Sara-Ruth Schumann was born Hedwig Abraham in Bremen in 1938. She survived the Second World War in hiding and moved to Oldenburg with her husband and son in 1968. Initially a member of the Protestant Church, she converted to the Jewish faith in 1990 and was strongly committed to the reconstruction of the Oldenburg Jewish Community. As First Chairwoman of the congregation, she succeeded in bringing the first Rabbi Bea Wyler to Oldenburg. She led the congregation to a non-Orthodox Judaism, in which women are equal to men.