Rose Girone, believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor, passed away at the age of 113 on February 24th at a nursing home in Long Island, New York. Her death marks the end of an era, highlighting the dwindling number of those who directly experienced the horrors of World War II.
Born in Poland in 1912, Girone later moved to Hamburg, Germany, where she married Julius Mannheim. As Nazi persecution intensified, her husband and father-in-law were arrested, forcing the family to flee to Shanghai, China, then under Japanese occupation. Even in Shanghai, they endured harsh conditions in a Jewish ghetto before eventually immigrating to the United States and settling in New York.
Girone continued to work, running a knitting business until the age of 102. According to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, approximately 245,000 Holocaust survivors remain worldwide, with about 14,000 residing in New York.
The New York Times quoted Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, who emphasized the urgency of sharing the lessons of the Holocaust while firsthand witnesses are still alive. Girone's passing serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of preserving these vital stories for future generations.
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