Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at 96 Years Old as King Charles Leads Tributes

King Charles has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who passed away at the age of 96.

He continued, "The atrocities that she endured as a teenager are impossible to fathom and yet she dedicated the remainder of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Dedicated to Education

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

The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, 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 Soviet army in January 1945, they were barely alive. Her father and brother both died in captivity.

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

A Lasting Impact

Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to stop history from repeating itself.

• As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she safeguarded Anne Frank's memory and educated people about the Holocaust.
• Frank's widely-read 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 young people in particular and promoting a message not to hate.

"I have worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Each person you convince not to be racist is a step forward."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated 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 remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.