ruth cohen: thank you, madam ambassador. was born in czechoslovakia in 1930 to a warm and loving family. my sister was seven years older than i, and my brother was 1.5 years younger. i had a happy childhood filled with extended family, many friends, and the opportunity to go to a great school. on march 8, 1938, czechoslovakia was partitioned. the next morning, my mother told us she spent the night worrying about the future. and in fact, that day, my life began to change. my town became a part of hungary, and boys and girls could no longer study in the same classrooms. ech, we learnedcz hungarian. my father's business was taken away immediately, and our nanny had to leave because she was no longer allowed to work for a jewish family. shortly after, we learned members of my mother's family had been taken and murdered. my family officially went into mourning. in march 1944, hitler marched into hungary. our school was closed and we had to wear yellow stars. by april, we were forced to move into a ghetto. move, the man our who ha