Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Tributes

The King has offered condolences 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 difficult to comprehend and yet she dedicated the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Committed to Education

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 Second World War era, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being captured and deported to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.

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

Survival and Tragedy

When Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were barely alive. 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 Legacy

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 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 promoting a message not to hate.

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

Later Life

In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved to London to study 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 remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.