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

King Charles has led tributes to the step-sister of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor 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."

An Existence Committed to Education

Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Patron.

In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were forced from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being captured and sent to the notorious Auschwitz death camp.

The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided in Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.

Endurance and Loss

By the time Mrs Schloss and her mother were freed by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were barely alive. 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 dedicated her life 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 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 promoting a message of tolerance.

"I have worked very, very hard to change people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Every individual you persuade not to be racist is a step forward."

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 settled in London and became UK citizens. Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.