Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as King Charles 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 atrocities that she endured as a young woman 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 Dedicated to Awareness

Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where Queen Camilla 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 captured and sent to the notorious Auschwitz death camp.

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.

Survival and Loss

When Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were barely alive. Her father and brother both died in the camps.

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

An Enduring Impact

Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.

• 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 travelled 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 remarked in an interview. "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 settled in London and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.