Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Tributes

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

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

A Life 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 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 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 noted.

Survival and Loss

By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Red Army in January 1945, they were barely alive. 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 internment by the Nazis.

An Enduring Impact

Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to stop history from happening again.

• 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 first-hand account of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold over 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often journeyed across Europe, speaking to the youth in particular and spreading a message not to hate.

"I have 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."

Later Life

In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved to London to learn 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.