Holocaust Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as King Charles Leads Respects

The King has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who has died at the age of 96.

He added, "The atrocities that she experienced as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

An Existence Committed to Awareness

Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Royal Patron.

In the Second World War era, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They existed as displaced persons in the Netherlands before being apprehended and deported to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss died in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.

Endurance and Tragedy

By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her father and brother both perished 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 imprisonment by the Nazis.

An Enduring Impact

Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.

• As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank's memory and educated 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. "Each person you persuade not to be racist is a step forward."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated to London to learn photography. There she met her husband, Zvi Schloss, a German Jew who had fled to Palestine during the war.

The couple made London their home and became British citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.