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Hungary’s oldest Holocaust survivor dies at the age of 106

Born on August 24th, 1912, Elemér Spiegler trained as a shoemaker and was enrolled in the Hungarian Army in 1935

Hungary’s oldest Holocaust survivor has died at the age of 106.

According to Rmx.news, Elemér Spiegler trained as a shoemaker and was enrolled in the Hungarian Army in 1935. The following year he finished his military service and in the same year his father died, he then began work at a shoe factory in 1939.

In 1940, he was pushed into forced labor in Transylvania and was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he survived for two years but lost his remaining family there.

He married another Holocaust survivor, Rozália Weltlinger, with whom they had a boy and a girl.

András Heisler, President of the Association of Hungarian Jewish congregations MAZSIHISZ wrote on his Facebook page: "I last spoke with him this summer in Szombathely. When I had to say goodbye, I said I would like to see him again next year. With a cryptic smile, he replied: 'then take good care of yourself, Mr. President!'"

Born on August 24th, 1912, Spiegler attributed his longevity to the fact that he still worked at the age of 92 - making shoes for his grandchildren. He always ate little for dinner and had a proper night's sleep afterwards.