Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper

Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper (August 24, 1916 – August 15, 2003) was a Holocaust survivor and one of the last people to see Anne Frank. Janny and her sister Lientje were in the Westerbork, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with Anne and Anne's older sister Margot.

Life

Janny was born in Amsterdam, the middle of three children. One of her sisters was Lientje Brilleslijper. In 1939, Janny married Bob Brandes, and they had two children: Rob, born in 1939, and Lilo, born in 1941.

After the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, Janny and Bob, along with Lientje, began to work in the Resistance. Janny kept Jewish people hidden in her home, and she never officially registered as a Jew. However, the Nazis often wanted to arrest Janny and her family, who made some narrow escapes. Finally, Janny and Lientje were arrested in the summer of 1944, and were transported to the Westerbork transit camp. In Westerbork, they were listed as "criminals" and had to work hard in the work barracks. In those barracks, Janny and Lientje met Anne and Margot and befriended them.

From Westerbork, Janny, Lientje, and the Franks were transported to Auschwitz. Janny and Lientje were later transported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne and Margot were also transported in October 1944. Janny, who was made a nurse in the camp, took care of the ill prisoners.[1] In March 1945, Anne and Margot died within a few days of each other. Janny and Lientje buried them in the mass graves at the camp.

After the war, Janny was reunited with her husband and children. Through the Red Cross, she contacted Otto Frank and informed him about the deaths of his daughters, Anne and Margot.[2]

Janny gave interviews about Anne and Margot's final days in the documentary movie, The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank (1987), which was directed by Willy Lindwer.

Death

Janny died on August 15, 2003 at the age of 86, just 9 days before her 87th birthday on August 24.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Interview in The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank by Willy Lindwer
  2. ↑ "Anne Frank Diary Reference: People". annefrankdiaryreference.org.
  3. ↑ Stadler, Laura (21 August 2003). "Concentration camp survivor who was one of the last to see Anne Frank alive". The Independent. Retrieved 28 July 2011.

See also