Ruth Friedman

Ruth Friedman is a Jewish neighbor living in the apartment building at 57 Avenue de La Bourdonnais in Paris, where Julien Rossignol and his daughter Isabelle also reside. She is a mother of two daughters and is married to a man who is a prisoner of war. Her presence in the narrative is brief but pivotal, occurring during the mass arrest of foreign-born Jews known as Operation Spring Wind, the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup of July 1942.

Appearance and Role in the Roundup

In the early hours of the roundup, after Isabelle has returned from the prefecture of police with evidence that the Germans are collecting the names and addresses of every foreign-born Jewish person in Paris, she and her father, Julien, decide to warn their neighbors. They descend the narrow, twisting staircase to the apartment directly below theirs. Julien knocks, and after a tense pause, the door opens slowly. Ruth Friedman appears, wearing a man's coat over a floor-length nightgown, her bare feet sticking out, her hair in rollers and covered with a scarf. She has already seen the warning pamphlet that has been slipped under doors throughout the building. When Julien tells her that buses are out front and that lorries have been rumbling past all night, and that Isabelle was at the prefecture where they were collecting names and addresses of all foreign-born Jewish people, Ruth initially hesitates, citing the Vichy government's promise that prisoners of war's families would be protected. Isabelle insists that the Vichy government cannot be trusted, and Ruth makes a decision. She turns on her heel, walks out of the room, and less than a minute later, guides her two daughters toward the door. When asked what to bring, Isabelle tells her to bring nothing. Isabelle then herds the Friedmans up the stairs to the Rossignol apartment, where Julien leads them to the secret room in the back bedroom and closes the door on them, hiding them from the French police who are already entering the building to arrest other Jewish families.

Significance

Ruth Friedman's brief appearance encapsulates the sudden, terrifying rupture of the roundup and the impossible choices it forced upon families. Her initial trust in the Vichy government's assurances reflects the widespread disbelief and denial that preceded the mass arrests. Her decision to follow Isabelle and Julien, leaving behind her home and possessions, demonstrates the desperate leap of faith required to survive. Her story is one of the few moments of successful rescue within the larger tragedy of the roundup, highlighting the Rossignol family's active role in the resistance network, even as other neighbors, like the Vizniak family, are taken away. Ruth Friedman represents the countless Jewish families who were saved by the courage of ordinary French citizens who risked their lives to hide them.