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Anne was born.
Anne was born in the German city of Frankfort on June 12, 1929. Her father took this photograph of Anne and her mother, Edith Frank-Hollander, the following day. -
This is a picture of Anne and her older sister Margot.
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This is a picture of Anne's mother and father on their honeymoon in Italy.
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Trying to Find Safety
The Frank family left Germany to go to the Netherlands when Hitler came to power in 1933. Otto Frank, Anne's father, like thousands of others that fled Germany, was worried about the events taking place in his country. -
In May, 1940, the German army occupied the Netherlands, and life began to change for the Jews in that country.
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This is a picture of Anne at the Montessori school in 1941, her last year in grade school. After the summer holidays in 1941, Jewish children learned that they would no longer be allowed to go to the school of their choice.
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From May, 1942, all Jews aged six and above had to wear a yellow star of David with the "Jew" written in the middle, one of the things that the Nazis did in order to identify and isolate Jews.
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"Jew"
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Anne was given her diary on her thirteenth birthday
Two day days later, she began writing in it about her family, her friends, and her school. Anne's diary would become her very best friend, a friend she could trust with everything. She called her new friend "Kitty." -
Anne wrote in her diary on June 12, 1942
I hope I shall be able to confide in you completely, as have never been able to do in anyone before, and I hope that you will be a great support and comfort to me. -
The secret Annex
On June 29, 1942, every Dutch newspaper ran an announcement that the Germans occupiers had decided to deport all Jews to labor camps in Germany. Anne's parents began to make plans to find safety. -
The Secret Annex
The stairs leading to the back part of the office where the Franks andn the Van Pels were living was hidden by a bookcase that could be moved to reveal a door. -
The kitchen at the Annex.
The family was terrified of being discovered. During the day time they had to walk quietly and talk softly so that they would not be heard. Another family, the Van Pels, came to live with the Franks. They had a teenage son named Peter who was fifteen when they first came to live in the Annex. -
Anne and Margot's room in the Annex.
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Johannes Kleiman, Miep Gies, Bep Voskuijl, and Victor Kugler
The Franks and the Van Pels survival in the Secret Annex completely depended upon their helpers, who were all close colleagues of Otto Frank and current office staff. From left to right: Johannes Kleiman, Miep Gies, Bep Voskuijl, and Victor Kugler. These people brought them food, supplies, and news of the outside world. -
The ground-floor warehouse
This is the ground-floor warehouse, where spices were ground, weighed, and packed. Of the three men who worked there, only Bep Voskuijl's father new about the family in hiding behind the office. -
People were often transported to the concentration camps in cattle cars.
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Margot and Anne eventually were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
They struggled to survive. They slept in unheated barracks crammed with women. They were always hungry. Both girls caught typhus. Margot died in March, 1945, and Anne died a few days later. The camp was liberated by British soldiers a few weeks later in April. The only member of the Frank family to survive was Otto Frank. -
Anne Frank 1929 - 1945
I want friends, not admirers. People who respect me for the character and for what I do, not by charming smile. The circle around me would be much smaller, but no matter, since it was composed of sincere people. (The Diary of Anne Frank)
