Anne Frank and her secret hiding place
Anne Frank is one of the most recognized figures from the Holocaust due to the publication of her diary, which provides a unique, poignant insight into the life of a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis during World War II.
Born Annelies Marie Frank on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and Edith Frank, Anne’s life story is a somber emblem of the horrors of the Holocaust and a powerful reminder of the human cost of war and persecution.
Anne Frank’s full name was Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank. Her diary endures as a beacon of hope and a testament to the human spirit’s endurance in the face of the darkest evils. Image: Anne Frank at the 6th Montessori School, 1940
Early Life and Emigration
Anne’s early years in Frankfurt were relatively peaceful and ordinary for a young German girl. However, with Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, life for the Jewish population became increasingly perilous. The Frank family, sensing the escalating risks for Jews in Germany, decided to relocate to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1934. This move was intended to provide a safer environment for Otto and Edith’s two daughters, Anne and her older sister Margot.
Life in Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, Otto Frank established a business, and Anne and Margot integrated into Dutch society, attending local schools and making friends. For a few years, the Franks enjoyed a relatively normal life, shielded from the anti-Semitic laws taking root in Germany.
However, this semblance of peace was shattered when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. Under Nazi occupation, the Jews in the Netherlands faced restrictive measures similar to those in Germany, including wearing the yellow Star of David and suffering various forms of social segregation.
A German-born Jewish girl, Anne Frank became one of the Holocaust’s most poignant voices through the posthumous publication of her diary. Image: Anne Frank in December 1941
Anne Frank and her family concealed themselves in a hidden section of the building where Anne’s father, Otto Frank, worked. This covert area, behind a movable bookcase, became famously known as the “secret annex.” Image: Anne Frank house, Prinsengracht 263-267, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Going into Hiding
In May 1942, two months before going into hiding, Anne Frank lived a relatively normal life in Amsterdam, despite the increasing restrictions placed on Jews by the occupying Nazi forces. Image: Anne Frank in May 1942, two months before she and her family went into hiding to avoid capture by the Nazis.
As the situation worsened and deportation of Jews began, Otto Frank prepared a hiding place in the annex of his business premises at 263 Prinsengracht, known as the Achterhuis (Secret Annex). On July 6, 1942, shortly after Margot received a call-up notice from the Gestapo, the Frank family went into hiding there. They were later joined by another Jewish family, the Van Pels, and a dentist, Fritz Pfeffer, making a total of eight people hiding in the confined space.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 12, 1929, Anne moved with her family to Amsterdam in 1934 as the Nazi Party’s influence expanded under Adolf Hitler’s leadership. Image: Statue of Anne Frank depicted looking out of her family’s hiding place. Location – Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Boise, Idaho
Anne’s Diary
During her time in hiding, Anne Frank kept a detailed diary, a gift she received for her 13th birthday, just before they went into hiding. Her diary entries, which started on June 12, 1942, provide a comprehensive and emotive account of her thoughts, fears, and experiences during her time in hiding. Anne wrote with an insight and maturity remarkable for her age, discussing not only the daily challenges of living in such confinement but also her personal emotions, conflicts, and aspirations.
Anne Frank began to document her life in hiding, detailing both the mundane and profound aspects of her existence in the cramped quarters, isolated from the outside world. Image: Reconstruction of the bookcase that covered the entrance to the Secret Annex, in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
Betrayal and Arrest
On August 4, 1944, after more than two years in hiding, the group was betrayed by an unknown informant. The Gestapo arrested the inhabitants of the Secret Annex along with two of their non-Jewish helpers. They were first taken to a detention center and then on to the Westerbork transit camp. Later, they were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland.
Final Months
Upon arrival at Auschwitz, the men were separated from the women. This was the last time Anne saw her father, Otto. Anne, Margot, and Edith were later transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, as the Nazis attempted to concentrate the remaining Jews in camps within Germany’s borders due to the advancing Allied forces. It was in Bergen-Belsen that both Anne and Margot contracted typhus in the deplorable conditions of the camp. They died in early March 1945, only weeks before the camp was liberated by British troops in April 1945.
Anne Frank’s life and writings continue to influence people across generations, reminding us of the horrors that can arise from discrimination and hatred while inspiring us to strive for a more compassionate and understanding world. Image: Inscription for Annelies “Anne” Frank at the National Holocaust Names Memorial, Amsterdam, 2023.
Posthumous Recognition
After the war, Otto Frank, the sole survivor among the annex inhabitants, returned to Amsterdam where he was given Anne’s diary, preserved by Miep Gies, one of the helpers who had supported the hidden families. Moved by Anne’s writings and her wish to become a published writer, Otto sought to fulfill his daughter’s dream by publishing the diary. First published in 1947 as “Het Achterhuis” (The Secret Annex), the diary has since been translated into over 70 languages and has become one of the world’s most widely read and influential books.
