Women's Portraits

Ruth Hálová

Ruth Hálová was born 85 years ago in Český Krumlov in a Czech-German Jewish family.    In the same year of her birth, her father died as a result of serious health problems developed while leading the soldiers’march home across Siberia after the end of World War I. She grew up with her mother, sister and grandmother, who took care of the household of her working daughter.

You were a child at the time when relations between Czechs and Germans began to be strained, what do you remember from those days?

 “I will never forget how one morning in the autumn of 1938 I was expelled from school together with my German classmates because I was Jewish. My mother, my sister and I then had to leave Krumlov. We moved to Protivin, my mother’s birthplace, and then to Prague.   My mother knew what was coming and applied for us both daughters to emigrate to England, a project organized by Sir Nicholas Winton.” remembers Mrs Ruth.

And so one day thirteen-year-old Ruth boarded one of the trains that carried 669 Jewish children to England.

Nicholas Winton, who wasn’t even thirty years old, was one of the few who realized the fate awaiting the Jews and decided to save Jewish children at least. It was not an easy feat: he convinced the British Home Office to issue a permit for entry to England, organized the departure of eight trains, obtained permission from the Germans for the departure of children from the Republic and their transit through Germany, and provided these children with a new home in England. The project ended with the outbreak of WW2 when the Germans forbade further departures of children.

Ruth arrived in England on 1^st July 1939. For six years until the end of the war she lived in a completely different environment. In the character of the English people she discovered many values she admires and respects today:  objectivity, tolerance, endurance, hardiness. The people who helped her have been her life-long friends. The stay in England fundamentally changed her future career, and indelibly influenced her character and attitude to life. She learned English very well, graduated from high school and found her life goal, life pattern and profession.

“Once, when going out of the school, I passed the door of the library. It was open. I entered, approached some shelves and reached out for a book – it was a biography of Louis Pasteur. Long ago I stopped believing in coincidences. There is a cosmic plan, and the one who is its author, is also the playwright and director. We are the only actors on the stage of life. One thing is sure, from that day onwards I knew that I wanted to be a microbiologist and nothing would change my mind.” Mrs Ruth remembers.

After the war, Ruth returned to Prague a mature and determined young woman, and happily reunited with her mother, who had survived internment in Terezin.

Her dream came true: she studied microbiology and received her doctorate at the Faculty of Charles University in Prague. She worked in a laboratory and taught microbiology at the medical school.

At the end of the eighties, when Sir Nicholas Winton was approaching eighty, some documents came to light, which enabled the “Winton children” to find out who had saved   their lives and gave them the opportunity to thank their rescuer.

“How do you thank someone for the gift of life? That was the first question that occurred to us when we learned the name of the person, who had saved us and saw the image of his unforgettable face expressing kindness, deep humanity and wise human experience. Of course, each one of us took him to our hearts with great love and gratitude and we all wanted to meet him as soon as possible.”

Thankfully, Sir Winton has lived to a high age and “his children” have been able to meet him many times and express respect and gratitude, “gratitude for having been born a second time”, adder Mrs Ruth.They first met in Jerusalem in 1989, then many times in England and the Czech Republic. Sir Nicholas Winton has received numerous awards, a lot of books have been written about him and many films have been made.

“He’s the bravest, brightest, kindest, wisest, and at the same time the most modest man of our times” emphasizes Mrs Ruth.

When her children had grown up and she had reached retirement age, she began to think about the meaning of life and thus commenced her search for spiritual truth. She and her husband moved to South Bohemia. After many years, she had returned home, to the place of her childhood, to Český Krumlov.

Here, in her numerous meetings with people, including myself, she shared her experiences of India, the guru Sai Baba, her spiritual path….

In her autobiography Ruth writes:

“It is my experience and firm conviction that God is always with each one of us, everywhere and at all times. He is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. Although everything in the Universe is His, He has given us free will to accept or reject Him. Therefore it is for us to make the first step towards Him then He will make a hundred steps towards us. Hence the only free gift that we can offer Him is our love…Rest assured that if you but think of Him, you are immediately in His total protection. If you surrender to Him, He will provide for all your needs, give you peace of mind and lead you to lasting happiness. For me, Sai Baba is God Incarnate. His credo is:

There is only one religion - the religion of love,

there is only one caste – the caste of humanity, and

there is only one language - the language of the heart.

Today Ruth Halova is a sociable and active lady, who delights in life and has many interests as well as friends. Several years ago she was widowed, but is surrounded by her children and grandchildren sharing their joys and accomplishments. She lives freely and independently. She actively communicates with her friends, over the computer too, she loves photography, painting, singing in a choir, and animals.

She translates from English and German literature, especially spiritual. She published a vegetarian cookbook, and this year she translated and published a book about abandoned Indian children and their upbringing and education in the family of an American couple, Sai Baba devotees “Begging for Change”(2011).

What to say in conclusion?                                                                                                         

I quote from the autobiographical book “By Grace Alone”, published in 2005, 2^nd ed. 2010:

By His Grace Alone He has given me birth,

By His Grace Alone He has saved my life from the holocaust.

By His Grace Alone He is giving me strength and health.

And without His Grace this book could not have come into being.

Jana Vorlová