King Charles and Queen Camilla have paid tribute to Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, who sadly died aged 96. Ms Schloss, who was the step-sister of Anne Frank, passed away on Saturday, January 3, having dedicated her life to remembering and raising awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust.
Alongside her books and talks, Ms Schloss carried out her work as Holocaust educator through the Anne Frank Trust UK, which she co-founded in 1990. While Ms Schloss was Honorary President of the Trust, Queen Camilla has been its Patron since January 2024. In a message released by Buckingham Palace on January 4, the King shared his sorrow for her passing.
The monarch, who danced with Ms Schloss while visiting a Jewish community centre in north London in 2022, said he and the Queen had “admired her deeply”.
His poignant statement read: “My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss.
“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 family of Ms Schloss, who was born in 1929, escaped her native Austria in the late 1930s to find refuge from the Nazis and moved to Amsterdam. In the Dutch city, she became the neighbour of the Franks, with Anne and Eva often playing together.
After going into hiding, Eva’s family was betrayed and sent to concentration camps in 1944, with only her and her mother surviving the atrocities.
Eva moved to London after World War 2 ended, and married Zvi Schloss, a German Jewish refugee who died in 2016. Her mother married Anne’s father Otto in 1953, who had survived the Nazi imprisonment.
Sharing a poignant tribute, Eva’s family described her as “a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace. We hope her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind.”
The tribute also read: “We are incredibly proud of all that Eva stood for and accomplished, but right now, we are grieving. We kindly ask the media and the public to respect our privacy during this difficult time. We hope to hold a memorial event at a later date, and will share further details in due course. We thank everyone for the love and respect shown to Eva over the years.”