Nechama Grossman, Israel’s oldest Holocaust survivor, has died at the age of 110, her family has confirmed.
The long-time Arad resident passed away peacefully on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust remembrance day, a poignant end to a life that defied the odds.
Born in 1914, Grossman lived through two world wars, the horrors of the Holocaust, the founding of the State of Israel, and more than a century of global change. Her death, which comes just days after she was named in a report on the world’s remaining Holocaust survivors, marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in Jewish history.
Surviving the Nazi regime was just the beginning of Grossman’s remarkable journey. After the war, she built a new life in Israel, raising a large and loving family that now spans five generations. Until her final days, Grossman remained mentally sharp and deeply engaged with her relatives, who described her as a pillar of strength and wisdom.
Her son, Vladimir Shvetz, said she had “lived through the worst of humanity” but survived it — instilling in her descendants a powerful message: that unchecked hatred must never win. “We must remember her story, remember the Holocaust, remember all the survivors and learn from it so that her past does not become our future.”
Her story is one of unimaginable hardship and exceptional endurance. Though she rarely spoke in detail about what she experienced during the Holocaust, Grossman carried its weight with her throughout her life. In recent years, her family revealed she had begun to speak more openly about her wartime trauma – not as a source of pain, but as a legacy to pass on.
Grossman’s funeral has been scheduled for Friday afternoon in the city of Arad, where she spent most of her later years. Friends, neighbours, and loved ones are expected to attend in what is anticipated to be a powerful and emotional tribute to a woman who represented the resilience of an entire generation.
She is survived by two children, four grandchildren, a dozen great-grandchildren, and several great-great-grandchildren – a living testament to her legacy.
