Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as King Charles 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.
"My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss," stated King Charles in a tribute posted on social media.
He continued, "The horrors that she experienced as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Committed to Awareness
Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where the Queen Consort serves as Royal Patron.
In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being apprehended and sent to the notorious 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, near Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.
Endurance and Loss
By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Red 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 internment by the Nazis.
An Enduring Legacy
Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.
- As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she safeguarded 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 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 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 fled to Palestine during the war.
The couple made London their home and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
