Royals lead tributes as ‘beacon of hope and resilience’ Eva Schloss dies aged 96

Announcing her death, the Anne Frank Trust, where Schloss also served as honorary president said in a statement: “To our great sorrow, Eva Schloss-Geiringer has passed away on 3 January 2026 at the age of 96 in London.”

Born Eva Geiringer on May 11 1929 to Jewish parents in Vienna, her family fled to the Netherlands in 1938 to escape the Nazis. There, they became neighbours of the Franks in Amsterdam, where Eva and Anne – born just a month apart – were playmates between the ages of 11 and 13. Detailing her upbringing, the trust noted that  the two girls played outside their homes “together with other Jewish and non-Jewish children from the neighbourhood”.

Both families went into hiding in 1942 to escape Nazi persecution. On May 11 1944 – Eva’s 15^th birthday – the family was deported to the Auschwitz extermination camp, which Eva’s brother Heinz and father Erich did not survive. Eva and her mother, Elfriede, lived.

Eva Schloss as a child. (Photo: Auschwitz Memorial)[Missing Credit]

After the war ended, Elfriede and Eva returned to Amsterdam and reconnected with Anne’s father, Otto Frank, whom Elfriede later married.

Schloss moved to London in 1951 to study photography, and it was during this period that she met and married German Jewish refugee Zvi Schloss. Zvi died in 2016, and the couple are survived by their three daughters and five grandchildren.

Confirming Schloss’s death, her family described their “great sadness” at the loss of “our dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother”.

They remembered her as “a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace”, and said they hoped her legacy “will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind.”

Schloss devoted 40 years of her life to Holocaust education, co-founding the Anne Frank Trust in 1990 with the intention of helping children challenge prejudice via the stories of the Holocaust. She was also the author three children’s books – Eva's Story, After Auschwitz, and The Promise.

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.”