Last week, I told you a little bit about our WWII study. During that study, we each got to pick a specfic topic to talk on. I chose Anne Frank. Here is one of the reports I did on her. I also read her book, and many other books about her. I learned alot about her. It is a very sad story. The whole war is a  sad story and she is just one of many who suffered.

It All Started With A Girl: An Anne Frank Biography

Annelies Marie Frank was born on June 12,1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She was the second child of Otto & Edith Frank, German Jews. The Frank family lived in Frankfurt, Germany until 1933. Anne had a sister named Margot; she was 3 years older than Anne was. When they were little Otto would make up stories & tell them to the girls. They loved his stories.

In 1933 many things changed, Otto’s bank failed him because of the Great Depression in the U.S. & Adolf Hitler had come to be the chancellor of Germany. That is when the trouble started for the Jews. A new law passed that effected Margot, it stated that Jewish children had to sit apart from non-Jewish children & Otto & Edith were very angry. Many other things happened that affected the Jews, so Otto decided they needed to leave the country.

They moved to Amsterdam, Holland. Edith had a brother who worked for a Switzerland spice company named Opekta. He loaned Otto some money to start one in Amsterdam. In August 1933, Otto left for Amsterdam to start his business while the children went to Aachen to stay with their grandmother. Edith traveled back & forth between Aachen & Amsterdam. After awhile she & Otto found an apartment on Merwedeplein. Margot joined her parents in December, so that she would be able to start school in January. Anne stayed with her grandmother, & did not arrive until February 16,1934, Margot’s 8th birthday.

While they lived on Merwedeplein, they met a family named the Goslars. They had a daughter named Hanneli, who was Anne’s age. Anne & Hanneli, & Sanne Ledermann, who lived on the Merwedeplein, were inseparable. Hanneli’s mom once said, “God knows everything, but Anne knows everything better”

Anne liked school. She excelled in writing & history, but not in math. Margot excelled in everything. Anne had a hard time concentrating in class. Mr. Keesing, her math teacher, punished her for talking by assigning an essay entitled, ”A chatterbox”. Anne won him over with her clever writing.

Edith’s brother, Walter, was involved in Kristallnacht, & was arrested. He was sent to a concentration camp.

Edith’s mother had come to live with family. She had cancer. Anne & Margot loved their grandmother very much. In 1942 Grandmother Hollander died. Anne was very close to Grandmother Hollander; she was the most affected by the death.

June 12, 1942, Anne’s 13th birthday was a special day. She got up very early in the morning to find the best present she would ever receive. A red & green checkered diary. She had wanted that for a long time. She also got a fountain pen, after she went & thanked her father, she went & wrote her first entry. On Sunday she her friends from school came over for a party. Since they couldn’t go to a movie theater, Otto knew someone who could get them a copy of the movie “Lighthouse Keeper”; it was about the dog Rin Tin Tin. That was Anne’s favorite. She had the best birthday ever that day.

A few weeks after her birthday Otto & Anne went for a walk, Otto told her that they would be going in to hiding soon. Anne was scared.  

On July 5, 1942, There was a knock at the Frank’s door. Edith answered it; they had received a telegram. Edith called Margot into the living room, she told her it was a call-up for Otto, but it was actually a call-up for Margot. Edith told Margot that she had to go see Mr. van Pels, & to not let anyone in the apartment while she was gone, and asked her to explain it to Anne. After a little while Edith & Mr. van Pels came back to wait for Otto. When Otto arrived they showed him the note & he told everyone to start packing. He asked Mr. Van Pels to call Miep & Jan Gies. Miep & Jan arrive & Otto asks if they could take some of their things with them to the hiding place. Miep & Jan put layers of Edith’s & Otto’s clothes on to take there. They would leave early in the morning.

Around 5am on July 6th, Miep arrives with two bikes. One for her, one for Margot. They wanted to get Margot away before anyone else, since the call-up was for her. After Margot left, the rest of the family finished packing. Anne had to put on many pairs of clothes, & packed her backpack full of clothes. They could only take was a necessity with them. Anne took her movie star pictures with her to remind her of better times, & of course she took her beloved diary. Otto would not let her take her cat, Mortje. Otto leaves a note saying they went to Switzerland to visit his mother, but they were actually going to Otto’s Opekta Spice factory, a few blocks away.

The Franks moved in the “Secret Annex” with the van Pelses, & Dr. Fritz Dussel. Anne was amazed at how much Otto had managed to move to the Annex. When they got there Anne & Otto unpacked everything, while Edith & Margot slept. Only a week after the Franks move to the Annex, Mr. & Mrs. van Pels & their son Peter moved in the Secret Annex. Mr. van Pels brought a collapsible table with him, Mrs. van Pels brought a chamberpot in her hatbox, & Peter managed to sneak is cat, Mousche in. They had no bathroom or hot water, so at nights or weekends they would take a washtub downstairs & take a bath.

