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

He continued, "The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to fathom and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, fostering kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Dedicated to Awareness

Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head of the Anne Frank educational trust, an organization where the Queen Consort serves as Royal 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 apprehended and sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust stated.

Survival 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 father and brother both died in captivity.

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

An Enduring Legacy

Over the past four decades, 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 over 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 convince not to be racist is a positive."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss relocated to London to study 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 died in London in 2016. They are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.