'The World Lost A Giant': Fanny Starr, Colorado's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor, Passes Away

DENVER (CBS4) - Colorado mourns the passing of the state's oldest living Holocaust survivor on Saturday. Fanny Starr passed away at the age of 98.

Gov. Jared Polis remembered Starr for her numerous contributions and actions to keep the history of the Holocaust alive for younger generations.

"Fanny Starr sought light in the darkness and the world has lost a giant. Fanny visited schools for decades to tell her story and the stories of the countless lives and families destroyed, and the generations that never came to be. Fanny implored us all to keep showing up, to keep giving back, and to keep repairing our world. Marlon and I send our deepest condolences to Fanny's family," Polis stated.

In July, CBS4 sat down with Starr as the governor signed a bill which cemented Holocaust education in Colorado's curriculum. Schools are to adopt state standards on Holocaust and genocide studies by July 1, 2023.

Starr spent five years in concentration camps. Before the law, in which she championed, Starr worried about who will be left to tell the story.

"So we cannot forget…and I just always pray… don't forget us," she said at the time.

"Because of the advocacy of Starr and others, Colorado high school students will learn about the Holocaust and genocide studies, some of the darkest times for humanity, so that we may never repeat history nor silently bear witness to genocide," the governor's office stated on Saturday.