Eddie Jaku, a Holocaust survivor who declared he was the "happiest man on earth", has been farewelled at a state memorial service in Sydney.
Dignitaries including NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, Premier Dominic Perrottet and a raft of state and federal politicians, including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, turned out at the Town Hall to honour the man many considered a national treasure.
Born in Germany in 1920 to a Jewish family, Mr Jaku witnessed the rise of the Nazis and survived the horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp before being sent to Auschwitz where his parents were murdered.
After defying the odds by surviving the war and despite the horrors he had witnessed, the teenager decided the best revenge would be to enjoy life and vowed to smile every day.
In this undated photo provided by the Sydney Jewish Museum, Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku poses for a photograph in Sydney, Australia. Source: Sydney Jewish Museum
He moved to Australia and helped establish the Sydney Jewish Museum, where he volunteered, determined to teach about the dangers of intolerance.
He marked his 100th birthday by releasing his best-selling autobiography 'The Happiest Man On Earth'.
"As long as I live, I'll teach not to hate," he wrote.
His son Michael told mourners on Wednesday his father was a charismatic optimist who loved the limelight.
"After attaining his unrestricted driver's licence at age 100, he was proud to announce that having been offered a one year or a three year licence. He opted for the three years."
Mr Perrottet described Mr Jaku as "a man who would have been entitled to look back with bitterness and anger but whose legacy of remembrance is instead built on hope".
"He turned suffering into strength," he said.
"He loved humanity and gave us his story to share to put right the wrongs of the past."
In 2013 Mr Jaku was awarded an OAM for his contribution to Holocaust education and services to the Jewish Community.
As a 99-year-old he gave a TEDx talk in Sydney about his extraordinary life.
He died on 12 October, aged 101 and is survived by his wife of 75 years Flore, two sons, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
