Holocaust Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as King Charles Leads Respects
King Charles has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who has died at the age of 96.
"My wife and I are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Eva Schloss," stated the King in a message posted on social media.
He continued, "The horrors that she endured as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."
A Life Committed to Awareness
Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head 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 existed as displaced persons in the Netherlands before being captured and deported to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.
Endurance and Loss
When Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Red Army in January 1945, they were clinging to life. Her brother and father both perished in the camps.
After being returned to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive internment by the Nazis.
An Enduring Impact
Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to stop history from repeating itself.
- As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved 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 journeyed across Europe, addressing the youth in particular and promoting a message not to hate.
"I worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "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 settled in London and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
