Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Tributes

King Charles 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 continued, "The atrocities that she endured as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to fighting hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

An Existence Dedicated to Education

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 forced 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 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 noted.

Endurance and Tragedy

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

An Enduring Legacy

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

• As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank's memory and informed people about the Holocaust.
• Frank's widely-read diary—a first-hand account of life for Jewish people under Nazi occupation—has sold more than 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often travelled 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 persuade not to be racist is a positive."

Later Life

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