'Holocaust Survivor' Margot Friedlander Dies at 103 on Day She Was to Receive Medal

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Margot Friedlander, who survived a Nazi concentration camp and spent more than a century campaigning against racism, has passed away at the age of 103.

Margot Friedlander, who survived a Nazi concentration camp and campaigned against racism, graced the cover of the German edition of the world-renowned fashion magazine Vogue last year at the age of 102. Vogue

On the 9th (local time), major international media including AFP reported that a foundation named after Friedlander announced her passing that morning. The news was especially poignant as it came just one day after Germany's Victory in Europe Day (May 8), and on the very day Friedlander was to receive the Grand Cross of Merit from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Although the ceremony did not take place, the award was officially conferred. President Steinmeier expressed his condolences, saying, "Despite all the atrocities committed by Germans in her youth, she gave Germany the gift of 'reconciliation.' We can never be grateful enough for this gift."

Friedlander was born on November 5, 1921, into a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. Her family tried to escape Nazi persecution by emigrating to the United States, Brazil, and China, but all attempts failed. After her parents and younger brother were taken by the Nazis, Friedlander underwent nasal surgery to avoid appearing Jewish and lived in hiding.

Despite her efforts, she was captured by the Nazis in the spring of 1944 and imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, now in the Czech Republic. Those who arrested her on the street were Jews hired by the Nazis to track down other Jews in hiding. Friedlander later recalled, "I could not believe that fellow Jews betrayed me and so many others."

Fortunately, Friedlander was released with the end of the war in 1945 and married Adolf Friedlander, whom she had met in the camp. The following year, she immigrated to New York, USA, where she worked as a seamstress and travel agency employee, while also writing a book about her experiences in the camp and participating in documentaries.

It was not until 2010, at the age of 88, that she returned to Germany. There, she dedicated herself to educating others about Nazi atrocities and campaigning against racism. Friedlander appealed, "We are all the same. There is no Christian, Muslim, or Jewish blood. There is only human blood. Live as a human being."

Before being taken by the Nazis, Friedlander is said to have studied fashion design. Last year, at the age of 102, she graced the cover of the German edition of the world-renowned fashion magazine Vogue. In her Vogue interview, she also emphasized, "Live as a human being, live rationally."