"I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people , even those I've never met. I want to go on living, even after my death."
-Anne Frank
How did she know?
The Anne Frank House has always been a place of great curiosity for me, so when I was able to plan a trip in Europe, I made sure to incorporate Amsterdam on my itinerary.
Sadly, no pictures were permitted in the house, but I was able to download from annefrank.org, which is an excellent website for all who are interested in enhancing their knowledge about all things related to this period in history.
I understand that my students have read The Diary of Anne Frank as 8th graders, but a trip to the house provided an extra insight to add to the diary itself. I can remind other readers of the background if it's been awhile since you've read it.
The Frank family was originally from Germany, but they choose to move from their native country to the Netherlands as Hitler began his regime. After the move in 1942 Anne and her sister Margot were attending school and enjoying their social and academics lives; however, it wasn't long before Jews were forced to wear the iconic yellow star and separate schools were forced. Other freedoms were deprived. I sadly noted that Anne was especially despondent that she could no longer go ice skating, which she loved: "No Jews allowed."
Mr. Frank realized that he had to find a way to protect his family. He investigated options, one of which was immigrating to the United States; this was not possible so alternative plans were made for a hiding place in an apartment at the back of his office building. They were to leave on July 16, 1942.
Before the move to the Secret Annex (as it was soon to be called) Margot received a call ( visit from a policeman) to report for work in Germany under police supervision. Knowing the reality, that this "call" was part of the German's plans to remove all Jews eventually from the Netherlands, Otto Frank moved the day of departure to July 6 so Margot would not have to answer the call. The Frank family left their apartment intentionally messy so it would appear they left in a hurry, and Mr. Frank scribbled a note with a Switzerland address to deter searches, and off went the Frank family, Anne wearing as many layers of clothes as she could to avoid carrying a large suitcase in the city, thereby attracting attention.
Anne left behind her home, her friends, and her beloved cat, Moortje.
The family lived in a back part of the office building on two levels. They were joined by another family, the Van Pels (mother , father, and 16 year old Peter, whom Anne disliked at first, but later admires and loves), and another man, Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist. Anne at one point must share a room with him.
This entrance to this secret area is hidden by a bookcase. Only a few workers realize the families are in the building. Because they are hiding in a working office building, all daytime activities (talking, walking around, bathroom use) must be limited until the workers leave at night.
Life is difficult in the building, especially for a teenage girl. Anne finds solace in her diary, writing at first observations, then confiding to her diary about her ill feelings toward her mother and missing her former life. Anne was skilled at writing ("When I write I can shake off my cares") and loved the written word. Besides her diary, she had a collection of lines from other books she admired (her "Favorite Quotes"notebook, which she referred to as "beautiful sentences.") She also wrote short stories. She heard from the outside that the government of the Netherlands was urging its inhabitants to save personal papers , including diaries. This inspired Anne to rewrite the diary entries she had written. She felt that her words may someday influence others. She even noted that she envisioned her work published with the title, The Secret Annexe.
The families lived in hiding for over 2 years. They were discovered by German police and sent to concentration camps, where all his family died except for Otto Frank. Miep Gies, a kind worker at the office who had been helping the Franks, fortunately had found and saved Anne's diary. When Mr. Frank was released he lived with Miep and her husband. Naturally Miep gave the book to Mr. Frank. He couldn't read it for a long time, but when he did, he was shocked. He was surprised at Anne's inner feelings, things she had not shared with him, despite their close relationship. As a matter of fact, the first published diary released was somewhat edited by him. I'm guessing that he didn't want the world to know of a teenage girl's personal revelations, as well as Anne's description of her relationship with Peter. It wasn't until 1991 that the full version was published. I have read both, and there are notable additions.
THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE
The house tour leads the visitors throughout the house, guided by excerpts from the diary in each room to explain and describe each area.There are recored firsthand accounts from Mr. Frank and Miep Gies, which add much to the authenticity. Needless to say, Anne's room is particularly fascinating, knowing that this was where most of her writing was done. Also, Mr. Frank allowed her to paste pictures of friends and movies stars on the wall.
While Mr. Frank took them down when he returned, they were preserved and replaced when the house became a museum. They are on the walls behind plexiglass.
The attic could be seen but was only viewable from the foot of the steps. I wanted to see it, knowing that this was where Anne and Peter shared their first kiss.
Many artifacts added to the story of Anne Frank. Some notable ones include:
- the markings for height growth for Anne and her sister still written on the walls
- a large gallery of photos of Anne and her family, including the last picture of them together before they went into hiding
-correspondence between Mr. Frank and his workers/helpers
- a shopping list from Miep Gies, who brought the families food
- a map the inhabitants used to keep track of the German advances
- Anne's "schoolwork"--conjugations of French verbs
- the diary pages complete with cross-outs--remeber that at one point Anne saw her work as later being published
At the end of the tour there was a room of recored reflections on Anne and her contributions. One that caught my attention was John Green, author of The Fault In Our Stars, reading a passage about those characters as they toured the Annne Frank House.
I have to admit I was very excited to climb the steep steps of the house that Hazel struggled with. I pictured her and Gus many times during my time there.
So, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam was all that I had hoped it to be and more. There's nothing like seeing firsthand something so iconic. Even now, as I write these blogs, I relate to Anne the writer. Sadly, I now can try to understand even better, the struggle of a group of people, the Jews, who were persecuted for no good reason.
I left keeping in mind the optimism of a young girl, who despite these odds was able to remind us even now (just as she had hoped) :
"I keep my ideals, because, in spite of everything, I still feel people are really good at heart."
