People associated with Anne Frank

Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank (12 June 1929–early March 1945) was a Jewish girl who, along with her family and four other people, hid in rooms at the back of her father's Amsterdam company during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Helped by several trusted employees of the company, the group of eight survived in the achterhuis (literally "back-house", usually translated as "secret annex") for more than two years before they were betrayed. Anne kept a diary from 12 June 1942 until 1 August 1944, three days before the residents of the annex were betrayed. Anne mentioned several times in her writing that her sister Margot Frank also kept a diary, but no trace of Margot's diary has ever been found.

After spending time in both Westerbork and Auschwitz, Anne and her older sister Margot were eventually transported to Bergen-Belsen where they both died during a typhus epidemic sometime between late February and mid-March 1945.

Their father, Otto Frank, survived the war, and upon his return to Amsterdam was given the diary his daughter had kept during their period of confinement. The diary was first published in 1947, and by virtue of worldwide sales since then, it has become one of the most widely read books in history. It is recognized both for its historical value as a document of the Holocaust, and for the high quality of writing displayed by such a youthful author.

Contents

The other occupants of the Achterhuis

  • Hermann van Pels: died in Auschwitz. He was the only member of the group to be gassed, however, according to eyewitness testimony, this did not happen on the day of his arrival there. Sal de Liema, an inmate at Auschwitz who knew both Otto Frank and van Pels said that after two or three days in the camp, Herman van Pels mentally "gave up", the beginning of the end for any concentration camp inmate. He later injured his thumb on work detail, and requested to be sent to the sick barracks. Soon after that, during a sweep of the sick barracks for selection, he was sent to the gas chambers. This occurred about three weeks after his arrival at Auschwitz, and his selection was witnessed by both his son Peter, and Otto Frank.
  • Auguste van Pels: both her date and place of death are unknown but witnesses testified that she was with the Frank sisters during part of their time in Bergen-Belsen, but that she was not present when they died in February/March. She is, therefore, assumed to have been transferred before March 1945 to Buchenwald, then to the Theresienstadt ghetto. She is believed to have died either en route to Theresienstadt, or shortly after her arrival there.
  • Peter van Pels: died in Mauthausen after a death march. Otto Frank had protected him during their period of imprisonment together, as the two men had been assigned to the same work group. Frank later stated that he had urged Peter to hide in Auschwitz and remain behind with him, rather than set out on the forced march, but Peter felt that he would have a better chance of survival if he joined the march. Mauthausen Concentration Camp records indicate that Peter van Pels was registered upon his arrival there on 25 January 1945. Four days later, he was placed in an outdoor labor group. On 11 April 1945, Peter was sent to the sick barracks. His exact death date is unknown but the International Red Cross designated it as 2 May 1945. He was 18 years old. Mauthausen was liberated three days later on 5 May 1945 by men from the 11th Armored Division of the U.S. Third Army.

The helpers

Friends and extended family

Arresting officer

See also

References

Bibliography