Holocaust Survivor In Minnesota Dies At 92

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minnesota resident who survived the Holocaust nearly three-quarters of a century ago has died at age 92.

A spokesperson for the Jewish Community Relations Council confirmed that Ruth "Margot" DeWilde passed away over the weekend.

DeWilde spent two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp. She was 22 when she was imprisoned. Because she was young and healthy, she was spared the gas chamber.

"I had a position and when you had a position, that was always a step better than the rest," she told WCCO in 2011. She showed the identification number tattooed to her arm: 47574.

DeWilde delivered false passports to Jews in Holland before being sent to Auschwitz, according to the University of Minnesota. At the camps, she was used for medical experiments. She was forcefully sterilized.

For decades, she shared her story with thousands of people. She told WCCO she hoped that by exposing the evil and hatred she endured, others may be inspired to live a life free of it.

"Don't look at each other's outside, look at the inside," she said. "We are all the same. Don't make differences with each other for whatever reason."