Latest news with #RoseGirone
Saudi Gazette
28-02-2025
- General
- Saudi Gazette
Rose Girone, the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has died at age 113
NEW YORK — Rose Girone, the oldest known Holocaust survivor who endured both German and Japanese oppression but lived for eight decades beyond the end of World War II, has died at age 113. The death was confirmed by her daughter, Reha Bennicasa. She was the oldest known living Holocaust survivor according to the New York-based Claims Conference, which administers compensation from Germany to victims of the Nazis. Bennicasa, who is also a Holocaust survivor, said Girone died at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York, on Monday. Girone, whose name at birth was Rosa Raubvogel, was born in 1912 into a Jewish family in southeastern Poland, then part of Russia. As a child, she moved to Hamburg, Germany. In 1937, she married a German Jew named Julius Mannheim. When she was nine months pregnant, her husband was deported to Buchenwald in central Germany, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, she said in a 1996 interview with the USC Shoah Foundation, which collects survivor testimonies. She said that one of the Nazi soldiers who came to their house to deport her husband also wanted to arrest her, but another dissuaded him by saying, 'No, she's pregnant – leave her alone.' Soon after, Girone's daughter, Reha, was born in 1938. 'I could not name her what I wanted – Hitler had a list of names prepared for Jewish children and this was the only one I liked so I named her that,' she told USC Shoah Foundation. Survivors of Auschwitz and their families arrive to lay candles at the concentration camp's so-called "death wall" on the 80th anniversary of the liberation. She sent a postcard to her husband with information about the baby's birth, including her weight. While her husband was at Buchenwald, Girone learned a relative in London could help the couple obtain exit visas to Shanghai, which was one of the only ports accepting Jewish refugees. 'He knew someone who knew someone who gave out Chinese visas,' she said in the interview with the USC Shoah Foundation. Otherwise, she added, 'I don't know what would have happened to us.' Until 1940, some concentration camp inmates, including Jewish prisoners, could be released under certain conditions, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. With the visa, Girone was able to secure her husband's release from Buchenwald but they had to leave for China within six weeks, and they were told to deliver all of their jewelry, savings and valuables to a central collection location as they were forbidden to leave Germany with them. The three of them set sail for Shanghai, grateful to have escaped the Nazis' regime of terror. But Japan was waging war against China and shortly after their arrival, the Japanese occupied Chinese seaports and Jews were ordered to move into ghettos. The family moved into a tiny, cockroach-infested room under the staircase of an apartment building that had once been a bathroom. No one could leave the ghetto except with the permission of a Japanese official who called himself 'The King of the Jews,' she said in her testimony to the USC Shoah Foundation. While in China, she began knitting clothes to sell – a trade she would continue for the rest of her life and which she credited as a source of her strength. In an interview with CNN, Bennicasa, her daughter, said, 'We were lucky to get out alive from Germany and from China, but she was very resilient, my mother. She could take anything.' After the war, Girone and her family moved to the United States. She began working as a knitting instructor and lived in several spots in the New York area, eventually opening a knitting store in Queens. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and she later married Jack Girone. She told the USC Shoah Foundation that survival taught her to find something good even in tragic events. 'Nothing is so bad that something good shouldn't come out of it,' she said, adding that through her experience she became 'unafraid. I could do anything and everything.' In an interview with the USC Shoah Foundation, Bennicasa echoed her mother's remarks, saying, 'I feel prepared to face anything through her example.' There are about 245,000 survivors of the Holocaust still alive, of whom around 14,000 live in New York, according to the Claims Conference. — CNN
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rose Girone, world's oldest Holocaust survivor, dies at 113
The Brief Rose Girone, the oldest known survivor of the Holocaust, has died at 113. Her daughter, Reha Bennicasa, confirmed the news. Girone came to the U.S. in 1947 after escaping. NEW YORK - Rose Girone, the oldest known survivor of the Holocaust, has died. Girone, who had celebrated her 113th birthday on January 13, 2025, escaped Nazi Germany with her then-husband and only child, before coming to the United States in 1947. RELATED: Meet the world's oldest Holocaust survivor: 113-year-old Rose Girone What we know According to CNN, Girone's daughter, Reha Bennicasa, confirmed her death. She passed away at a nursing home in Bellmore on Long Island. The backstory Born Rosa Raubvogel in 1912 in Poland, and moved to Germany as a child. While in Germany, she got married, but her husband was taken to a concentration camp. "My father was in a concentration camp when I was born," said Bennicasa. "They had come and taken him and his father…but apparently they paid his way out with the proviso that within six weeks we'd get out of Shanghai." The family escaped to China, and for the first nine years of her life, Bennicasa was raised in Shanghai, which opened its doors to 20,000 Jewish refugees during World War II. When Rose and her family arrived in New York, Rose opened two knitting stores in Queens. "People would bring her something from a fashion book, she could transpose it into knitwear," said Bennicasa. She knit until she was nearly 102 years old. According to The Claims Conference, there are roughly 245,000 survivors of the Holocaust still living today. The Source This article was written using information from FOX 5 crews in the field, along with CNN and The Claims Conference.
