Ruth Bachner

Mrs. Bachner's presentation covers her experience on Kristallnacht in Vienna and fleeing through Germany to Belgium.  After the Nazis invaded Belgium and took control, she remembers the curfews, the ration cards and the constant raids.  With conditions growing worse, her parents were desperate to save her and her brother.  They entrusted them to a priest, Father Bruno Reynders, who saved close to 400 Jews.  He helped conceal Mrs. Bachner in a convent and her brother in a Catholic orphanage.  Her parents hid in a Christian estate.  Reunited with parents after the war , they evenually emigrated to the United States.