Auschwitz Camp Survivor Eva Schloss Passes Away at 96 Years Old as King Charles Pays Tributes

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

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

A Life Committed to Awareness

Mrs Schloss was the founding member and honorary head of the Anne Frank educational 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 infamous Auschwitz concentration 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.

Endurance and Tragedy

When Mrs Schloss and her mother were liberated by the Soviet army in January 1945, they were barely alive. Her brother and father both died in captivity.

After being repatriated to Amsterdam, her mother Elfriede—known as Fritzi—wed Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive imprisonment by the Nazis.

A Lasting Legacy

Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss devoted her efforts to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.

• 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 over 30 million copies.
• Mrs Schloss often travelled across Europe, speaking to young people in particular and promoting a message of tolerance.

"I worked very, very hard to alter people's attitudes," Mrs Schloss once said. "Every individual you convince not to be racist is a positive."

Subsequent Years

In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved 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 British citizens. Mr Schloss passed away in London in 2016. They are remembered by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.