Eva Schloss (née Geiringer) was a Holocaust survivor, author, and educator, best known as Anne Frank’s postwar stepsister and for her decades-long work in Holocaust education.
Eva Geiringer was born on May 11, 1929, in Vienna, Austria, to a nonreligious, upper-middle-class Jewish family. Her father, Erich Geiringer, was a shoe manufacturer, and her mother, Elfriede (Fritzi) Markovits, managed the household. She had an older brother, Heinz, with whom she was very close. Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in March 1938 (the Anschluss), anti-Semitic laws were immediately imposed, and the family lost their Austrian nationality. In 1939 Erich moved to Amsterdam in search of safety, and the rest of the family joined him in 1940.
In Amsterdam, the Geiringers became neighbors of the Frank family, and Eva befriended Anne Frank, who was the same age. Both families went into hiding in 1942 after the German occupation of the Netherlands and the intensification of deportations of Jews. The Geiringers lived in a series of hiding places, frequently moving to avoid detection. On May 11, 1944, Eva’s fifteenth birthday, a Dutch informant betrayed their location, and the Gestapo arrested the family.
Eva and her family were first sent to Westerbork transit camp and then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Eva and her mother remained together in Birkenau, where they endured starvation, disease, and forced labor. Eva narrowly survived several life-threatening situations, including typhus, and later recalled encounters with Josef Mengele during camp selections. Her father and brother were separated from her and sent on a death march to Mauthausen concentration camp, where both died in early 1945, just days before liberation.
In January 1945, Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz. Eva and her mother were among the prisoners who survived and returned to Amsterdam after a long journey through Eastern Europe. There, they learned of the deaths of Erich and Heinz through the Red Cross. Fritzi reconnected with Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the Frank family. In 1953, Fritzi and Otto married, making Eva Anne Frank's posthumous stepsister.
After the war, Eva studied art history at the University of Amsterdam and later trained in photography in London. In 1952 she married Zvi Schloss, an Israeli economics student, and the couple settled in London, where they raised three daughters. For decades, Eva remained largely silent about her wartime experiences, describing herself as withdrawn and emotionally detached.
In 1986, Eva was invited to speak at the opening of a traveling Anne Frank exhibition in London. This marked a turning point, after which she began publicly sharing her story. She became a prominent Holocaust educator, speaking widely in schools, prisons, and international forums. In 1990, she co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK and served as its honorary president.
Eva Schloss authored several memoirs, including Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank, The Promise, and After Auschwitz. Her work emphasized the dangers of prejudice and the importance of education and tolerance. She continued her educational efforts into her 90s, participating in campaigns against Holocaust denial and speaking to young audiences worldwide.
Eva Schloss died in London on January 3, 2026, at the age of 96. She is survived by her three daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her legacy is closely linked to Holocaust remembrance and the ongoing use of survivor testimony in education.
Sources: “Survivor Profiles: Eva Schloss,” Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
“Eva Schloss,” PBS.
“Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank, dies at 96,” NPR, (January 5, 2026).
Jenny Gross, “Eva Schloss, Anne Frank’s Stepsister and Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 96,” New York Times, (January 5, 2026).
“Eva Schloss, Holocaust Survivor and Stepsister of Anne Frank, Dies at 96,” National WWII Museum New Orleans, (January 5, 2026).
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.