Holocaust Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at 96 Years Old as King Charles Pays Respects

King Charles has offered condolences 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 teenager are difficult 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 co-founder 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 chased from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before being captured and deported to the notorious Auschwitz death camp.

The Anne Frank Trust announced Mrs Schloss died in London on 3 January. "In her youth, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank's home," the trust noted.

Survival and Loss

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—called Fritzi—wed Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also survived imprisonment by the Nazis.

A Lasting Impact

Over the past four decades, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.

• As co-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 journeyed 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 once said. "Each person you persuade not to be racist is a step forward."

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.