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Friedrich Reichenstein
Friedrich Reichenstein
Friedrich Reichenstein in 2015 at the age of 109.
Birth: 1 February 1906
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Death: 9 June 2017
Tel Aviv, Israel
Age: 111 years, 128 days
Country: GermanyGERIsraelISR
Validated

Dr. Friedrich “Fritz” Reichenstein [Hebrew: פרידריך ריכנשטיין] (1 February 1906 – 9 June 2017) was a German-born Israeli lawyer, newspaper editor, and supercentenarian who was the second-oldest (known) living person in Israel at the time of his death, behind 113-year-old Israel Kristal. His age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

Biography[]

Friedrich Reichenstein was born in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany to Jewish parents Max Reichenstein and Laura Reinharz. His parents had moved to Germany from Austro-Hungarian Galicia (modern-day Ukraine) at the beginning of the century and received German citizenship in 1928.

He studied law, economics and philosophy, and received his doctorate in 1931 at the University of Cologne under Hans Planitz. He passed both legal state exams and became a lawyer in Essen. After the Nazis rose to power in 1933, he and his family lost their German citizenship. After facing persecution as a Jew living in Nazi Germany, he emigrated to Palestine in 1935, where he found work as a newspaper publisher, creating the first German-language newspaper in the country, known as Yedioth Hayom. In 1936, he married Sarah Lewi, and had three children. In 1948 he created the Hayom Press publishing house. After his wife’s death in 1963, he later married again in 1968 to Sigrid Sälzer.

In 2011, at the age of 105, he was recognized by the mayor of Tel Aviv for his contributions to the city. At the time, he still exercised daily, and had recently published an autobiography.

Friedrich Reichenstein died in Tel Aviv, Israel on 9 June 2017, at the age of 111 years, 128 days.

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