Holocaust Survivor Eva Schloss Comes to Kent Stage on Oct. 18

Eva Schloss, Holocaust survivor and stepsister to wartime diarist Anne Frank, will participate in a multimedia performance, “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank,” on Tuesday, Oct. 18, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at the Kent Stage on 175 E. Main St. in downtown Kent.

The performance features members of the Kent community, Kent State University and high school students, and is free and open to the public, with limited seating available. Schloss will address area students about her experiences after the presentation.

Schloss was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1929. She and her family immigrated to Belgium and eventually to Holland in 1938, shortly after Adolph Hitler annexed Austria. After the Germans invaded Holland in 1942, Schloss and her family went into hiding. In May 1944, they were betrayed, captured and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Only Schloss and her mother survived.

After the war, her mother married Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank. Anne Frank’s diary, her account of hiding from the Germans during the occupation of the Netherlands, was first published in 1950. Initially popularized through play and film adaptations, it is now one of the most widely read books in the world.

“This event takes us back in time to give a vivid picture of the sad occurrences that marked world history,” said Chaya Kessler, director of the Jewish Studies Program at Kent State. “This is a great opportunity to hear firsthand from Eva about her experiences and those of her stepsister Anne Frank.” 

Since 1985, Schloss has been active in Holocaust education. She received an honorary doctorate in civil law from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England, and is a trustee of the Anne Frank Educational Trust of the U.K. “Eva’s Story,” written with Evelyn Julia Kent, was published in 1988, allowing Schloss to share her experiences with a wider audience. 

Schloss received a Women of Inspiration and Enterprise (WIE) Visionary Award at the second WIE Symposium in New York this past September. She shares the award with Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Oct. 18 event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program at Kent State University, B’nai B’rith of Youngstown, the Terry and Sam D. Roth Philanthropic Fund and the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.

For more information, contact Chaya Kessler at ckessle7@kent.edu or 330-672-8926.

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Media Contacts:
Chaya Kessler, ckessle7@kent.edu, 330-672-8926
Bob Burford, rburford@kent.edu, 330-672-8516