Can my friend consider themselves Hispanic?

[ItsJustSchool]

Sorry, I skipped over this:

ANd the family “fled the holocaust”. We can assume it means they are Jewish, but it could possibly mean someone was a member of the SS.

From the OP:

…would more readily identify as Jewish culturally.

And recall, from the Census:

“Hispanic origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.”

heritage as acquired through ancestors.