Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads 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 passing of Eva Schloss," stated the King in a message posted on social media.
He continued, "The horrors that she experienced as a teenager are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the remainder 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 head of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where the Queen Consort serves as Royal Patron.
In the 1940s, 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 said Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.
Endurance 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 captivity.
After being repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived imprisonment by the Nazis.
An Enduring Legacy
Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to prevent history from happening again.
- As co-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 more than 30 million copies.
- Mrs Schloss often journeyed across Europe, addressing young people in particular and promoting a message not to hate.
"I worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Every individual you persuade 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 fled to Palestine during the war.
The couple settled in London and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
