On May 12, 1899 a man named Otto Frank was born in Frankfurt am Main Germany. One year later on January 16th a woman named  Edith Hollander was born in Achaean Germany. As they grew older Otto served in the German Army as a lieutenant along with Adolf Hitler. On May 12, 1925 these Jewish-German citizens married. On February 16th one year later they had a daughter. Her name was Margot Frank. Three years later a very special girl was born. Her name was Annelise Marie Frank. We know her as Anne.

In 1933 Otto Frank moved to Holland and sent Edith, Margot, and Anne to live with Edith's mother until he could pay their way across the country. He does this in fear for his family's future, because the Anti-Jewish National Socialist Party led by Hitler came to a rise in power. On December 5, 1933 Edith and Margot go to Holland. Anne later left her grandmother in February of 1934 to be with the rest of her family.

Their house was located at 37 Medwedeplien Street. Otto bought an office building at 263 Prinsengracht Street in Amsterdam. Which later comes to a great importance.

Meanwhile Hitler's Anti-Jewish act is taking place. Anne and Margot were forced to leave their Dutch friends and go to an all-Jewish school. On top of all that sadness, Anne's grandmother Hollander died in January of 1942.

Six months later on June 12th Anne received a red and white plaid diary for her 13th birthday. She wrote in it often and referred to it as "Kitty." She thought that writing in her diary was the only time she could discuss her secrets and personal things.

On July 6, 1942 Margot received a call-up notice for a Nazi work camp. The very next day Anne and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annex" or "Secret House." They left false notes saying that they had left the country and had gone to Switzerland or another neighboring country.

Anne and her family were joined by Herman VanPels, his wife Auguste, and their son Peter on July 13, 1942. Fritz Pfeiffer later joined the Frank and VanPel families in November.

 

While in hiding the Franks and the rest of the people in the house had to be very quiet. Anne thought that it was an ideal hiding place though and that there wasn't a better one in all of Holland. Anne was also tutored by her father because he wanted her to be advanced or caught up when the war was over and she could go back to school. Anne and Peter fell in love while they were in hiding.

 The Franks tried to stay updated on the war and the world surrounding them so they had the helpers bring them books or newspapers on every Saturday morning. Anne also taped pictures or postcards and newspaper clippings on her wall. Anne was a growing teenager and I can only imagine how she felt being cooped up in that attic for two years. Especially if you were and adventurous girl like Anne.

Whatever happiness Anne had in the secret annex drained from her on August 4, 1944. Her biggest fear came true. Their hiding place was discovered. The eight hiders were taken to the police station in Amsterdam. A few days later on August 4th everyone was sent to Westerbrook Transit Camp. On September 3, 1944 they were transported like animals in a cattle car to one of the worst death camps, Auschwitz. Sadly Anne and Margot were torn apart from their family and were sent to another diseased camp, Bergen-Belsen.

While in Bergen-Belsen Anne caught the skin disease scabies from the filth, disease, and terrible eating conditions. Not too long after catching that disease, Anne and Margot, both, caught a far worse disease called Typhus. They quickly became ill. Margot dies from this disease and after her death Anne gave up her fight to survive and died as well.

Of all Anne's family her father, Otto, was the only survivor of those horrible death camps. He was liberated from Auschwitz by the Russian Army. Though he was free from the camp he did not go home. He was first taken to Odessa and then to France. After that Otto was finally allowed to go home. The war was over at last. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

Otto Frank heard nothing about his daughters and wife when he came home, but he refused to believe that they were dead. He searched for them for quite a long time until October 24, 1945 when he received a letter saying that they were dead.

As for the helpers, Victor Keg and Johannes Kleiman, they were put in jail for helping the Jews in the attic. Miep Gies was another helper but he was not sentenced to jail. He was only taken to the police station and asked a whole lot of questions about hiding the Jews but he wasn't caught.

When Otto frank went home he received Anne's diary from one of the helpers. He had it made into a book. It has been published in 67 different languages and is one of the most read books worldwide.  Anne's father lived a much longer life than her, but on August 19, 1980 he died in Birsfelden, Switzerland. He was 91 years old.

Anne Frank was just one of the millions that were brutally killed in the Holocaust, but we remember her the most because of her interesting story. She lived the most dreadful life and yet she wrote the most intriguing entries. We will remember her for as long as we remember the Holocaust.

 

 

 

Deana Massey

Rossville Junior High - 7th Grade

2002 Holocaust Projects

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