Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at 96 Years Old as King Charles Leads Tributes
The King has offered condolences to the step-sister of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who passed away at the age of 96.
"My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Eva Schloss," stated the King in a message posted on social media.
He continued, "The atrocities that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
An Existence Committed to Education
Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where the Queen Consort 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 apprehended and sent to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.
Survival and Loss
When Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Soviet 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 survived imprisonment by the Nazis.
A Lasting Legacy
Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to stop history from happening again.
- As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she safeguarded 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 journeyed 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 convince not to be racist is a step forward."
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 made London their home and became British citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
