Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as The Monarch Pays Tributes
King Charles has led tributes to Anne Frank's step-sister and survivor of the Holocaust Eva Schloss, who passed away at the age of 96.
"My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss," stated the King in a message posted on social media.
He added, "The atrocities that she endured as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, fostering 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 the Queen Consort serves as Patron.
In the Second World War era, 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 announced Mrs Schloss died in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.
Endurance and Loss
By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Red Army in January 1945, they were barely alive. Her brother and father both perished in the camps.
After being returned to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive internment by the Nazis.
An Enduring Impact
Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to stop history from repeating itself.
- As a 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 over 30 million copies.
- Mrs Schloss often travelled across Europe, speaking to 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 convince not to be racist is a positive."
Subsequent Years
In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved 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 UK citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
