Hiding, Betrayal, Survival: The Life and Times of Eva Schloss (and Anne Frank)

Tranfer of Memory, the photographic exhibit of 41 Minnesotan Holocaust survivors set the backdrop for this past week's D.B Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership Holocaust conference which is cerebrating its 10th year due to Darryle Clott, Viterbo University's Holocaust educator. 

Eva Schloss

This year Ms Clott invited Eva Schloss to speak as the keynote speaker. Eva Schloss not only is a Holocaust survivor but changed her life's work  from being a photographer and dealing in antiques to dedicating her life to Holocaust education having written 3 books and having a play written about her life. 

Karla Hughes

Dr. Artman, President of Viterbo University, welcomed the packed auditorium hall for Thursday night's Holocaust program followed by a musical number from Life in Hiding, a scene from Annelies. Anne was played by Karla Hughes, an assistant professor from the Department of Theatre and Music.

Eva Schloss blessed us with her  presence traveling from England to share her life story. She presented during the 2 day conference workshops in addition to Thursday evening for students, faculty and community members via an informal seated interview.  

Eva Schloss and Holocaust educator, Darryle Clott

Mrs. Schloss spoke of living a privileged life as a child in Austria  interrupted in1938 by antisemitism and the Nazis. At age 8 her family left for Holland but had to remain in Belgium in 2 cramped rooms awaiting a visa. After Belgium, they made their way to the Netherlands. Their apartment was furnished but without a yard so the children hung out on the front stoop. It was here she met a very popular girl, who the kids called Mrs. Quack Quack since she talked incessantly. This girl was always surrounded by neighborhood children. When she  found out Eva, a tomboy, had an older brother, her interest was piqued to become better friends despite their differences. More about this connection later...

Well, it wasn't long until both families were sent off to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp in southern Poland where people were treated like animals. The famous Dr. Mengele systemically decided who should live and who should die. Naked and humiliated families were separated by gender and health in the work camp. The in-firmed and elderly were sent to the shower rooms really gas chambers.  The living even had to dispose of the dead besides other atrocities... Living with bed bugs, lice and fleas was minor in comparison.

When the Germans knew the enemy was approaching, they led long marches during which many prisoners died due to lack of food and proper clothing.  When the British eventually came to liberate the remaining emaciated survivors at Auschwitz, they were so malnourished they had trouble keeping down the rich food.  Unfortunately both Eva's father and brother were killed just a couple days shy of their liberation.

Mrs. Schloss's story is similar to so many.  Life after the camps is where fate took a different turn. That Ms. Quack Quack was Anne Frank who unfortunately perished in the camps but her father, Otto Frank survived as well as Eva's mother. Mr. Frank and Eva's mother became 'friends.' Mr. Frank was very nice to Eva and gifted her one of his camera's a Leica, and told her to hone the skill of photography which she did. After the war Eva had ended up in London where she met a young Israeli man Tzi Schloss (actually German) who wanted to marry her.  When she called home to tell her Mom that she had an interested suitor but she didn't want to marry him and was returning home, her Mom responded that she was hoping Eva was taken care of since Mr. Frank, Anne's Dad had proposed to her... Thus Anne Frank would have been Eva Schloss's step sister. Even in death she would be in Anne Frank's shadow as Anne's famous diary was found and published, her mother and her stepfather's life's work was decided. The Diary of Anne Frank is now in 70 languages.

Mrs. Schloss shared some of her brother's poetry

Mrs. Schloss also spoke about her talented  brother who hid his artwork during the war years beneath the rooming house's floor boards.  After his death and the end of the war his work was retrieved and the 30 pieces now hang in the Verzetsmuseum (the Dutch Resistance Museum.) He also wrote some 200 poems mostly dealing with death which Mrs. Schloss eventually published besides her own autobiography. 

After Mrs. Schloss's presentation and Q&A time, there was a book signing. The line extended out of the room and winded down the hallways with  interested patrons.

I hope all will have the opportunity to read her  books/ the play written about her for as the saying goes L'Dor v L'Dor, from generation to generation, we must REMEMBER...

Here's the link to:TRANSFER OF MEMORY