Who was ‘Anne Frank’ ?

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt in Germany on 12 June She was a second daughter for her parents, Otto and Edith.

Her sister, Margot, was three years older than Anne. She often wished to be beautiful like Margot. In 1933 the family moved to Amsterdam.

On her 13 th birthday Anne received a diary. It was her favourite present. She named it ‘Kitty’ and wrote in it everyday.

Around this time World War II started. Anybody Jewish had to wear a star sewn onto their clothes and go to a Jewish school. Anne hated this.

Only three weeks later, Anne’s father received a call- up letter from the SS. As a result, the whole family went to live in a secret hiding place on the top floor of an Amsterdam warehouse where Anne’s father used to work. Anne was woken from her bed at 5.30 am on the day the family moved into their hiding place. They could take only a few things with them because they might have been stopped by the police if they carried suitcases. Anne squeezed into all the clothes she could manage- two vests, three pairs of pants, a dress, a skirt, a jacket, a coat, two pairs of stockings, shoes, a hat and a scarf. They ate a quick meal, scribbled a note for the lodger, said goodbye to their cat and then slipped quietly out of their house.

Otto had been organising a hiding place for his family. He took them to a secret place behind his office. They would be safe here.

Only when they arrived at the secret annexe did Anne’s parents tell her where they were going. Anne helped her father clean the rooms and make them fit for living in. Curtains were the first essential item they had to make. They worked hard all day arranging furniture and filling cupboards. Anne and Margot shared a tiny bedroom leading off the living- room where their parents slept. It looked bleak, until Anne brightened it up by sticking postcards and film star photographs all over the walls. A few Dutch friends who worked for Otto Frank agreed to bring them food each day. In her diary, Anne called them ‘the protectors’.

Inside the office a bookcase covered a secret door to the hiding place. Here the Frank family could hide away safely without being seen.

Anne took her diary with her and wrote in ‘Kitty’ everyday. She wrote about her wishes for the future and hopes of the war ending soon.

Eight people came to live inside the hiding place at the back of the office. Anne often wrote that she was tired of so many people being around.

With eight people now hiding in the annexe, life was very difficult. Often there was not enough food to go round and Anne had to eat rotten vegetables. The beds had to be lifted up and put away each morning because there was not enough space. During the day, everyone had to keep completely silent. Any noise could give away their hiding place to the people working in the other parts of the building, who might tell the Germans. Life in hiding was not always gloomy though. Birthdays were celebrated and presents exchanged. Anne used to make sweets, practise her ballet and write in her diary every day.

Anne and Margot shared a bedroom inside the hiding place. It was small and Anne would look out of the window and see the stars.

Some of Otto’s friends helped the family while they were hiding. They brought them food and news of the war. They were very brave.

Anne and her family hid away for 2 years. In 1944 somebody told the German soldiers where the family were hiding and they were found.

Anne and her family were sent to concentration camps in Germany. It was here that Anne died at the age of only 15 years old.

Otto was the only member of the Frank family to survive. After the war ended he was given Anne’s diary and he had it made into a book.

‘The diary of Anne Frank’ has been read by people all over the world. She is remembered for having great courage and never giving up hope.