Rudolf Ruder is the son of Holocaust survivors and the author of The Long Journey to Cleveland, a memoir that preserves the extraordinary story of his parents’ lives during and after World War II.

Rudolf’s father, Simon Ruder, was a Jewish tailor from Lvov, Poland. Before the war, he lived a vibrant family life, but everything changed when he was arrested and sent through a brutal chain of prisons and concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Dachau, and Mühldorf. Against all odds, Simon survived.

His mother, Maria “Marile” Häusl, grew up in Bavaria, Germany. As a child she was a member of the Hitler Youth and even once presented flowers to Adolf Hitler. Her world was shaped by Nazi propaganda, wartime loss, and the devastation of Allied bombings.

After the war, Simon and Maria met in a most unlikely twist of fate. Their love story defied the hatred and destruction of the Holocaust. Together, they built a new life in Cleveland, Ohio, where they raised a family and quietly carried the memories of a past they seldom spoke about.

For Rudolf, writing The Long Journey to Cleveland became a way to honor his parents’ resilience and ensure their story lives on. Drawing on family memories, historical archives, camp documents, and survivor testimonies, he set out to create a book that is both deeply personal and historically valuable.

Today, Rudolf is dedicated to sharing their story so that future generations can understand not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but also the strength of those who survived it. His work reflects a commitment to remembrance, education, and the belief that even in the darkest times, love and humanity can prevail.