Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Respects

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

He added, "The horrors that she endured as a teenager are impossible to fathom and yet she dedicated the remainder of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Committed to Education

Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where Queen Camilla 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. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.

Endurance and Tragedy

When Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Red Army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her brother and father both perished in captivity.

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

A Lasting 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 personal testimony of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold more than 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often travelled across Europe, addressing young people in particular and spreading a message not to hate.

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

Later Life

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated 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 British citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.