Meet the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor: 113-year-old Rose Girone
Meet the oldest living Holocaust survivor
Rose Girone, at 113 years old, is believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor in the world. Born in Poland in 1912, Rose escaped Nazi Germany with her husband and daughter, surviving incredible hardships, including years in Shanghai, China. Now living on Long Island, she is a testament to resilience and positivity, sharing her incredible story of survival and legacy as International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg brings us her inspiring journey.
LONG ISLAND - Rose Girone, who celebrated her 113th birthday on January 13, 2025, is believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor. Born in Poland in 1912, she now resides on Long Island, and shared her incredible story of survival and resilience with FOX 5 NY.
A life of resilience
What we know:
Girone escaped Nazi Germany with her then-husband and only child, Reha Bennicasa, fleeing to Shanghai, China, before moving to the United States in 1947.
"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."
For the first nine years of her life, Reha was raised in Shanghai, China, 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.
Today, Rose is the oldest living Holocaust survivor on earth, according to the organization The Claims Conference.
The Source: This article was written using information sourced from FOX 5 NY crews and reporters.