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

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

He added, "The atrocities that she experienced as a young woman are difficult to fathom and yet she dedicated the rest of her life to fighting 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 deported to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.

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

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 captivity.

After being repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive imprisonment by the Nazis.

A Lasting Legacy

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 safeguarded 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 journeyed across Europe, speaking to 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."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated 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 UK citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.