-
Margot Frank
On February 16th, 1926, Margot Frank was born in Frankfurt Germany. She is the first of the Franks’ children and would be 3 years older than Anne. Anne’s diary and the play reveal that Margot was very quiet, unlike Anne. -
Peter van Pels
Peter van Pels was born on November 8th, 1926, in Osnabruck, Germany. He is the only child of the van Pels. He would later be a resident of the secret annex, where he befriends Anne Frank. -
Anne Frank
Anne Frank was born on June 12th, 1929. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany. At this time, Anne’s sister Margot would be 3 years old. -
Moving to Amsterdam
In 1933, the Frank family moves to Amsterdam. This was Anne’s father’s idea to leave because he was worried by Hitler coming to power. In Amsterdam, Otto frank worked at the Dutch Opekta Company, the home of the future secret annex. -
Contraints Against the Jewish
Throughout 1933 Jews continued to have rights taken from them. Jews could no longer have civil jobs or be lawyers, (with exceptions to veterans and those already working the jobs) laws were passed that prevented overcrowding in schools, removing many Jews from schooling. It was becoming very clear that Jews were losing many of their rights. -
Hitler's Rise
On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler became Reich Chancellor. This was the start of Hitler and the Nazis rising into power. Hitler and the Nazis would slowly begin to create rules against the Jews in Germany. -
The First Camp
On March 22nd, 1933, Dachau was established. This was the first of many concentration camps to be established by Hitler. The camp was located outside of Dachau, hence the name of the camp. The camp was used to imprison the political opponents of the Nazi party as Hitler became more powerful. -
The Boycott
On April 1st, 1933, German storm troopers stood in front of Jewish businesses and offices holding signs telling the people not to buy from Jews. The Nazis did this because the Jews were “ruining Germany’s reputation.” The boycott only lasted one day but resembled the beginning of Nazis taking away Jewish rights. -
The Supreme Leader
In August of 1934, Hitler made himself the Fuhrer, or “Supreme Leader” of Germany. He was the dictator of Germany at this point. Hitler would now begin to slowly break rules that were created for Germany after World War I. Hitler was preparing Germany to go to war so his idea of the perfect German race could flourish. -
New Laws
On September 15th, 1935, the German parliament passed a set of laws that changed what could define someone as a Jew. It made so that people that didn’t practice Judaism but had Jewish family counted as a Jew. This would contribute to the amount of people put in concentration camps. -
An Invasion
On March 11-13th, 1938, Germany invaded Austria. Germany then annexed Austria. Austria will not be the only country to be invaded, Germany would continue invading and annexing many other countries. -
A Conference
On July 6-15th, 1938, at a conference in France, countries discussed immigration laws for Jews fleeing from Germany. Many countries did not change their immigration laws. Causing many Jews to not be able to find refuge safe from the Nazis. -
Another Invasion
Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939. This is what really made other countries decide to take action. Many countries just wanted peace after World War I, but at this point Germany had crossed the line. -
The Beginning of the War
On September 3rd, 1939, two days after Germany had begun to invade Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany. There are many different views of when World War II started, but one is that it started when France and Britain declared war on Germany. The rest of the world had finally decided to take action against Germany. -
Continuing the Invasion
On September 17th, Soviets attacked Poland from the east. With Germany on one side and Soviets on another, Poland was quickly captured and split between Germany and the Soviet Union. Germany was allied with the Soviet Union and had the Nonaggression Pact, but Germany later turned on the Soviet Union. -
More Invasions
On April 9th, 1940, Germany invaded Norway and was occupying Denmark. Germany was quickly invading many countries throughout the war and would continue to do so until stopped by enemy forces. At this time, Germany is still allied with the Soviet Union. -
Blitzkrieg
Germans quickly attacked Belgium and the Netherlands on May 10th, 1940. This attack revealed the military tactic “blitzkrieg,” a quick attack using a large amount of mobile weaponry. Blitzkrieg translates to “lightning war.” -
A Declaration of War
On June 10th, Italy declared war on France and Britain. Italy had a pact with Germany and decided to join the war on this day in 1940. Germany was still gaining power and had not turned on the Soviet Union yet at the time. -
An Armisice
Germany invaded Paris on June 14th, 1940. Two days later, the government called an armistice. France was then divided into pieces shared between its government and German military. -
The Nazis and the Franks
In October of 1940, the Nazis began making the Jewish people wear yellow stars and follow a curfew. Anne and Margot were forced to go to a Jewish school. By this time, Jewish people could no longer own businesses, but Mr. Frank signed ownership of his company off to two of his workers who allowed him to secretly run the company. -
The Lend-Lease Act
In march of 1941, congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. This act allowed the U.S. to give military supplies and aid to its allies in need of help. The Lend-Lease Act provided much help to Britain after being attacked by Germany. -
Another Declaration of War
December 8th, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, congress declared war on Japan.
