Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at Age 96 as The Monarch Leads Respects

King Charles has led tributes to Anne Frank's step-sister and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, who passed away at the age of 96.

He added, "The horrors that she experienced as a teenager are difficult to fathom and yet she dedicated the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience."

A Life Dedicated to Education

Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary head of the Anne Frank Trust, an organization where Queen Camilla serves as Patron.

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

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss passed away in London on 3 January. "As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer resided 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 barely alive. Her father and brother both perished in the camps.

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

A Lasting Legacy

Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to prevent history from happening again.

• As a founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she safeguarded Anne Frank's memory and educated 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, speaking to the youth in particular and promoting a message of tolerance.

"I have worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss remarked in an interview. "Every individual you convince not to be racist is a positive."

Subsequent Years

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 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.