Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at 96 Years Old as The Monarch Pays Tributes
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.
"We both are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Eva Schloss," stated the King in a message posted on social media.
He continued, "The atrocities that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the remainder of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Dedicated to Awareness
Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head of the Anne Frank 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 lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being captured and sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.
Endurance and Loss
When Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Red Army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her brother and father both died in captivity.
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.
A Lasting Impact
Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to stop history from happening again.
- As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she safeguarded Anne Frank's memory and informed people about the Holocaust.
- Frank's internationally famous 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 the youth in particular and spreading a message not to hate.
"I have worked very, very hard to change 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 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 UK citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
