SPOKANE, Wash. – Inland Northwest residents have a once in a lifetime opportunity on Thursday to hear firsthand the story of a Holocaust survivor with ties to one of its most well-known victims.
Eva Schloss will bring the stories of her life and that of her step-sister, German-born Jewish diarist Anne Frank, to the Spokane Convention Center on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the main hall are sold out, but admission to a hall across from the First Interstate Center for the Arts is still available. The evening will begin with an in-person greeting from Schloss, followed by a live presentation streaming in the hall.
Available tickets are either $15 or $75. Autographed copies of the book “Eva’s Story” will also be available for purchase at the event.
The presentation, titled “A Story of Triumph: Learning from the Past, Living the Present, Looking to the Future,” is sponsored by Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon.
Schloss grew up in Austria in the 1930s with her mother, father and brother. When Germany invaded Austria in 1938, the family moved to Belgium and then Holland.
At this point, 11-year-old Schloss became neighbors with Frank, whose famous diary gave readers a personal account of the Holocaust through her voice.
Both Schloss and Frank’s families were discovered and arrested by the Nazis in 1944, and ultimately deported to an Auschwitz concentration camp.
Schloss survived, but her father and brother did not. Her mother made it out alive and later married Frank’s father, Otto, in 1953, making the two girls stepsisters.
Schloss helped her stepfather publish Anne Frank’s diary.
Schloss has since written three books and has been touring across America for her most recent book, “Eva’s Story.” In her books and speeches, Schloss recounts the details of life in Auschwitz, including 4 a.m. wake-up calls, beatings, starvation, constant death and her eventual return to society.
“Eva’s story is the encore. Her story picks up where Anne’s left off,” said Rabbi Yisroel Hahn with Chabad of Spokane County. “It’s not just the tragedy, but the will for survival — and the miracles. There is so much to learn from Eva, and when you hear the history from someone who was there, it is a totally different experience.”
“We are the last generation who will hear from Holocaust survivors. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he added.
Schloss says keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive isn’t just about preserving the past but building a better future.
“Today, again, there is war, suffering and intolerance. The younger generation has to learn and do better in the future,” she said. “I can’t change the world, but I can slowly, perhaps influence individuals, who will then influence someone else.”
Jay Wallis with KVUE-TV contributed to this report.