Brief history
Ruth was a young girl living in Berlin, Germany when the Nazi’s seized power. She and her Jewish family tried to outrun the Nazis by moving to Poland, and then go away even further from there when the Nazis invaded Poland as well. They where however betrayed and captured. Ruth and all of her family except for her brother Max (whom would later become Magneto) where killed.
Note: Ruth Eisenhardt first appeared unnamed in a flashback in New Mutants 49, but first appeared named and fully in X-men: Magneto Testament issue 1.