Riva Minska was born in Łódź, Poland to Avromele and Nacha Minska. Riva was born on the date of May 3, 1926. She was the fourth of seven children: Chanele, Yankele, and Mala precede her; brothers Motele, Moshiele , and Laibele follow her. Avromele Minska died shortly after Moshiele's birth. Avromele was Riva's father.
World War II
Following the invasion of Poland, Riva's older siblings fled to Russia to escape forced labor. Riva, her mother and younger siblings are forced to live in the Ghetto Lodz, where younger brother Laibele contracts tuberculosis. On September 10, 1942, their mother was taken out of the ghetto during a Nazi raid, leaving Riva to care for her younger brothers. She adopts them to keep the family together, which