Her story will live on.
Rose Girone, widely believed to be the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has passed away, according to her family and the Claims Conference, a Jewish organization that advocates for compensation for Holocaust survivors. She died on Monday at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York, as confirmed in a social media post by the Claims Conference.
Girone’s life was marked by immense hardship. At eight months pregnant, her husband was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. After his release, the family fled Breslau, Germany, and found refuge in Shanghai.
Her daughter, Reha Bennicasa, described her mother as a resilient and strong woman who always made the best of dire circumstances. Bennicasa, who is also a Holocaust survivor, spoke of her mother’s practicality and level-headedness, recalling how there was never an issue too big for her to help resolve.
The Claims Conference reports that approximately 245,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive, with about 14,000 residing in New York.
