King Charles leads tributes as Anne Frank’s step-sister dies | Royal | News
King Charles and Queen Camilla paid tribute to Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, who sadly died aged 96. Mrs. Schloss, Anne Frank’s half-sister, passed away on Saturday, January 3, having dedicated her life to remembering and raising awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust.
In addition to her books and speeches, Ms. Schloss also worked as a Holocaust educator through the Anne Frank Trust UK, which she co-founded in 1990. Ms Schloss is Honorary President of the Foundation, while Queen Camilla has been Patron of the Foundation since January 2024. In a message released by Buckingham Palace on January 4, the King shared his sadness at her passing.
The monarch, who danced with Ms Schloss while visiting a Jewish community center in north London in 2022, said he and the Queen “deeply admire her”.
His touching statement read: “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 deeply admired him. May his memory be a blessing to us all.”
Born in 1929, Ms. Schloss’s family fled their native Austria to seek refuge from the Nazis in the late 1930s and moved to Amsterdam. In the Dutch city he became a neighbor of the Franks, with whom Anne and Eva often played together.
After hiding, Eva’s family was betrayed and sent to concentration camps in 1944; Only he and his mother survived the brutality.
Eva moved to London after World War II ended and married German Jewish refugee Zvi Schloss, who died in 2016. Her mother married Anne’s father, Otto, a Nazi prison survivor, in 1953.
Sharing a touching tribute, Eva’s family described her as “an extraordinary woman: a survivor of Auschwitz, a devoted Holocaust educator, a woman who worked tirelessly for remembrance, understanding and peace. We hope that her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she left behind.”
The tribute also reads: “We are incredibly proud of everything Eva stood for and achieved, but we are hurting at this time. We 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 more details in due course. We thank everyone for the love and respect shown to Eva over the years.”
