Ruth Gruber was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1911. By the age of 20, she had earned three Ph.D.s—one in German Philosophy, another in Modern English Literature and a third in Art History, all from the University of Cologne. In 1935, she received a fellowship to study women under fascist and communist rule. She later began to work for the New York Herald Tribune and became the first foreign correspondent to fly through Siberia into the Soviet Artic. She documented her experiences living among its inhabitants (some of whom were Jews) and later published them in the book, I Went to the Soviet Artic.

In 1941, after Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes became aware of Gruber’s outstanding accomplishments, he appointed her as his Special Assistant. In this role, she carried out a secret mission to Europe and brought 1,000 refugees from Europe to Oswego, New York. As they traveled from Naples, Italy, she recorded their survival stories. These stories inspired her to write the book Haven.

Dr. Gruber has written 13 books, seven of which focus on the subject of Israel and the Middle East from the end of World War II to the present. She also spent nearly 20 years working as foreign correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. Dr. Ruth Gruber has shown compassion and bravery in the face of suffering throughout her career as journalist, lobbyist, government official, and humanitarian.