Rose Girone, believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor, has passed away at the age of 113.
She died on Monday in New York, according to the Claims Conference, an organisation that supports Holocaust survivors. Girone dedicated much of her life to sharing the stories of those who endured the Holocaust.
Born in 1912 in Janow, Poland, Girone moved to Germany as a child. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, her dreams for the future were cut short. She married Julius Mannheim in 1937 and was nine months pregnant when the Nazis took her husband to a concentration camp. She managed to secure his release, and in 1938, the family fled to Shanghai, China, where Jewish refugees were forced into harsh living conditions.
After World War II, Girone and her family moved to the United States, arriving in New York in 1947 with only $80. She later opened a knitting store and was reunited with her brother after 17 years apart. Over the years, she became known for her resilience and wisdom, often saying, “Nothing is so very bad that something good shouldn’t come out of it.”
Holocaust organisations have emphasised the importance of remembering survivors like Girone. “The Holocaust is slipping from memory to history,” said Greg Schneider of the Claims Conference. “Its lessons are too important to be forgotten.”
