[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 7 (Friday, January 9, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E21]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING EVA SCHLOSS

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2026

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in a heartfelt tribute, 
Dr. Doyle Stevick of the Anne Frank Center of the University of South 
Carolina paid tribute to Eva Schloss, age 96, of London. King Charles 
cited ``May her memory be a blessing to us all.'' I include in the 
Record the following tribute:

       The Anne Frank Center mourns the passing of Mrs. Eva 
     Schloss, who left us on Saturday morning at the age of 96. 
     Eva had a profound impact around the world, co-founding the 
     Anne Frank Trust in the United Kingdom and speaking all over. 
     She also had a profound if lesser-known impact upon South 
     Carolina and the Anne Frank Center.
       Born in Austria on May 11, 1929, just 31 days before Anne 
     Frank, Eva Geiringer fled with her family to Amsterdam, 
     living in the same neighborhood as the Frank family. Betrayed 
     on her 15th birthday and sent to Auschwitz, Eva managed to 
     survive with her mother. When Auschwitz was liberated, she 
     searched for her father and brother, who had been murdered, 
     but recognized Otto Frank. Eight years later, Otto would 
     marry her mother, Elfriede.
       Eva bottled up her anger about what was done to her, her 
     family, and her community for 40 years before beginning to 
     speak. But once she did, she spent the next 40 years changing 
     attitudes, changing lives.
       Around 2015, Rabbi Hesh Epstein told me that he had been 
     trying to bring Eva to Columbia for years. I replied, ``Let 
     me see what I can do!'' I had been fortunate to get to know 
     Dr. Dienke Hondius, a historian at the Anne Frank House, and 
     the woman who first nudged Eva to share her story, She 
     reached out directly, and we were exceptionally fortunate 
     that Eva agreed to speak in South Carolina both for the 
     Jewish community, interviewed by Dr. Lily Filler, and for 
     school children on the USC campus in 2017.
       Eva had spoken to audiences of 200-300 people before, but 
     when President Harris Pastides interviewed her at the Koger 
     Center, 56 busloads of school children, mostly middle school 
     students born in 2005, were in attendance.
       The Jerry and Anita Zucker Family Foundation generously 
     donated 2,000 copies of Eva's autobiography (Eva's Story) for 
     the students in attendance, and a signed nameplate was 
     inserted into each copy. With 2,000 school students born in 
     2005, I imagined the many hundreds of them who would also 
     live to 90, and in the year 2095 be able to tell their great-
     grandchildren, `I personally heard Anne Frank's stepsister 
     describe her survival at Auschwitz.' That will be 150 years 
     after Auschwitz was liberated. We've only recently reached 
     150 years since slavery. The administration was 
     understandably concerned about whether so many middle 
     schoolers would behave appropriately. They gave her three 
     standing ovations.
       President Emeritus Pastides wrote that `I have met several 
     brave souls who survived the darkest days of the Holocaust 
     and all demonstrated concern and love for persons who have 
     suffered in other times and places. Eva epitomized that by 
     delving into the history of slavery in our country and 
     demonstrating a kinship with descendants of enslaved people. 
     Her visit to our university was an honor for our community. 
     May she rest in eternal peace.'
       Eva had a generous heart and an infectious curiosity. She 
     loved visiting the Horseshoe and learning about the 
     University.

                          ____________________