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Period: to
The Frank family
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Event 1
Otto and Edith marry after he spent many years in the German army yet ended up resigning after their defeat by England, France, the United States, and many other countries after World War 1. During the war, Otto was ultimately promoted to rank of lieuntenant where he led groups of army troops. After the war many indviduals were out of work. This was not the case for Otto Frank. He was a businessman - and was still able to work through taking over the family bank with his brother. -
Event 2
Anne Frank was born on June 12 in Frankfurt, Germany. From the time she was a baby, her parents knew they would have their hands full; she charmed them with her beautiful smile yet concerned them with her cries at night. -
Event 3
After Hitler's rise in power, Otto realized the danger asociated with such a powerful man in charge. Because of this he decided to move the family, first to Switzerland for a short while and finally to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam the Otto would begin his new business of making pectin a substance used to mke jam while the girls were enrolled in a Montessori school and Edith worked at home. -
Event 4
After the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam, all Jews were forced to give up their natural freedoms and privileges and Jewish children made to go to Jewish schools, Anne and Margot were no exception. All Jews in Amsterdam were made to wear yellow stars on their coats, give up their businesses, forced to stay away from movie theaters, and forbidden to sit on park benches. If caught doing any of these things, would have resulted in arrest and deportation to a concentration or labor camp. -
Event 5
Because of the strict rules on all Jewish people, the Frank family was forced to carry out Anne's thirteenth birthday party in their home. This was not a struggle for Edith though, as she was a natural homemaker. Anne had all of her friends over and many family friends as well. On this day, Anne recieved the famous red and white checkered diary from her parents. She named this diary Kitty, after an old friend, and made her first entry two days after the party. -
Event 6
Otto always believed that if anyone would be called to report it would be him, not his wife nor children, but that is exactly what happened. Margot recieved a notice in the mail demanding her to report to the train station the next morning. With this, Otto knew exactly what they had to do - the Frank family had to disappear. The next morning they travled secretly to the secret annex - a small apartment like space Otto had been preparing for them for months now. -
Event 7
The Franks, Van Pels, and Mr. Pfeffer had settled into life in the annex. They spent their days and nights fairly quiet in hopes that no one would hear and report them. Unfortunately, no matter their exhausting efforts, they were still caught. From there they were all sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Edith and Otto stayed at Auschwitz while Anne and Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. -
Event 8
Auschwitz camp was the largest of the six Nazi death camps. The Frank and Van Pels women were made to stand outside in the cold wet weather while Nazi soldiers called names accounting for each person. Edith and Auguste Van Pels were assigned to do work at the camp, were rarely fed, and always cold. After four long months of these harsh conditions, Edith passed seemingly from exhaustion and malnutrition. -
Event 9
Once month after the secret annex residents arrived at Auschwitz, Anne and Margot were transferred to a camp in Germany named Bergen-Belsen. There Anne reconnected with her childhood friend Hannah just weeks before passing. Margot passed first and then Anne; they had contracted typhus and with no medical care, their fate was decided for them. -
Event 10
Of the eight people to leave the annex and head to labor camps, only one returned. Otto made his way back to the annex to gather anything left from their arrest. There he met Miep, who gave him all of Anne's diary letters she found after the arrest. -
Event 11
Otto spent hours upon hours sitting and reading all the entries from Anne's diary. After he read through them all, he decided that the only thing to do was to publish them. The diary was first published in German under the name, Het Achter huis. It was later translated into English and since over a million copies have been sold. -
Event 12
Officials in Amsterdam made the decision to perserve the annex as a museum. It is called the Anne Frank House and is the most popular tourist attraction in Holland.