Ruth Blaugrund Dula was born in Czechoslovakia on September 27, 1913 to Mordechai and Hanna Blaugrund, two dedicated farmers whose family worked the land for several generations. Ruth had four sisters and two brothers. Following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Ruth married Julius Dula in 1940. During the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe, life for Jews like Ruth and Julius was made unbearable. Eventually, the actions against the Jews turned to violence and then murder. When orders came to deport and kill all Jews, Ruth, through her husband Julius’ friends in the Catholic Church, was able to hide. She was provided falsified documents that classified her and her newborn baby, Thomas, as Lutherans. During a traumatic episode at a Nazi checkpoint, a young Nazi officer suspected her of carrying false papers. He even said to them that he suspected they were indeed Jews, but with the Soviet Army so close, a few runaway Jews were not a top priority, and he eventually allowed Ruth and her infant son to move on.
Jewish and non-Jewish friends made it possible for Julius and Ruth, along with others, to hide, find shelter and food, and transportation to safe havens. While Ruth and her son, Thomas, were able to hide for much of the war, Julius, lacking any credentials or papers, escaped to the forest where he joined the partisan resistance. For the remainder of the war, Julius, along with the partisans, helped the Allied forces fight the Nazis from behind enemy lines.
Following the war, Julius and Ruth reunited and made arrangements to immigrate to the United States. After attaining visas in 1950 and sponsorship from Ruth’s relatives in El Paso, Texas, she and her family crossed the Atlantic on a U.S. troop carrier and eventually arrived in New Orleans. From there, they took a midnight train, the Sunset Limited, across Texas to arrive in El Paso. Ruth’s El Paso relatives immediately assisted Julius, Ruth, their son Thomas, and daughter Gabriela, in creating new lives for themselves. After years of hard work and dedication, Julius was able to open his own business, Del Norte Department Store. After his death, Ruth moved to Sacramento, California to live with her daughter, Gabriela.
Connecting Stories: Julius Dula, Thomas Dula