Author Michael Ruskin’s powerful new book “The Vow: A Love Story and The Holocaust,” tells the heart-breaking yet inspirational story of his own family’s experiences during the Holocaust.

His Parents David and Dora Ruskin lived in Lithuania at the outbreak of World War II. Initially, the area fell under Soviet control as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. However, Hitler soon broke that agreement and sent Nazi storm troopers into Lithuania. Like countless other Jews living in Europe, the Ruskins were forced into ghettos before eventually being deported to concentration camps.

In this episode I talk to Michael about his book and his parents vow, that they were remarkably able to honor after the ravages of World War II and the Holocaust.

The book features rare archive footage including letters of his parents, family photos, and rare archival pictures and information from both Israel and the US. You can purchase a copy of Michael’s book through his official website:

TheVowaLoveStory.com

Music:

Ken Bakodesh Haziticha, A Jewish Hasidic Niggun, sung by the Li-Ron choir, Israel. Public Domain.

BBC recording from April 20, 1945, of Jewish survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp five days after their liberation. Public Domain