Yad Ruth originally evolved from personally meeting Holocaust survivors in Israel in the early 1980’s. In 1994, we founded the association in order to obtain a broader basis for our practical and financial support activities. Being Germans of the post-war generation, we feel we have a particular responsibility to the state of Israel and the Jewish people.

We cannot “right” the crimes committed against Jews in the name of our people during the Shoa (extermination). However, we consider it our task to act against anti-Semitism in our country by providing information and education.

Yad Ruth means “the Hand of Ruth” and “in Memory of Ruth”. Both translations reflect our aims and our practical work, in particular for Holocaust survivors and Jews in need. Ruth, based on the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament, was a non-Jewish woman who lived about 100 years before King David. She decided to leave her family in order to take care of her Jewish mother in law.