Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at 96 Years Old as The Monarch Leads Tributes
The King has led tributes to Anne Frank's step-sister and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who has died at the age of 96.
"My wife and I are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss," wrote the King in a message shared via social media.
He added, "The horrors that she experienced as a young woman are impossible to fathom and yet she dedicated the remainder of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Committed to Awareness
Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Patron.
In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They existed as displaced persons in the Netherlands before being captured and sent to the notorious Auschwitz death camp.
The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.
Endurance and Loss
By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Red Army in January 1945, they were barely alive. Her father and brother both died in the camps.
After being returned to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—called Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive internment by the Nazis.
A Lasting Legacy
Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to stop history from happening again.
- As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank's memory and educated people about the Holocaust.
- Frank's internationally famous diary—a first-hand account of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold more than 30 million copies.
- Mrs Schloss often journeyed across Europe, addressing the youth in particular and promoting a message not to hate.
"I worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Every individual you persuade not to be racist is a positive."
Subsequent Years
In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated to London to learn photography. There she met her husband, Zvi Schloss, a German Jew who had escaped to Palestine during the war.
The couple settled in London and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
