Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Respects
The King has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and survivor of the Holocaust Eva Schloss, who has died at the age of 96.
"My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Eva Schloss," wrote King Charles in a tribute shared via social media.
He added, "The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Committed to Education
Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary president of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Royal Patron.
In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were forced from their home in Austria. They existed as displaced persons in the Netherlands before being captured and deported to the notorious Auschwitz death camp.
The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss died in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.
Endurance and Tragedy
When Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Red Army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her father and brother both perished in the camps.
After being repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—wed Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived internment by the Nazis.
A Lasting Impact
Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to stop history from repeating itself.
- As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank's memory and informed people about the Holocaust.
- Frank's widely-read diary—a personal testimony of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold more than 30 million copies.
- Mrs Schloss often travelled across Europe, addressing the youth in particular and promoting a message of tolerance.
"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."
Later Life
In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated to London to study 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 British citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
