List of people associated with Anne Frank

Anneliese Marie “Anne” Frank (12 June 1929early March 1945) was a German-born Jewish girl who, along with her family and four other people, hid in the second and third floor 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 writings that her sister Margot Frank also kept a diary, but no trace of Margot's diary was ever found.

After spending time in both Westerbork and Auschwitz, Anne and her older sister Margot were eventually transported to Bergen-Belsen, which was swept by a massive typhus epidemic that began in the camp in January of 1945. The two sisters died, evidently a few days apart, sometime between late February and mid-March 1945. Both were buried in one of the mass graves at Belsen, though it is unknown to this day exactly which of the many mass graves at Belsen contains their remains. Their "tombstone" that can be viewed at Belsen today is merely a memorial to the two sisters, and does not mark their actual burial site.

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, which had been rescued from the ransacked achterhuis by Miep Gies (below) who, out of respect for Anne's privacy, had not read it. 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.

The other occupants of the Achterhuis

  • Hermann van Pels, known as Hermann (Hans in the first manuscript) van Daan in Anne's diary, 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 Hermann van Pels, said that after two or three days in the camp, van Pels mentally "gave up", which was generally the beginning of the end for any concentration camp inmate. He later injured his thumb on a 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 by Otto Frank.
  • Auguste van Pels (Petronella van Daan in Anne's diary), born Auguste Röttgen (Hermann's wife), whose date of death is unknown. 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. According to German records, Mrs. van Pels was sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany with a group of eight women on November 26, 1944. Hannah Goslar's testimony was that she spoke to Mrs. van Pels through the barbed wire fence "in late January or early February". Auguste was transferred on February 6, 1945 to Raguhn (Buchenwald in Germany), then to the Czechoslovakia camp Theresienstadt ghetto on April 9, 1945. This same card lists her as being alive on April 11, 1945. As such, she must have died en route to Theresienstadt or some time after her arrival there, likely of typhus, the date of her death occurring sometime between April 11 and early May 1945, when the camp was liberated.[1][2][3] However, Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder, eyewitness of Auguste's death, states that the Nazis murdered her by throwing her on the tracks during her last transport to Theresienstadt.[4]
  • Peter van Pels (Hermann and Auguste's son, known as Peter van Daan in Anne's diary and Alfred van Daan in her first manuscript) died in Mauthausen. 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 a forced march, but Peter felt that he would have a better chance of survival if he joined the death march out of Auschwitz. Mauthausen Concentration Camp records indicate that Peter van Pels was registered upon his arrival there on January 25, 1945. Four days later, he was placed in an outdoor labor group, Quarz. 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 May 5, 1945, the same day Mauthausen was liberated by men from the 11th Armored Division of the U.S. Third Army. He was 18 years old.

The helpers

Friends and extended family

Arresting officer

Fellow prisoners

See also

References

  1. Hans Westrra, pp. 210—211.
  2. Inside Anne Frank's House
  3. "Auguste van Pels". annefrank.org.
  4. Who was who In and Around the Secret Annexe?. The Netherlands: Anne Frank Foundation. 2012. p. 82. Retrieved 2015-02-25. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Goldstein, Richard (11 January 2010). "Miep Gies, Protector of Anne Frank, Dies at 100". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  6. Eva Schloss & Evelyn Julia Kent (2010) [1988]. Eva's Story: A Survivor's Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank. ISBN 978-0-8028-6495-6.
  7. Eva Schloss and Barbara Powers (26 March 2008 (first published 26 March 2006)). Promise. Puffin (Penguin)PUFFIN (PENG). ISBN 0141320818. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. Goldsmith, Belinda (April 8, 2013). "Anne Frank's step-sister highlights post-Holocaust traumas". Reuters. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  9. "Eva Schloss". bbc.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  10. "Schneider, Mary Bos". toto.lib.unca.edu.
  11. www.holocaust.georgia.gov (PDF). Georgia Commission on the Holocaust http://holocaust.georgia.gov/sites/holocaust.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/Survivor%20Profile%20-%20Mary%20Bos.pdf. Retrieved 20 January 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. Who Betrayed the People in Hiding?-4 - the official Anne Frank House website

Bibliography