home to care for the family. Deitch remembered celebrating Jewish holidays at the home of her father’s parents. She recalled that during Passover her grandfather “wore a high white hat” as part of the traditional celebration.
Deitch was only six years old when Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940. She remembered having to wear a yellow star on her clothing and the Nazi raids on Jewish homes. Jews from eastern Europe were especially targeted and several members of Deitch’s extended family were rounded up and deported. Deitch’s parents put Ruth in hiding under a false name to disguise her Jewish identity. Both she and her parents managed to survive until Allied forces liberated Belgium in September 1944.
Deitch’s younger sister Daniele was born in 1946 and in 1953 the family immigrated to the United States, initially settling in Detroit. The next year Deitch met and married her husband Simon. Although the rest of her family returned to Belgium, in 1961 Deitch and her husband moved to Houston where they raised their three children.
Parents:
Simon Kubowitzki, survived
Pola Laufer Kubowitzki, survived
Siblings:
Daniele, b. 1946