Polish Rose Girone, considered the oldest Holocaust survivor, died on Thursday at 113 in New York, as reported by Claims Conference, an organization seeking the return of Jewish property stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
"She was a wonderful woman," said her daughter, Reha Benicassa, over the phone on Friday. "Nothing was too difficult. She was not afraid. She was an adventurous person. She did well."
"She was an example of strength, but now we are obligated to continue in her memory," said Greg Schneider, the organization's executive vice president, in a statement on Thursday. "The lessons of the Holocaust must not die with those who endured the suffering."
Girone was born on January 13, 1912, in Janow, Poland. Her family moved to Hamburg, Germany, when she was six years old, as she recounted in a 1996 interview with the USC Shoah Foundation.
When asked if she had any specific professional plans before Hitler, she replied, "Hitler came in 1933 and then it was over for everyone."
Girone was one of approximately 245,000 survivors who still live in over 90 countries, according to a study published by Claims Conference last year. But that number is rapidly decreasing, as most are very elderly and often in delicate health, with an average age of 86 years.
Six million European Jews and members of other minorities were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust.
"This passing reminds us of the urgency to share the lessons of the Holocaust while we still have firsthand witnesses with us," Schneider added. "The Holocaust is moving from memory to history, and its lessons are too important, especially in today's world, to be forgotten."