Eva Schloss, an Auschwitz survivor, stepdaughter of Otto Frank, and stepsister of Anne Frank, has died in London at the age of 96. Schloss dedicated decades of her life to Holocaust education, advocating against prejudice and for understanding among diverse communities. Her death was announced on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
Early Life and Wartime Experience
Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Schloss moved with her family to Amsterdam following Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria. During this period, she formed a friendship with Anne Frank, whose diary later became a significant document of the Holocaust.
Like the Frank family, the Geiringer family went into hiding for two years after the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. They were subsequently betrayed by a Nazi sympathizer, arrested, and transported to the Auschwitz death camp. Schloss, who was 15 at the time of her internment, recounted experiences such as 80 individuals being confined to a space with limited sanitation and controlled food distribution.
Schloss and her mother, Fritzi, survived until the camp's liberation by Soviet troops in 1945. Her father, Erich, and brother, Heinz, died in Auschwitz. Anne Frank died from typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at age 15, months before the war concluded.
Post-War Life and Advocacy
Following World War II, Schloss relocated to Britain, where she married Zvi Schloss, a German Jewish refugee, and settled in London. In 1953, her mother, Fritzi, married Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father, who was the sole survivor of his immediate family.
For decades after the war, Schloss did not publicly discuss her experiences, later attributing her silence to wartime trauma and a feeling of being "angry with the world." She stated that the trauma contributed to withdrawal and difficulty connecting with others.
Schloss began sharing her story publicly in 1986 at the opening of an Anne Frank exhibition in London. Subsequently, she committed to educating younger generations about the Nazi genocide, emphasizing the importance of preventing future atrocities with statements like, "Never again, Auschwitz." Over the following decades, she delivered speeches in schools and prisons, participated in international conferences, and documented her story in books, including “Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.”
Her advocacy continued into her 90s. In 2019, she traveled to Newport Beach, California, to engage with teenagers involved in an incident of Nazi salutes at a high school event. Following the meeting, Schloss expressed surprise at such incidents occurring in an educated community and stressed the importance of remembering historical events. In 2020, she participated in a campaign advocating for the removal of Holocaust-denying material from social media platforms.
In 2024, Schloss emphasized the importance of education, stating, "We must never forget the terrible consequences of treating people as 'other.' We need to respect everybody's races and religions. We need to live together with our differences. The only way to achieve this is through education, and the younger we start the better."
Schloss experienced long-term physical and mental health issues attributed to her time in Auschwitz, including difficulty connecting with others, nightmares, digestion issues from starvation conditions, and frostbite during her journey after the war's conclusion in the winter of 1945.
Tributes and Legacy
Eva Schloss served as honorary president and was a co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust UK, a charitable organization focused on challenging prejudice among young people.
King Charles III of Britain stated he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, noting that both he and Queen Camilla “admired her deeply.” The King cited her dedication to promoting understanding and resilience through her work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and global Holocaust education initiatives.
Her family described her as "a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace." They expressed hope that "her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind."
Dan Green, chief executive of the Anne Frank Trust, described Schloss as "a beacon of hope and resilience," adding that her "unwavering commitment to challenging prejudice through Holocaust education has left an indelible mark on countless lives."
Zvi Schloss died in 2016. Eva Schloss is survived by her three daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.