Ruta's Closet
by Keith Morgan and Ruth Kron SIgal

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Ruta’s Closet tells the compelling Holocaust story of a Jewish family, imprisoned in the tiny Shavl ghetto in Lithuania. The Kron family survived the horror of the Nazi regime, thanks to the resourcefulness of Meyer and Gita Kron and the bravery of their rescuers. While Ruta’s Closet is based on fact, it reads like fiction. The drama of the events described and the richness of the characters make it a compelling work of narrative nonfiction—as intriguing as it is inspirational. The Krons are the focus but horrific events in the ghetto are also revealed, including mass murders, a Nazi ban on births, the removal of all children to the Auschwitz gas chambers. All dreadful events; but accounts of brave rescues and daring acts offer hope for humanity. Ruta's Closet is also the focus of a Holocaust awareness podcast series, available from all popular platforms. High School teachers can also download a teacher's guide and classroom activities recommendations, authored by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. Adult readers can download Book Club Talking Points, also authored by VHEC. Both guides, along with additional informative audio and text material, are hosted at the book's interactive website, rutascloset.com.

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"Keith Morgan’s work over several years has created one of the finest Holocaust memoirs. He worked exceptionally hard to ensure that this story was told to the highest possible standards of readability and accuracy." —The Late Rt. Hon. Sir Martin Gilbert, CBE. PC. "Hands down, the best available study in English of wartime Shavl. Keith Morgan's research shines bright because he chronicles not only the tragedy of the Kron family but of many others from a large community that was destroyed." —Roy Rosenstein, Distinguished Professor, The American University of Paris. "Keith Morgan's meticulous research, interviews with Ruta and family, survivors of Siauliai (Shavl) Ghetto and insights into life and conditions at those times makes for a unique story of survival and resilience in horrific times." —Saul Issroff, co-author of the “Holocaust in Lithuania, 1941-1945”. "It is a book that could be read in a weekend but must be thought about for a lifetime." —Robert Krell CM, MD, Holocaust survivor, Founding President, Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. "It is completely unique, painstakingly poignant and impossible to forget." Sharon Chisvin, Winnipeg Free Press. "Heartbreaking but inspiring . . . courage, love triumph over Nazi evils." —Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun.

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Keith Morgan was born in January 1954, in Blackpool, England. He began his career as a reporter for his hometown newspaper in 1975, moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1980. From 1981 he spent 35 years working in various editorial roles for The Province and Vancouver Sun newspapers. The award-winning writer has also hosted radio shows and contributed to online and print media. Now, in semi-retirement, he continues to expand the impact of Ruta’s Closet via a podcast series and online. Ruth Kron Sigal was born in Lithuania in July 1936. After the Second World War, she moved to Canada with her family, where she died on December 16, 2008, shortly after the completion of Ruta's Closet. (A more detailed account of her life in Canada is featured at the end of this book.) Her enthusiasm for the project was boundless and she was thrilled to know that her important story would be told far and wide.

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Contributors

Author

Keith Morgan

Author

Ruth Kron SIgal

Illustrator

Frank Myrskog

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FriesenPress Editions

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