The Anne Frank Trust UK is deeply saddened to announce the death of Eva Schloss MBE, Co-Founder and Honorary President of Anne Frank Trust UK and stepsister of Anne Frank, at aged 96.

Our deepest sympathies are with her family and friends at this difficult time, in particular with her daughters Jacky, Caroline and Sylvia.

A statement from the family said: It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Eva Schloss. Eva was 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. 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.

Born in Austria in 1929, Eva’s family escaped from the Nazis by moving to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, they became neighbours of the Franks and Eva and Anne would often play together. Eva and Anne were both born in 1929, just a few months apart. Both families had to go into hiding on the same day in 1942. Whilst in hiding, Eva’s family were betrayed and sent to concentration camps in 1944. Eva and her mother survived Auschwitz, but her father and brother were murdered. After the War, Eva settled in London, where she met and married Zvi Schloss. The following year, her mother Frtizi married Anne Frank’s father Otto.

Eva dedicated her life to globalpeace and Holocaust education, talking about her experiences to audiences around the world. She wrote three books: Eva's Story, After Auschwitz, and The Promise, which is aimed especially at children.

In 1990, Eva co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK which was set up to empower young people aged 9 to 15 to challenge all forms of prejudice through learning from Anne Frank and the Holocaust. In 2024 alone, the Trust worked with over 132,000 young people through the Schools Programme and trained just under 5,300 young people as Peer Educators whose education reached a further 45,500 peers.

In 2024, Eva 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. The only way to achieve this is through education, and the younger we start the better.”

Dan Green, Chief Executive of the Anne Frank Trust said: Eva was a beacon of hope and resilience. Her unwavering commitment to challenging prejudice through Holocaust education has left an indelible mark on countless lives. Her legacy will continue to guide and empower young people to build a world free from hatred and discrimination. We at the Anne Frank Trust mourn her loss deeply and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time.

Nicola Cobbold, Chair said: Eva cofounded the Anne Frank Trust in 1990 and remained an engaged and passionate supporter of its work until the end, determined that it should deliver Otto Frank’s vision. She so warmly welcomed me into the Anne Frank Trust family and openly and honestly shared her memories, stories, fears and aspirations. Above all she believed that to enable peace people should work together as human beings, recognising and challenging prejudice and promoting love and reasonableness. Her tireless work over the decades was remarkable and she will be sorely missed by so many. Her memory will truly be a blessing.

Gillian Walnes MBE, Honorary Vice President said: I first met Eva in 1989 when she opened the Anne Frank exhibition in Bournemouth, just three years after she first spoke publicly about her Holocaust experiences. She went on to share her story across the world, honouring the memory of her beloved father Erich Geiringer and teenage brother Heinz, who were murdered in the Shoah. Into her 90s, she spoke with tireless passion, often giving several talks a day, including in prisons and schools. Eva’s legacy lives on in the lives she touched and the history she so bravely kept alive.