- Guinness World Records announced on March 11, 2016 the world’s oldest living man
- The man was identified as Mr Israel Kristal of Haifa, Israel, who survived two world wars, including the Nazi war camp Auschwitz in the 1940’s
- Kristal is born in Poland, but relocated to Israel in 1950
The Guinness World Records has finally announced on March 11, 2016 the world’s oldest living man.
In an article written by Kevin Lynch and published at the Guinness World Records’ Officially Amazing website, the man is identified as Mr. Israel Kristal, born on September 15, 1903, in Poland, near the town of Zarnow.
Apparently, the Guinness World Records worked hand in hand with the Gerontology Research Group and the Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, in the research and verification of the authenticity of the claim.
The Head of Records for GWR, in the person of Marco Frigatti, confirmed the achievement of Mr Kristal saying: “This record category continues to be one of particular human interest and we have been able to verify that as the new Oldest living man.”
Adding to it he said, “Mr Kristal’s achievement is remarkable – he can teach us all an important lesson about the value of life and how to stretch the limits of human longevity.”
When asked what is the secret for long life, Mr Kristal answered, “I don’t know the secret for long life. I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why. There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men then me who are no longer alive. All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost.”
Mr. Israel Kristal’s biography
Born to parents Moszek-Dawid and Brucha Krystztal, he started his education at the age of three at a local Heder school where he began to speak Hebrew.
At the age of four, he was introduced to the Bible, and at six, the Mishna – which is also known as the Oral Torah; the writings on the Jewish oral traditions. However, at the age of eleven, he was separated from his parents, and it was at that age that he survived the First World War.
It was in the year 1920 when he moved to Lodz, Poland where he worked in the confectionery business of the family.
In 1939, Kristal was moved into the Lodz ghetto with his family and this was after the Nazi invasion of Poland and the occupation of Lodz.
In 1943, he was sent to Auschwitz where he lost his wife, Chaja Feige Frucht, and their two children in the Holocaust. Surviving the camp for him means performing backbreaking slave labor in Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
Meanwhile, in May 1945, hope came when he was rescued by the Allies from the brink of death; with him weighing only 37 kilos.
In 1950, he emigrated to the city of Haifa in Israel together with his second wife and their son.
He became successful in his confectionery business until his retirement.
Awarded at his Haifa home by the GWRs’ Head of Records, Marco Frigatti, Kristal has the title “World’s Oldest Living Man” at the age of 112 years and 178 days as of 11 March 2016.
He may have lost a family in a Holocaust, but Mr. Kristal now lives with a big and loving family.
(Photo Credit: Guinness World Records)
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