Eva Schloss, Anne Frank’s Stepsister and Auschwitz Survivor, Dies at 96: ‘Tireless in Her Work for Understanding and Peace’

Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank and a survivor of Auschwitz who devoted her life to Holocaust education and remembrance, has died. She was 96.

Schloss passed away on Saturday, Jan. 3, in London, according to the Anne Frank House. Her death was also confirmed by the Anne Frank Trust UK, an organization she co-founded and served as honorary president.

“Our deepest sympathies are with her family and friends at this difficult time, in particular with her daughters Jacky, Caroline and Sylvia,” the organization said in a statement.

In a separate message, her family remembered Schloss as a “dear mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.”

“Eva was a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace,” the family said. “We hope her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind. We are incredibly proud of all that Eva stood for and accomplished, but right now, we are grieving.”

The family added that they plan to hold a memorial event at a later date and asked for privacy during this period of mourning.

King Charles also paid tribute following the announcement of her death. “My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss,” he wrote.

“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 U.K. and for Holocaust education across the world,” the king continued. “We are both privileged and proud to have known her, and we admired her deeply. May her memory be a blessing to us all.”

Schloss was born in Austria in 1929 to Elfriede Geiringer and Erich Geiringer. Her family later moved to Amsterdam in an effort to escape Nazi persecution and became neighbors of the Frank family. Both families went into hiding in 1942. In 1944, Schloss and her family were arrested and deported to concentration camps.

She and her mother survived Auschwitz, while her father and brother, Heinz, were killed.

After the war, Schloss settled in London and married Zvi Schloss. In 1953, her mother married Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, formally linking the two families.

Over the course of her life, Schloss authored three books — Eva’s Story, After Auschwitz and The Promise — and became a powerful voice in Holocaust education. In 1990, she co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK, an organization dedicated to empowering young people to challenge prejudice and discrimination.

Reflecting on her mission in 2024, Schloss said, “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.”

She is survived by her three children, Caroline, Jacqueline and Sylvia.