07/08/2026
Earlier this week we presented Ruth Vecht with her incredible Fed My Voice book, ‘A Lesson in Humanity’.
Surrounded by family and friends and her younger sister Eva, Danish-born Ruth, 90, spoke about the wonderful Danes who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jews when the N***s tightened their grip on Denmark in 1943, offering safety and refuge in their summer houses and homes so they wouldn’t be deported.
Remarkably, of the 8,000 Jews in Denmark in 1943, only around 400 to 500 were deported, and all but 51 survived. “Humanity could learn a great deal from the Danes,” said Ruth last night.
With the help of the Danish community, Ruth’s family crossed over to Sweden on Yom Kippur and remained there until the war ended.
After receiving her book, Ruth spoke about the day she returned to Denmark, the 28th May 1945, as, “the happiest day of my life. I learned that you could go anywhere in the world, have nothing and still be a good Jew. And I knew then I was going to have lots of children and tell them what I knew.”
Ruth was true to her word. She came over to the UK as an au pair when she was 19, married Aron Vecht and they went on to have six children, 24 grandchildren and many more great-grandchildren.
Ruth’s Fed My Voice book, ‘A Lesson in Humanity’ is the 57th book in the My Voice collection and takes on even greater significance in this time of growing antisemitism. As Lauren Libbert, My Voice’s London Project Lead, said at the presentation: “It stands as a beacon of hope and shows how a nation and its citizens can lead with humanity, courage and dignity, and push against the tide.”
Ruth’s book is available to buy here: https://myvoice.org.uk/product/ruth-vecht/
