Auschwitz Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at 96 Years Old as King Charles Leads Tributes

King Charles has offered condolences 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 experienced as a young woman are impossible to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

An Existence 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 Second World War era, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They existed as displaced persons in the Netherlands before being captured and deported to the infamous Auschwitz death camp.

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.

Endurance and Loss

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

After being returned to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—wed Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived imprisonment by the Nazis.

An Enduring Impact

Over the past 40 years, 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 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 travelled across Europe, addressing the youth in particular and spreading a message of tolerance.

"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."

Later Life

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated 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.