Sylvia Schloss
‘I have lived in Hertfordshire for 27 years. My mother, Eva, was in hiding during the Second World War in Amsterdam before being deported to Auschwitz extermination camp with her mother, Fritzi. She wrote about her father, Erich, and brother, Heinz, who did not survive the war, in her book The Promise, which is illustrated by my daughter Sophie.’
‘On the train to Auschwitz, my uncle Heinz told my mother, Eva, where he had hidden his paintings, some of which were done in hiding in Amsterdam. After the war Eva returned to find them. She was so moved to find this painting of Heinz studying and remembered their father had made this promise to Heinz: “All the good you have accomplished will continue in the lives of the people you have touched. It will make a difference to someone, somewhere, sometime, and your achievements will be carried on.”’
‘Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, was my
step-grandfather. He married my grandmother, Fritzi, in 1951. Although he had lost his wife and daughters in the Holocaust, he was like a real grandfather to me and my sisters. He dedicated his life to ensuring that Anne lived on through her famous book, Diary of a Young Girl. Here you can see me between my grandmother Fritzi and Otto, and my sisters Caroline and Jacky.’
Sylvia's 'spotlight' talk at the Museum
