Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as The Monarch Pays Respects
King Charles has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and survivor of the Holocaust Eva Schloss, who passed away at the age of 96.
"We both are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Eva Schloss," wrote the King in a message posted on social media.
He continued, "The horrors that she experienced as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she dedicated the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Dedicated to Awareness
Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary president of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Patron.
In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were forced from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being apprehended and deported to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.
Survival and Loss
By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her brother and father both died in captivity.
After being repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived internment by the Nazis.
A Lasting Impact
Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to stop history from happening again.
- As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank's memory and informed people about the Holocaust.
- Frank's internationally famous 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 young people in particular and spreading a message not to hate.
"I have worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Each person you convince not to be racist is a step forward."
Later Life
In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved to London to study photography. There she met her husband, Zvi Schloss, a German Jew who had fled to Palestine during the war.
The couple settled in London and became British citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
