Obituaries

Holocaust Survivor Rose Schindler, A Frequent San Diego Speaker, Dead At 93

Just three weeks before her death, she spoke about her ordeal in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland.

(Times of San Diego)

February 19, 2023

Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler, who lived in San Diego for decades and spoke frequently to students about the tragic era, has died at 93 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

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Just three weeks before her death, she spoke to students at the new UC San Diego Glickman Hillel Center about her ordeal in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland.

Schindler was just 14 when she and her family arrived at the camp from Czechoslovakia. She told the guards she was 18, and along with her older sisters was directed to a line, put to work, and survived World War II.

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Her mother and four younger siblings were sent to a different line for women and children. They were killed in the gas chambers. Her father and brothers were also murdered.

Max, her late husband, was also a Holocaust survivor. Their memoir, Two Who Survived, tells the miracle of their survival amid the genocide that killed six million Jews.

Schindler is survived by her four children, their spouses, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Her funeral was on Sunday.


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