Rita R. Ross was born into a Jewish family shortly before Adolf Hitler annexed Austria. Her early childhood was fraught with incredible danger and near disaster.
Ross chronicles every terrifying moment in this new memoir. Her family fled from Vienna, Austria, to Poland but found that fascism already had its roots deep in the country. While Ross's father went to America to try to pave the way for his family, Ross, her mother, and her brother hid in the city of Krakow. Although still a young girl, Ross knew the danger her family faced if anyone discovered that they were Jews.
From the Krakow ghetto to a POW camp, Ross saw devastating violence but also miraculous interventions. Her family managed to survive the war and make their way to America.
For Ross, however, this wasn't the end of her suffering. America's cruel attitude toward immigrants and the trauma Ross carried from the war would combine to make her adolescence nearly unbearable. A piano would become her new escape.
In her own voice, Ross tells you how she got through these difficult moments and remembers the simple things that saved her from more grief and turmoil.
About the Author: Rita R. Ross survived World War II to immigrate to America at the age of nine. She went on to become a schoolteacher and avid musician.
After teaching for thirty years, she retired to lecture about the Holocaust at schools and universities. She uses her experiences as a prisoner, refugee, and survivor to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten by the generations to come.
Ross shares her love of music with her scientist husband. The two have five children and numerous rescue cats. Ross still plays the piano and volunteers wherever she can.