Anne Frank's step-sister to tell city pupils of Holocaust

Published on Tuesday 27 January 2009 08:39

THE horrors of the Holocaust will be brought home to Edinburgh schoolchildren – with a visit from Anne Frank's step-sister.

Eva Schloss, who herself survived Auschwitz, is in Edinburgh to mark Holocaust Memorial Day today.

Now aged 79, she devotes her life to educating young people and keeping alive the memory of her step-sister and other family members.

Mrs Schloss will be attending performances of the play, And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the world of Anne Frank, at the Scottish Parliament and Saughton Prison today, and at the Royal High School and Drummond Community High School tomorrow – before taking part in a question and answer session.

Born Eva Geiringer, she grew up in Vienna and Amsterdam, where she made friends with 13-year-old Anne Frank, who lived in a flat opposite. Her family went into hiding at the same time as Anne's family in 1943. They lived in cramped rooms, constantly afraid of Germans searching the house.

Mrs Schloss was arrested by the Nazis on her 15th birthday, after her family were betrayed by the nurse who had helped hide them. She and her family were taken to Auschwitz, where her father, brother and many close friends and relatives were killed. After the war, her mother married Anne's father, Otto, the only surviving member of the Frank family.

Mrs Schloss said: "Anne said she wanted to live on after her death, and she does, as everybody knows about her. But there were about 1.5 million children, including my brother Heinz, who were killed and no-one knows about. I was very surprised when I read her diary, as she was just my playmate at the time. Even her father said he never really knew his child."

Mrs Schloss, who was liberated with her mother from Auschwitz by the Russian army in January 1945, said: "For about 30 years, we didn't talk about what happened. It was too painful. People didn't really want to know and tried to put it behind them.

"Every time I watch the play it brings back all the memories for me. I went through the worst you can go through on Earth.

"But I think it is very important to speak to young people about it. There is still so much hatred in the world, and we need to prevent this ever happening again."

Margaret Mitchell MSP, the convener of the Scottish Parliament's equal opportunities committee, said:

"We are honoured to host this renowned play, whose impact and positive message of promoting community cohesion resonates particularly strongly on Holocaust Memorial Day."