Prince William and Princess Kate have had the opportunity to interact with many inspiring people during their time as working royals, and on Wednesday they shared their sorrow at the passing of one of them.

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Zigi Shipper, a Holocaust survivor, passed away on his birthday at the age of 93, it was confirmed on Wednesday. Prior to being moved to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, Zigi was forced to work in a metal factory inside the Lodz Ghetto, where he was born in Poland. He was then moved to the Stutthof concentration camp in 1945, where he was on the death march when British forces liberated the facility.
Zigi later spoke at numerous occasions about the Holocaust and met the Prince and Princess of Wales when they came to Stutthof in 2017.
The royals wrote in a personal tweet that they had the honor of meeting Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper in 2017.

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“We were saddened to hear of his passing earlier today. Truly, he will be missed. His family and friends are in our hearts and prayers. W&C.”
The two spent an hour inside the camp, where 65,000 people perished during the Nazi occupation, during their 2017 trip to Poland.
They went on a site tour, spoke with museum personnel, and heard testimonies from survivors, including Zigi and his close friend Manfred Goldberg, who also led them in prayer.
Zigi and Manfred were both visiting the camp for the first time after being freed; they had both established new lives in the UK.

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Additionally, William and Kate wrote a heartfelt message in the camp’s guest book and saw shoes that victims had abandoned there.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who were five and two years old, respectively, had accompanied their parents on their trip to the country, but they did not accompany them during the difficult visit.