BBC News Online: Education

Auschwitz survivor receives degree

Eva Schloss's play was staged at the university

Eva Schloss, the step-sister of famous war diarist Anne Frank, has spent her life spreading a message of tolerance.

Mrs Schloss, whose mother married Anne Frank's father after the war, went into hiding with her family for two years before being captured and sent to Auschwitz.

Anne died in Bergen Belsen in March 1945.

She is a founder member of the Anne Frank Educational Trust and has taken part in educational events at the university and across the country.

Her own play, entitled "And Then They Came For Me", was staged at the university.

The work features her life and experiences of the holocaust.

University vice-chancellor Professor Gilbert Smith said: "Despite the dehumanisation process she endured at Auschwitz, Eva has proved herself a true survivor and a remarkable human being.

"Her message of endurance and her constant reminders about the dangers of racism make her a real inspiration for our new graduates."

Mrs Schloss, who was joined by her husband Zvi, daughter and two grandchildren, said: "I wish my parents would have been able to witness this, and my brother too, who was only 18 when he died.

"He was very talented but he never got the chance to achieve anything.

"This is why I tell children we have only one life and no-one has the right to take it away.

"It is quite sad for me in a way, but a happy day too."