The vote was nearly unanimous, with only one member of congress voting against the declaration of war. This caused the rest of the Axis (Germany, other allies of japan, etc.) to declare war on the U.S. The United States had officially joined World War II. -
A Betrayal
On June 22nd, 1941, Germany turned on the Soviet Union when Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. Germany was able to make its way through the land of the Soviet Union quickly thanks to the element of surprise. The Soviets soon fought back, however, slowing German advances. (Picture of the Soviet Union's Flag) -
An Attack
The event that is known as the “attack on Pearl Harbor” occurred on December 7th, 1941. On this day, a U.S. naval base located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by 360 Japanese aircraft. Over 2,300 American troops were killed. -
Anne's Diary
On her 13th birthday in 1942, Anne receives her famous diary, which she gives the name “Kitty.” The diary would later be published by Otto Frank, Anne’s father. It would become famous as a primary source from the time of the holocaust and world war II. -
The Summons
On July 5th, 1942, Margot received a summons that she had to go to a Nazi work camp. This is what really made the family decide it was time to go into hiding. With the assistance of a few people from Mr. Frank’s company, the Frank family managed to get into hiding very quickly. -
Into Hiding
On July 6th, 1942, the family goes into hiding in the secret annex in the attic of Mr. Frank’s company. The family is supplied food and other needs by the friends of Mr frank. The Franks will not be the only residents of the annex for long, they will later be joined by more occupants. -
New Arrivals
The Franks are joined by Hermann, Auguste, and Peter van Pels in the annex on July 13th, 1942. The van Pels were a business partner with Mr. Frank, so he knew them and was willing to let them join the Franks in hiding. In the published version of the diary, these people were known as the Van Daans to protect their reputation because of opinions of the van Pels mentioned in the diary. -
A Birthday
On November 8th, 1942, the residents of the secret annex celebrated Peter van Pels’ birthday. This was an earlier example of how the members of the annex celebrate birthdays. Anne writes in her diary that Peter received little gifts like a razor and a lighter, the lighter which Anne mentions was “really just for show” because Peter didn’t smoke. -
A New Guest
Fritz Pfeffer becomes a resident of the secret annex on November 16th, 1942. He was a dentist and had joined the annex because he had asked Miep Gies, one of the people helping hide the Frank family, if there was a place he could go into hiding. Like the van Pels, Fritz Pfeffer was also given a different name in the published diary. Pfeffer is the last person to join the annex. -
The Annex and D-Day
On D-day, (June 6th, 1944) Anne wrote an entry in her diary about news of the invasion, but she also provided the annex members’ reactions to news of the invasion. Anne mentions that the news of the invasion was given in quite a few different languages in the news. She also mentions the members of the annex discussing and exciting that the war might be over at the end of the year. -
D-Day
The event that is known as “D-Day” took place on June 6th, 1944. (Less than two months before the capture of the members of the secret annex.) On “D-Day,” 156,000 soldiers from Britain, Canada, and America, arrived on the beaches of Normandy, France. Germany was forced to defend in the west, allowing the Soviets to attack Germany from the east. This was a big sign that Germany would be defeated and the war would soon be over. -
Another Birthday
On June 13th, 1944, Anne wrote about her birthday in the annex, the entry is another example of what some of the birthdays were like in the annex. Anne’s birthday was the day before the entry, and she writes about what the members of the annex did for her birthday and some news of the invasion. The members of the annex gave Anne little gifts for her birthday, Anne received items like books, clothing, a lot of various snacks and foods, and other items everyone could find to give Anne. -
The Last Entry
Anne Frank wrote her last diary entry on August 1st, 1944. In her last entry Anne mainly talked about her feelings. This entry was only a few days before the members of the annex were arrested.
(picture of Anne's diary on display at a museum.) -
The Arrest
On August 4th, 1944, the residents of the secret annex were captured. They were arrested by a member of the Nazi secret police and 4 other Nazis. They were found because the police were given an anonymous tip about the hiding Jews.