Every morning before the workers came to work; Miep would go get a grocery list from them. Anne would question Miep about the outside world. When the workers got there they had to be completely silent. On July 18, they invited Jan & Miep to dinner. Anne wrote a special dinner menu for the occasion, it was called “Bouillon a la Hunzestraat”, for the street Jan & Miep lived on, & “Roast beef Scholte” for their butcher. There were 2 salads, potatoes, & Raspberry Juice with sugar, & cinnamon to have with the “coffee, sugar, cream, & various surprises”.

August 6, 1942, known as Black Thursday, Jews in Amsterdam were arrested at gunpoint, beaten, & taken away. Otto was worried that they would be found, so he had Bep’s father Johan Voskuijl, the warehouse manager, to help them cover up the door. Mr. Voskuijl decided to build a bookcase to screw in the wall & attach it to swing open.

Anne was starting to feel cooped up after just a few weeks. Anne, being the “Chatterbox” that she was, was getting very tired of the quietness. She wanted to have a change once in a while; she would continually ask Miep if they would spend the night in the “Annex” with them. When Miep finally said, yes, Anne was overjoyed & couldn’t wait.

On the special night, Miep & Jan came for dinner; everyone talked for a long time while they had dessert. When it was time for bed Margot & Anne slept in their parent’s room, so that Miep & Jan could have their own room.

But Miep couldn’t sleep; sleeping in the “Annex” was not what she expected. She could hear every movement, a bed moving, Mr. van Pels coughing, & every 15 minutes the Westertoren bells would ring. Miep was scared; she thought how it must be for a Jew in hiding.

Anne had a hard time living in the Annex. She would constantly fight with her mother, Dr. Dussel, & Mrs. van Pels. She & her sister were not close, so she developed a relationship with Peter. Whenever they were alone they would talk about things that their parents wouldn’t understand. He confided in her & she in him. They both had the same feelings about everything going on. She didn’t always like him, at first she thought he was too sensitive & lazy, she also thought he was a hypochondriac. Anne longed for someone she could really talk to. They spend a lot of time together, their parents thought they were spending too much. Peter was insecure about himself. She wanted to make him feel secure again. They talked about everything. Anne & Peter would sometimes join the other when they listened to the radio, but mostly spent time with each other. Anne worried that Margot was feeling left out, so Anne asked her about it & Margot said she felt like he was more of a brother to her, & encouraged her to keeping spending time with Peter.

Willem van Maaren, the head warehouseman, suspected that the annex was a secret hiding place. The Residents were concerned that he might turn them in.  Mr. Kugler told them that van Maaren set traps to prove if anyone had entered the office. At night he would put a pencil on the edge of a desk, or put flour on the floor.

One night the Residents heard a barrel fall & someone fiddling with the door. Otto & Peter went downstairs to see what was happening, they discovered it was a burglar.

A few months later they struck again. Early in the morning Peter went downstairs to find the front door open. Fearing a burglary they were silent as they dressed. Finally Mr. Kugler came upstairs, & confirmed their suspicions. The burglars stole 2 cashboxes, containing money, & ration coupons for 330 pounds of sugar. Then on another night, Mr. van Pels went downstairs after dinner to discover that someone had entered the office, leaving it a mess, the next morning Peter found the door open. Mr. Kugler’s new briefcase was missing. The Residents were worried that the burglar was still down there when Mr. van Pels went down. But the worst had not yet happened.

In April 1944, Peter heard 2 loud bangs that echoed through the Annex. He went downstairs to find 2 large panels missing from the door, & went to tell Otto. Otto, Mr. van Pels & Dr. Dussel went down to investigates. There in the warehouse they saw the burglars, Mr. van Pels yelled “Police“, & the burglars ran. The Residents were replacing the panel, when a man & a woman walked by. They shined their flashlights inside the warehouse, then quickly turned away.  Later that night, the residents were sitting in the Annex, & at 11pm they heard footsteps on the stairs, then the bookcase shook, and a can fell off. Then it was quiet. They didn’t know if there was someone standing outside or if they had left. They didn’t move all night.

The next day the office was closed, so no one had planned to come to the office. Otto decided to call Mr. Kleiman, & tell him what had happened. Finally they heard a knock on the bookcase. Miep & Jan had come. Jan nailed a board on the hole in the door. They decided that they needed to file a report. If they didn’t the police would be suspicious.

Over the next few days, Jan found out what had happened. The night watchman, Mr. Sleegers, told Jan that he found the hole & reported it to the police. Then he & the officer went & searched the building. Then Mr. van Hoeven, a grocer, told Jan that he & his wife were walking & saw the hole. He told Jan that he suspected that there were Jews hiding & he didn’t want to put them at a greater risk.

