Ruth Finkel Wade
Ruth Finkel Wade is the daughter of 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Sidney Finkel. She is a co-editor and contributor to the award-winning book The Ones Who Remember: Second-Generation Voices of the Holocaust and has contributed a narrative to the book Memory and the Holocaust: Descendants of Survivors and Family History. Ruth is a speaker and docent at the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and manages her father’s speaking events and book, Sevek and the Holocaust: The Boy Who Refused to Die. She is the president of Tampa Bay Generations After and was on the founding committee of the Irene Butter Fund for Holocaust and Human Rights Education. Ruth grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and spent 25 years living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A guest on numerous podcasts and programs, Ruth now resides in Largo, Florida, with her Boston Terrier, Rizzo.
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Legacy Of Holocaust Survivors: The Challenges, Gifts And Impact
How do you talk about and make sense of your life when you grew up with parents who survived the most unimaginable horrors of family separation, systematic murder and unending encounters of inhumanity? Through Ruth Wade’s story of growing up in the shadow of trauma, her talk will explore the themes around the impact of dehumanization, post-traumatic growth and healing, and intergenerational trauma. Note: This lecture is 1 hour and 15 minutes, including time for a Q&A.
A Holocaust Survivor’s Legacy, The Boy Who Refused To Die
Ruth Wade’s father, Sidney “Sevek” Finkel, was seven years old when World War II began. He survived the ghetto, slave labor, concentration camps, death march and the brutal murder of his family. Sidney’s book and video, Sevek and the Holocaust: The Boy Who Refused to Die, are used widely in middle schools. In this talk, Sidney’s daughter Ruth will share Sevek’s story, bearing witness to his legacy, teaching the dangers of dehumanization and inspiring participants to become upstanders. Note: This lecture is 1 hour and 15 minutes, including time for a Q&A.
The Healing Power Of Writing
Writing is an effective path to healing relationships, and also ensuring that the next generation is less burdened by intergenerational trauma. In this talk, Ruth Wade will share the three ways that her writing transformed the relationship between herself and her Holocaust survivor father, Sidney Finkel. If there is time and interest, Ruth will help participants begin their own writing journeys.