Anne Frank

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany on June 12, 1929. When she was old enough, Anne began to write a

diary.

The Nazis began to persecute the Jews in Frankfurt so Anne’s family moved to

Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1930.

Persecution

In July of 1942, Anne, her sister Margot, and her parents went to go hide in a building in

Amsterdam. The family built an annex that included the back side of the house and the

attic/annex of the building so they could hide there in safety.

The doorway to the annex was hidden behind a bookcase.

This is the stairway that led up to the annex.

The annex (without furniture.)

Original diary / original photo of Otto Frank

The Frank family hid in the annex for two years.

Someone betrayed the Frank family and told the Nazis where

they were hiding.

betrayal

Anne and her family were herded into locked railway cars to Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp in Poland. The trip took two days and two nights. The sign above the entrance to the camp said, Arbeit Macht Frei –”Work will make you free.”

When prisoners arrived at Auschwitz, some were “selected” for immediate death. Others, like Anne, were saved for work.

Anne’s hair was shaved off. She lost weight, but according to a woman prisoner who was also at Auschwitz, Anne was “still lively and sweet.”

In October Anne and Margot were taken to Bergen-Belsen, a camp in Germany were there was little food and water and plenty of disease.

Margo and Anne got sick with typhus.

In late February or early March of 1945, the girls died of disease and hunger. Anne Frank was just fifteen years old.

Anne Frank memorial.

Anne’s diary was published in 1947. Later it was turned into both a play and film called “The Diary of Anne Frank.”