Anne Frank stepsister and Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss dies aged 96 | Holocaust

King Charles commemorated Anne Frank’s half-sister Eva Schloss, who died at the age of 96.

The king, who danced with Schloss while visiting a Jewish community center in north London in 2022, said he and Queen Camilla “deeply admire” her and that he is “privileged and proud” to have known her.

Schloss’s death was confirmed Saturday at a memorial service in Schloss’ memory at the Jewish News; Here his family described their “great sadness” at the loss of “our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.”

He was co-founder and honorary president of the Anne Frank Foundation, of which the Queen is patron.

The King said in a statement: “My wife and I were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss.

“It is impossible to comprehend the horrors she endured as a young woman, and yet she dedicated the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through the tireless work of the Anne Frank Foundation for Holocaust education in the UK and around the world.

“We are both privileged and proud to have known him, and we deeply admired him. May his memory be a blessing to us all.

“Charles R.”

Schloss grew up with her parents and brother in Vienna under the name Eva Geiringer.

He later lived on Merwedeplein Square in Amsterdam, where he met his young friend Anne Frank.

As the situation in the Netherlands worsened, Schloss and his family moved from house to house for two years to avoid capture, but were eventually betrayed by a Nazi sympathizer who took them away and then gave them away.

They were arrested on his 15th birthday, brutally interrogated, and in May 1944 forced onto trains bound for the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Schloss and his mother were then separated from his father and brother.

During their three-day trip to Auschwitz, his brother Heinz told him that he and their father, Erich, had hidden 30 of his paintings under the floorboards in the attic.

The brother’s story was the subject of an exhibition at the Jewish Museum in London in 2017.

Schloss later moved to England and lived in London for more than 70 years.

The Auschwitz survivor married Zvi Schloss in 1952, and the couple had three daughters: Jacky, Caroline and Sylvia.

Schloss became Anne Frank’s half-sister when her mother, Elfriede, married Anne Frank’s father, Otto, in 1953.

“Anne was much more mature and adult than me. She went to a Montessori school and was one academic year ahead of me. I went to an ordinary local school,” Schloss told the Guardian in 2017.

Schloss became a citizen of the country of his birth in 2021, at the age of 92.

In his tribute, his family said: “We hope his legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources he leaves behind.

“We are incredibly proud of everything Eva represented and achieved, but we are grieving at this time.”

Dan Green, chief executive of the Anne Frank Trust, described Schloss as “a beacon of hope and resilience”, adding: “Her unwavering determination to eliminate prejudice through Holocaust education has left an indelible mark on countless lives.

“His legacy will continue to guide and empower young people to build a world free of hatred and discrimination.

“The Anne Frank Foundation is deeply saddened by her loss and extends our sincerest condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time.”