About the Henia Ring Schiff Holocaust Resource Collection
The Holocaust Resource Center at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library is dedicated to the memory of Holocaust survivor Henia Ring Schiff who devoted her life to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and teaching lessons of courage, survival, and tolerance. This collection was created in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Located in downtown Oklahoma City, the collection includes over 1,200 books, audiobooks, and videos that provide a comprehensive study of the Holocaust through historical research, survivor accounts, and visual evidence. This collection is hosted by the Metropolitan Library System to facilitate access to these materials in a centralized location while still being able to send materials to any of our 18 locations for patrons to pick up. The Metropolitan Library System continues to foster the expansion, curation, and maintenance of this collection to ensure these resources continue to be available for years to come. The Holocaust Resource Collection is an invaluable resource within the community and throughout the state. In its continued commitment to offer Holocaust education, the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City and the Holocaust Resource Collection bring honor to the survivors, liberators, and those who remember.
About Henia
After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Ring family tried unsuccessfully to flee to Warsaw but were instead sent to the newly established ghetto in Krzepice. In 1941, Henia fled the ghetto after hearing that the Germans were going to deport people for forced labor. She was arrested and deported to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in 1942. In 1943, she was transferred to Mauthausen where she attempted to escape but was caught, beaten, and left for dead. She managed to crawl back to barracks and survived. In 1944, she was transferred to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated by British troops on 15 April 1945. She recuperated in Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1947. Henia’s parents and brother all perished during the Holocaust.
She settled in Oklahoma and later married Max Schiff with whom she had three children and, for 36 years, seldom discussed the atrocities she both suffered and witnessed. Following a 1983 reunion of Holocaust survivors held in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Schiff returned home, determined to share her experiences in hopes that history would never repeat itself.
Learn More About Henia through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum