Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, who talked powerfully about the power of forgiveness and how she “forgave” the Nazis, has died at 85.
Ms Kor died during an annual education trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she used to give tours and talks to people about horrors of the past.
She had recorded her own testimony for the Auschwitz Museum days before she died peacefully in her hotel room in the early hours of Thursday morning with her son Alex Kor by her side.
He told the Times of Israel: “My mom would be mad at me for crying.
"She would also tell other people not to cry to try and follow in her footsteps to try to make all wrongs right and make the world a better place.
“That’s her legacy. That’s her gift.”
On Twitter, the Auschwitz Museum called her death "devastating".
Only five days ago we recorded a testimony of Eva Kor, an Auschwitz survivor, for @AuschwitzMuseum Archive. Today came a news about her passing away.
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2019
It more than just 'a breaking news'. It is a devastating one as one more survivor stopped sharing the story. https://t.co/ehGf2Gj27Q
In her last tweet, posted the day before she died, Ms Kor marvelled at how times have changed since she was imprisoned in the death camp for a year.
“Can you believe that today I can get chicken McNuggets near Auschwitz? That would have been wonderful 75 years ago. They taste the same in every country and were delicious.”
Can you believe that today I can get chicken McNuggets near Auschwitz? That would have been wonderful 75 years ago. They taste the same in every country and were delicious @McDonalds @TheStoryOfEva @candlesmuseum pic.twitter.com/crvCbKjZWR
— Eva Mozes Kor (@EvaMozesKor) July 3, 2019
Ms Kor, who was born in Romania and deported with her Jewish family to Auschwitz in 1944, survived along with her twin sister Miriam.
The pair were victims of torture at the hands of the notorious Josef Mengele, who tortured more than 1,000 twins and other Auschwitz prisoners.
He injected Ms Kor and her sister with germs and chemicals while taking large amounts of their blood.
As a result, Ms Kor developed a high fever and was given two weeks to live but against the odds she recovered.
In 2015, she attended the trial in Germany of former Auschwitz guard Oskar Gröning, known as the book-keeper of Auschwitz, who was responsible for counting the belongings confiscated from prisoners.
Writing in the JC, Ms Kor explained why, at the trial, she expressed her forgiveness for what he had done.
“I wanted to know how he would feel if I approached him,” she wrote. “I wanted to thank him for having some human decency in accepting responsibility for what he has done.
“We were two old people reaching out, although I never expected him to hug me and kiss me - absolutely not. In my testimony, I told him I forgave him.
"I have forgiven all the Nazis. I could not have imagined doing this 22 years ago. Back then, I was a very good victim. I was angry with the world and I hated everybody. I yelled a lot. I was very unhappy.”
Ms Kor and her sister were liberated shortly before their 11th birthday and left for Israel.
She later married an American and finally settled in Terre Haute, Indiana.
In 1985, she set up the Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which announced her death.
In a statement posted to Facebook it said she had touched the lives of thousands of people "through her message of overcoming tragedy, finding forgiveness, and healing."
