VENICE, FL -
The widespread genocide known as the Holocaust may have happened 70 years ago, but one woman is determined to keep the stories alive.
Eva Schloss travels the world to talk about her horrendous experience, and to talk about her famous stepsister-Anne Frank.
Hundreds inside the Venice community center stared in amazement as Eva Schloss recalled her nine months at a Nazi concentration camp.
The crowd was filled with high schoolers and senior citizens. The event was put on by Chabad of Venice and North Port.
While Schloss was a young Jewish girl in Holland, her family was handed over to the Nazis, and Schloss and her mother were sent to Birkenau in Poland.
"It was terrible, terrible. Many, many people didn't have to be gassed because they just died from hunger or from illnesses," she said. "I feel, always being told you are nothing, you are like an animal, maybe you start to believe, perhaps there's something. That's why when I came out of the camp, I'd lost all confidence."
She said the Jews were subjected to hard labor, and some murdered. Her father and brother did not survive.
Now Schloss devotes her life to sharing her story and the story of Anne Frank.
Schloss and Anne Frank were childhood friends.
"She was just one of the girls. Very lively, always wanted a whole group of children around her," said Schloss. "She had little steps going to her apartment and she always sat on top and always wanted a crowd of kids around her."
Anne Frank died in a concentration camp and years later, her father married Eva Schloss' mother. Schloss still remembers Anne well.
Schloss said, "She was a happy little girl. Obviously quite talented in writing little stories and telling stories. She was called 'Mrs. Quack Quack' because she talked so much."
Schloss recalls Frank being mature for her age, yet it was still a surprise the diary became a worldwide hit.
Schloss feels it's important to share these stories.
"There are many people who deny the Holocaust, and I think when we are not around anymore there will be more denials. And it is important to learn from history from the mistakes our parents and grandparents made," she said.
Eva also wrote a book about her experiences growing up under Nazi control.
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