Ruth Maier

Ruth Maier (10 November 1920 in Vienna, Austria – 1 December 1942 in Auschwitz, German-occupied Poland) was an Austrian woman whose diaries describing her experiences of the Holocaust in Austria and Norway were published in 2007; reviews described her as "Norway's Anne Frank." Ruth Maier was born in Vienna to a largely assimilated Jewish family daughter of Ludwig [b.1882] and Irma [1895-1964]. Her father, Dr. Ludwig Maier, held a doctorate in philosophy, was a polyglot (mastering nine languages), and held a senior position within the Austrian post and telegraph service. He died in 1933 of erysipelas. Her first cousin, who survived the war, was the philosopher Stephan Körner. Her younger sister Judith managed to escape to the United Kingdom. Through her father's contacts, Ruth was able to find refuge in Norway, where she arrived by train on 30 January 1939. She was housed for some time with a Norwegian family. She became fluent in Norwegian within a year, completed her examen artium, and befriended the future poet Gunvor Hofmo at a volunteer work camp in Biri. The two became a couple, finding lodging and work in various places in Norway.