Yisrael Kristal, 112, has officially been named the world’s oldest man according to Guinness World Records.
He was born on September 15, 1903 in what is now Poland, but was western Russia at the time. He lived through both world wars, living in the Warsaw ghetto during WWII until he was sent to Auschwitz in 1944.
In reaction to the news, Kristal said:
“I don’t know the secret for long life,” he said. “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.”
Currently the world’s oldest woman is 116 years – Susannah Mushatt Jones of the United States, who was born on July 6, 1899.
The former world’s oldest man, Yasutaro Koide from Japan, died at age 112 in January.