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

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

He continued, "The horrors that she experienced as a young woman are difficult to comprehend and yet she dedicated the remainder of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Dedicated to Awareness

Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary head of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where Queen Camilla 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 captured 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 Tragedy

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 died in captivity.

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

A Lasting Legacy

Over the past four decades, 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 internationally famous 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 young people in particular and spreading a message of tolerance.

"I have worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss remarked in an interview. "Each person you convince not to be racist is a positive."

Later Life

In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved 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 settled in London and became British citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.