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Rose Girone, believed to be the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has passed away at the age of 113, her family and the Claims Conference, a non-profit organisation that advocates for Holocaust survivors, confirmed on Thursday. She died on Monday at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York, according to CNN.
Girone’s life was shaped by extraordinary hardship and resilience. During World War II, when her husband was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, she was eight months pregnant. Following his release, the family fled Nazi-controlled Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), seeking refuge in Shanghai, China.
“She was a strong lady, resilient. She made the best of terrible situations,” her daughter, fellow Holocaust survivor Reha Bennicasa, said in a statement. Bennicasa described her mother as level-headed and practical, adding, “She was very level-headed, very commonsensical. There was nothing I couldn’t bring to her to help me solve—ever—from childhood on.”
Girone’s passing marks the loss of another link to a harrowing chapter in history. According to the Claims Conference, approximately 245,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive today, with around 14,000 residing in New York.
Her story, like those of so many survivors, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity.
Melissa Enoch
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