Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at 96 Years Old as The Monarch Pays Respects

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

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

An Existence Dedicated to Education

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 Second World War era, Mrs Schloss and her family were forced from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being apprehended and sent 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 lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.

Survival and Loss

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 repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—wed Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived internment by the Nazis.

An Enduring Impact

Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to prevent history from happening again.

• 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 more than 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often journeyed across Europe, speaking to young people in particular and promoting a message not to hate.

"I have worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Each person you persuade not to be racist is a positive."

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 UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.