King Charles has led tributes to Anne Frank’s step-sister and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss who has died aged 96.
Mrs Schloss was the co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Trust, which Queen Camilla is Patron of.
In the 1940s, Mrs Schloss and her family were chased from their home in Austria. They lived as refugees in the Netherlands before they were captured and sent to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.
In a tribute posted on social media, the King wrote: “My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss.”
He continued: “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world.
“We are both privileged and proud to have known her and we admired her deeply.
“May her memory be a blessing to us all.”
The Anne Frank Trust said Mrs Schloss died in London on 3 January.
“As a girl, Eva Schloss-Geiringer lived on the Merwedeplein in Amsterdam, opposite Anne Frank’s home,” the trust said.
“Like Anne, Eva and her family had to go into hiding from the Nazis, and after two years spent underground they were tracked down, arrested and deported. Eva survived Auschwitz.”
By the time Mrs Schloss and her family were liberated by the Soviet army in January 1945, Ms Schloss and her mother Elfriede Frank were barely alive. Her brother and father both died in captivity.
Repatriated to Amsterdam, Elfriede – who was known as Fritzi – married Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, who had also managed to survive internment by the Nazis.
Over the past 40 years, Mrs Schloss dedicated her life to trying to prevent history from repeating itself.
As co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, she preserved Anne Frank’s memory and educated 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, has been translated into 70 languages and is required reading in schools around the world.
Mrs Schloss often travelled in Europe, speaking to young people in particular and spreading a message not to hate.
“I have worked very, very hard to change people’s attitudes,” Mrs Schloss told the BBC in June 2021.
“Each person you convince not to be racist is a positive.”
In 1951, Mrs Schloss moved to London to study photography.
It was there she met her husband, Zvi Schloss, a German Jew who during the war, after his father was imprisoned at Dachau concentration camp, fled to Palestine, which at the time was ruled by Britain through a League of Nations mandate.
The couple made London their home and became UK citizens.
Mr Schloss died in London in 2016. The couple are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, the trust said.