Image: Anne Frank Children’s Human Rights Memorial in Antigua, Guatemala
Legacy
Today, the building at Prinsengracht 263 serves as the Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of Anne Frank and educating the public about the consequences of hatred and bigotry. Anne Frank’s story has been adapted into numerous plays, films, and documentaries worldwide, each aiming to convey the themes of resilience, the invincibility of the human spirit, and the need for tolerance and understanding among peoples of all nations and races.
Stele in front of Anne’s home from 1929 to 1931 at Marbachweg 307 in Frankfurt-Dornbusch that reads Anne Frank, geboren am 12. Juni 1929, lebte mit ihren Eltern und ihrer älteren Schwester Margot bis März 1931 in diesem Haus. English translation: Anne Frank, born on June 12, 1929, lived in this house with her parents and her older sister Margot until March 1931. Turkish translation: 12 Haziran 1929’da doğan Anne Frank, Mart 1931’e kadar ebeveynleri ve ablası Margot ile birlikte bu evde yaşadı.
Questions and Answers
Image: Statue of Anne Frank, by Mari Andriessen, outside the Westerkerk in Amsterdam
These questions provide a broad overview of Anne Frank’s life and legacy, focusing on her diary’s contribution to the historical understanding of the Holocaust.
What was the name of the secret hiding place where Anne Frank and her family lived in Amsterdam?
The secret hiding place was called the “Achterhuis” or Secret Annex.
On what birthday did Anne Frank start writing her diary, and what significant event did she describe in her first entry?
Anne Frank started writing her diary on her 13th birthday, June 12, 1942. In her first entry, she described the confinement in the Secret Annex and the constant fear of being discovered and executed.
Anne received a diary on her 13th birthday in June 1942, which she cherished as a vessel for her thoughts and experiences. She filled its pages with reflections on her circumstances, personal introspections, and commentary on the human condition, all written with a maturity beyond her years. Image: Photographs of Anne Frank, 1939
What inspired Anne Frank to edit and plan for the publication of her diary?
A radio announcement in March 1944, which encouraged Dutch people to keep diaries of the events during the war, inspired Anne to edit her diary and plan for its publication under the title “The Secret Annex.”
Anne Frank and her sister succumbed to typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945, mere months before the camp’s liberation. The exact dates of their deaths are uncertain, but they are thought to have died in February or March 1945. Image: Memorial for Margot and Anne Frank at the former Bergen-Belsen site
How did Anne Frank’s diaries survive after her arrest by the Nazis?
After World War II, Otto Frank, the sole survivor of the Frank family, returned to Amsterdam. He discovered that Anne’s diary had been preserved by Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, two of his former employees who had helped hide the family.
Motivated by Anne’s expressed desire to become an author, Otto Frank published her diary in 1947 under its original Dutch title “Het Achterhuis” (The Secret Annex).
What happened to Anne Frank and her family after their arrest in August 1944?
After their arrest on August 4, 1944, the family was sent to the Westerbork Transit Camp and later to Auschwitz concentration camp. Anne and her sister Margot eventually died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945.
Dutch authorities later designated March 31 as Anne Frank’s official date of death, although subsequent research suggests they may have died earlier. Image: A partial reconstruction of the barracks in the Westerbork transit camp where Anne Frank was housed from August to September 1944
When and by whom was “The Diary of Anne Frank” first published, and what subsequent editions were made?
“The Diary of Anne Frank” was first compiled and published by Otto Frank in Dutch in 1947. An English edition was published in America in 1952. There are three prominent versions: the original copies, the edited records after the radio announcement, and Otto’s edition for publishing.
“The Diary of a Young Girl” was first published in English in 1952. It has been translated into over 70 languages and has touched millions of readers worldwide with its messages of hope, resilience, and the human spirit. Image: Het Achterhuis (literally, “the rear house”), the first Dutch edition of Anne Frank’s diary, published in 1947, later translated into English as The Diary of a Young Girl
What recognition did Anne Frank receive posthumously?
Anne Frank has been honored in various ways posthumously, including being named one of “The Most Important People of the Century” by Time magazine in 1999, and having an asteroid named after her, “5535 Annefrank.”
What is the Anne Frank House, and when was it opened to the public?
The Anne Frank House, formerly known as the Secret Annex, is a museum dedicated to Anne Frank’s life. It was opened to the public in May 1960 and is located at 263 Prinsengracht Street in Amsterdam.
A Dutch woman named Miep Gies, who had helped hide the Frank family, saved Anne’s writings after the family was arrested. She later gave the diaries to Anne’s father, Otto Frank. Image: Anne Frank statue in Utrecht, Netherlands
