Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Holocaust victim Anne Frank and co-founder of an eponymous UK organization created in her memory, died at the age of 96 on Saturday, the Anne Frank Trust UK and Anne Frank House announced.
The Trust said that a memorial event would be held for its honorary president in the future.
Schloss was born in Austria, but her family fled to Amsterdam in 1940 to escape Nazi persecution. Schloss became neighbors and friends with Frank; the girls were born just a few months apart.
Being so close in age, they would reportedly play together often. Both girls’ families went into hiding from the Nazi occupation on the same day in 1942. Both families were discovered by the Nazis – Schloss’ family was betrayed by a Dutch collaborator.
In 1944, Schloss’s family was sent to concentration camps. Her father and brother were murdered, but Schloss and her mother survived.
Schloss moved to London, where she met and married Zvi Schloss. Her mother got remarried to Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father.
For over 40 years, Schloss would not share her traumatic experiences at Auschwitz, speaking about them for the first time in 1988 when an exhibition dedicated to her posthumous stepsister was held in London.
Schloss wrote books to educate young people about the Holocaust
In 1990, Schloss founded the Anne Frank Trust, with the mission of teaching youth about prejudice through understanding Frank’s experience and the Holocaust. Schloss wrote three books for young audiences about her own experiences in the Holocaust.
Trust chief executive Dan Green remembers Schloss as a “beacon of hope and resilience.”
“Her unwavering commitment to challenging prejudice through Holocaust education has left an indelible mark on countless lives. Her legacy will continue to guide and empower young people to build a world free from hatred and discrimination,” Green said in a statement. “We at the Anne Frank Trust mourn her loss deeply and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time.”
King Charles III issued a statement mourning Schloss’s passing on Sunday, noting that Queen Camilla had become the patron of the Trust in 2024.
“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,” said the king.
“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 Holocaust Educational Trust said on X/Twitter on Sunday that Schloss had worked to ensure “that the legacy of the past would be a future free from hatred and racism.”
“Eva was an extraordinary woman, an indefatigable titan whose life mission was to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust would never be forgotten,” HET posted.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said on Monday that Schloss’s loss would be felt across the Jewish community, and that with her gone, her mission as a champion of Holocaust education would need to be adopted by the next generation.
“Eva dedicated her life to bearing witness, ensuring that the voices of those murdered in the Shoah were never forgotten,” said the Board. “At a time of rising Holocaust distortion and denial, her legacy – and the responsibility she placed in future generations – matters more than ever.”