On the morning of August 4,1944, Gestapo officer Karl Silberbauer & many Dutch Nazi police officers entered the Opekta Spice Factory. Silberbauer pointed a gun at Mr. Kleiman, Bep & Miep & told them to sit down. Mr. Kugler who was in his office, heard the commotion & came out. Silberbauer asked who was in charge, & Mr. Kugler responded. Silberbauer told him that he was searching for secret weapons & demanded to see each room. Mr. Kugler showed him all the rooms on the second floor, and then Silberbauer wanted to see the third. The Gestapo searched the storerooms, then went to the landing.

Mr. Kugler watched in horror as they shook the bookcase. They tried several times to move it, but couldn’t. Then they shook forcefully, the hook came unfastened & it moved, & revealed the doorway. With guns in their hands the officers told Mr. Kugler to lead the way. They entered the Franks’ room. Mr. Kugler saw Edith first & said “The Gestapo is here”.  One of the officers went to Anne’s room & found Anne & Margot. The others went upstairs; Otto was in Peter’s room helping him with his school. Dr. Dussel & Mr. & Mrs. van Pels were in their room.

They all went downstairs in the “Annex“. Silberbauer demanded to know where the strongbox was kept, Otto told him where it was. Silberbauer picked up Anne’s briefcase with all her papers in it & shook it out on the floor. Then he put the cashbox & their menorah in the briefcase. Then Silberbauer noticed an army footlocker, & asked who’s it was, Otto answered. He asked Otto where he got it from & Otto told him that he had been a commanding officer in World War I. Silberbauer was surprised, & asked why they had gone into hiding instead of being sent to Theresienstadt. Otto’s reply was ”I had been given no assurance that we would be sent there.” Once Silberbauer knew that Otto had been an officer he showed them more respect & kindness.

Once back in the office, Silberbauer arrested Mr. Kugler & Mr. Kleiman. He took the prisoners to Gestapo headquarters to be questioned to find out if they knew about anymore Jews in hiding. They were there for a few days, and then they were boarded on a train headed for Westbork. This was not a killing camp, it was a labor camp.

At Westbork, Anne enjoyed being outside & played with other kids her age. But then, Anne got sick & was confined to the infirmary. Otto would visit her every night & tell her old stories like he used too.

In August 1944, the Germans were starting to lose the war, & started emptying the camps of the Jews. The Franks’ were only in Westbork for 3 weeks. On September 2, 1944, their names had been called to be sent to Auschwitz, the largest killing center.

When they arrived at Auschwitz, the men were sent to the right & the women were sent to the left. For the first time Edith & the girls would not see Otto again. Of the 1,019 passengers on that train, 549 were immediately sent to the gas chambers. As soon as the Franks’ arrived they were tattooed, & their heads were shaved. They didn’t have very much to & only dirty water to drink.

Early in the morning & in the evenings they were forced to be in a roll call. They had to stand for 2 hours with their hands above their heads & sometimes were naked.

Anne was in charge of giving out food in her barracks. Edith had a friend named Rosa de Winter, who became ill, & Anne managed to get her extra food.

On October 27,1944, the SS chose the youngest & healthiest to be transported, Edith & Margot were chosen, but not Anne because she had scabies. Edith & Margot would not leave without her, so they stayed behind. 3 days later they were doing it again & only the healthy ones were leaving. The rest were being sent to the gas chambers. Edith & Rosa were on their way to the gas chambers, when they slipped away & joined another group.

Later Edith became sick & was sent to the infirmary, Rosa would bring her food, but Edith never ate it, she said she was saving it for her family. Edith died on January 6, 1945.

Anne & Margot were sent to Bergen-Belsen. When they arrived, there was more sickness there because there was less or no food. After awhile Margot became sick with typhus. Anne tried to help, but she couldn’t.

At Bergen-Belsen, Anne was reunited with her dear friend Hanneli Goslar. Hanneli told Anne her story. Hanneli’s mother had died in October 1942. On May 20,1943, Hanneli & her family were taken to Westbork & remained there until February 1944. Now they were hostages waiting to be exchanged for German POW’s.

Hanneli tried to get Anne food for Margot, but couldn’t. And now Mr. Goslar had become sick & Hanneli couldn’t go see Anne anymore.  Anne got sick too, with typhus. One night Margot lost consciousness & fell from her bunk in the barracks & died. Anne became delirious. One night she took off all he clothes because of the lice & wrapped up in a blanket. Anne died in March, 2 or 3 days after Margot. The actual date is not known.

She suffered from malnutrition & typhus; and she was killed by human cruelty. 

By Amanda Dixon 2005

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