Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Dies at Age 96 as King Charles Pays Tributes

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 atrocities that she endured as a teenager are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted 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 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 captured 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 lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.

Survival and Tragedy

By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated 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—known as Fritzi—wed 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 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 educated people about the Holocaust.
• Frank's internationally famous diary—a personal testimony of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold over 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often journeyed across Europe, addressing the youth in particular and promoting a message of tolerance.

"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."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved to London to learn photography. There she met her husband, Zvi Schloss, a German Jew who had escaped 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 survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.