CNN
27-02-2025
- General
- CNN
Rose Girone, the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has died at age 113
Rose Girone, the oldest known Holocaust survivor who endured both German and Japanese oppression but lived for eight decades beyond the end of World War II, has died at age 113. The death was confirmed by her daughter, Reha Bennicasa. She was the oldest known living Holocaust survivor according to the New York-based Claims Conference, which administers compensation from Germany to victims of the Nazis. Bennicasa, who is also a Holocaust survivor, said Girone died at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York, on Monday. Girone, whose name at birth was Rosa Raubvogel, was born in 1912 into a Jewish family in southeastern Poland, then part of Russia. As a child, she moved to Hamburg, Germany. In 1937, she married a German Jew named Julius Mannheim. When she was nine months pregnant, her husband was deported to Buchenwald in central Germany, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, she said in a 1996 interview with the USC Shoah Foundation, which collects survivor testimonies. She said that one of the Nazi soldiers who came to their house to deport her husband also wanted to arrest her, but another dissuaded him by saying, 'No, she's pregnant – leave her alone.' Soon after, Girone's daughter, Reha, was born in 1938. 'I could not name her what I wanted – Hitler had a list of names prepared for Jewish children and this was the only one I liked so I named her that,' she told USC Shoah Foundation. She sent a postcard to her husband with information about the baby's birth, including her weight. While her husband was at Buchenwald, Girone learned a relative in London could help the couple obtain exit visas to Shanghai, which was one of the only ports accepting Jewish refugees. 'He knew someone who knew someone who gave out Chinese visas,' she said in the interview with the USC Shoah Foundation. Otherwise, she added, 'I don't know what would have happened to us.' Until 1940, some concentration camp inmates, including Jewish prisoners, could be released under certain conditions, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. With the visa, Girone was able to secure her husband's release from Buchenwald but they had to leave for China within six weeks, and they were told to deliver all of their jewelry, savings and valuables to a central collection location as they were forbidden to leave Germany with them. The three of them set sail for Shanghai, grateful to have escaped the Nazis' regime of terror. But Japan was waging war against China and shortly after their arrival, the Japanese occupied Chinese seaports and Jews were ordered to move into ghettos. The family moved into a tiny, cockroach-infested room under the staircase of an apartment building that had once been a bathroom. No one could leave the ghetto except with the permission of a Japanese official who called himself 'The King of the Jews,' she said in her testimony to the USC Shoah Foundation. While in China, she began knitting clothes to sell – a trade she would continue for the rest of her life and which she credited as a source of her strength. In an interview with CNN, Bennicasa, her daughter, said, 'We were lucky to get out alive from Germany and from China, but she was very resilient, my mother. She could take anything.' After the war, Girone and her family moved to the United States. She began working as a knitting instructor and lived in several spots in the New York area, eventually opening a knitting store in Queens. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and she later married Jack Girone. She told the USC Shoah Foundation that survival taught her to find something good even in tragic events. 'Nothing is so bad that something good shouldn't come out of it,' she said, adding that through her experience she became 'unafraid. I could do anything and everything.' In an interview with the USC Shoah Foundation, Bennicasa echoed her mother's remarks, saying, 'I feel prepared to face anything through her example.' There are about 245,000 survivors of the Holocaust still alive, of whom around 14,000 live in New York, according to the Claims Conference.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Oldest known Holocaust survivor Rose Girone dies, age 113
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rose Girone, the woman believed to be the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has died, her family and a Jewish organization that secures compensation for Holocaust survivors said on Thursday. When her husband was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp, Girone was eight months pregnant, the non-profit Claims Conference said in a social media post announcing her death. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The organization said she died on Monday. CNN reported on Thursday that she died at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York. After her husband's release, the family fled Breslau, Germany, to Shanghai, the New York-based Claims Conference added. "She was a strong lady, resilient. She made the best of terrible situations," her daughter, Holocaust survivor Reha Bennicasa, said in a statement. "She was very level-headed, very commonsensical. There was nothing I couldn't bring to her to help me solve — ever — from childhood on," her daughter added. About 245,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive and about 14,000 of those live in New York, according to the Claims Conference.
Reuters
27-02-2025
- General
- Reuters
Oldest known Holocaust survivor Rose Girone dies, age 113
WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Rose Girone, the woman believed to be the oldest known Holocaust survivor, has died, her family and a Jewish organization that secures compensation for Holocaust survivors said on Thursday. When her husband was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp, Girone was eight months pregnant, the non-profit Claims Conference said in a social media post announcing her death. The organization said she died on Monday. CNN reported on Thursday that she died at a nursing home in Bellmore, New York. After her husband's release, the family fled Breslau, Germany, to Shanghai, the New York-based Claims Conference added. "She was a strong lady, resilient. She made the best of terrible situations," her daughter, Holocaust survivor Reha Bennicasa, said in a statement. "She was very level-headed, very commonsensical. There was nothing I couldn't bring to her to help me solve — ever — from childhood on," her daughter added. About 245,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive and about 14,000 of those live in New York, according to the Claims Conference. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
