Anne Frank: The suffering of a young girl

Anne Frank (1929 - 1945) was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 1933 she and her family, who were Jewish, left Nazi Germany and settled in Amsterdam.

Anne was one of the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution during the second World War. She spent more than two years hiding from the Nazi's in Amsterdam, with family and friends.

Six million Jews died in the Holocaust. More than a million of them were children under 16 years old.

When I went to the house on the Prinsengracht, now a museum, a lot of tourists were lined up outside. Only a few visitors at a time are allowed inside the house, because it is so cramped.

Inside the house the annexe is entered through the secret entrance, a bookcase rigged to swing away. While the Franks and their friends were hiding, there were only a few people who could bring them food and make sure that they were all right.

I find it difficult to give my impressions of that experience. The house is so very small! It is almost impossible to believe that 8 people lived there for so long, always keeping quiet, always keeping windows and doors closed, moving around on socks all day, or actually not moving about much at all, not even being able to flush a toilet for fear of discovery!

They were living in the annexe while Otto's business below carried on as usual. Nobody except the helpers knew that there were people living above their heads.

Sometimes at night Anne and her sister would slip into the office, just to be around a place where other human beings spent time, or to listen to the radio, or to handle papers and items other people have handled before them.

The day of my visit, I waited around until most people went out, then went through the small rooms on my own. There is no furniture, only the bare rooms. But the magazine pictures of movie stars, Anne's attempt to hold on to the world outside, are still on the wall in the small bedroom where she slept.

The eight people who lived there, were Anne and her older sister Margot, and their parents Otto and Edith. They were later joined by friends, Mr and Mrs Van Daan, their son Peter and Mr Dussel. So many people put a tremendous strain on helpers like Miep Gies, who had to find food in war-torn Amsterdam.

Anne and the seven other people were taken into custody by the Green Police in August of l944. It is still believed that somebody betrayed them.

In March 1945 Anne and Margot died of typhus in the camp at Bergen-Belsen. Margot was 19 years old and Anne was fifteen. They died only two months before this concentration camp was liberated. The only person who survived was Otto Frank. He later returned to Amsterdam to live with Miep and her husband.

During the hiding period Anne Frank kept a diary. She used it to get away from the reality of always living in fear of discovery. She describes daily life in the back annexe, and uses her imagination to be anywhere but there.

Anne's diary survived the war. After the betrayal it was found by Miep Gies, one of the helpers. When it was confirmed that Anne would not be returning, Miep gave the manuscripts to Otto Frank.

In 1947 the first Dutch edition appeared. Since then the diary had been published in more than 55 languages. Anne's sense of humour and rich imagination makes this work a delight to read, despite the sadness, hurt and sometimes anger it portrays.

Some pages from Anne's diary

KIBANA-SHAKUNAGE (Rhododendron aureum): One of the Alpine Rhododendrons. Its pale-yellow color is expressed in both the Japanese and the Latin name (image).