112-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Named Oldest Man in the World
"I don't know the secret for long life," Israel Kristal said.
— -- A 112-year-old Holocaust survivor has officially been named the oldest living man in the world.
Israel Kristal was born on September 15, 1903, and became the record holder today, at the age of 112 years and 178 days, Guinness World Records confirmed to ABC News.
“I don’t know the secret for long life," Kristal said upon achieving the title. "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.”
Kristal has lived through both World Wars and survived the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in the 1940s before relocating to Israel, where he currently lives with his family.
In 1920, Kristal moved to Lódz in Poland to work in his family's confectionery business. After the Nazis invaded Poland, Kristal was moved into the Lódz ghetto with his family in 1939. Four years later, he was sent to Auschwitz.
Kristal survived the camp, but lost his wife, Chaja Feige Frucht and their two children.
In 1950, Kristal moved to Haifa in Israel with his second wife and their son -- growing both his family and his confectionery business until retiring.
Guinness said the record for the previous oldest man was held by Yasutaro Koide of Japan, who died in January 2016 at the age of 112 years, 312 days.
The oldest living woman is Susannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn, New York, who is 115 years and 249 days old.