Anne Frank

Anne Frank: A Symbol of Innocence, Truth, Perseverance, and Hope.

AnneFrank1940 crop.jpg

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany on the 12th of June, 1929. Her father is Otto Frank, and her mother is Edith Hollander (later Edith Frank). She also have an older sister, named Margot Frank which was born in 1926. The Franks were liberal Jews, which means that they didn't observe all of the traditions of Judaism.

Shortly after her birth, at 1933, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party won the federal election. This made Otto worry later on February 1934, the Franks moved to Amsterdam. Otto worked at a company named Opekta Works, which is a company that sold the fruit exract, pektin.

In Amsterdam, Anne and Margot enrolled in school. Anne was in a Montessori school, and she showed aptitude for reading and writing. One of her friends, Hanneli Goslar, recalled that she frequently wrote but were shielding her work from others people (not wanting to discuss about her writings).

They were living in Netherlands peacefully until May 1940 where Germany started to invade the Netherlands which began after the Germany bombed Rotterdam. At that time, the government were really against Jews and wanted to persecute them. So, at 1941 her father actually tried to move to the United States but they couldn't because the U.S. had blocked immigration from Germany because they were afraid they were actually Nazi spies.

On the 12th of June 1942, she received an autograph book which she used for her diary. It was an autograph book bound with red-and-white checkered cloth. She began writing it almost immediately.

She and her family went hiding at the 6th of July, 1942. They resided in a three-story space that could be entered from the Opekta office. She were residing there, sharing her rooms with other hiding Jews at that time. Most of her diary entries were about her life hiding there, spending her life with the other hiding Jews. She continued writing regularly until her last entry at the 1st of August, 1944.

Taken from outside the reconstruction of a barracks, the photo shows a barbed wirefence, and beyond it a grassy area with a small timber hut
Westerbork Transit Camp

The Franks were arrested by the Grune Polizei on the morning of 4 August 1944. Two days later, they were transported to the Westerbork transit camp, which has been been the residence for more than 100,000 Jews at that time. They were sent there and used as a hard labour.

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Auschwitz Concentration Camp

On the 3rd of September, 1944, the Franks were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and it was the last sransport from Westerbork. Otto Frank was wrenched from his family because at that time the SS forcibly separated the men from the women and children.  At that time, children younger than 15 were sent directly to the gas chambers to be executed. Fortunately, for Anne, she just turned 15 three months earlier, so she was spared. She thought that her father had been killed immediately after they were separated.

The live at Auschwitz wasn't nice at all. It was terrible. There wasn't enough food for Anne, her family, and the other Jews that were captivated there. Disease was rampant too, as diseases spread really easily. They were forced to work as labors too.

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Berger-Belsen Concentration Camp

On the 28th of October, 1944, Anne and her older sister, Maggot, were transported to Bergen-Belsen. They were separated from their mother, Edith. Edith later died at Auschwitz due to starvation. They were sent there because the population of prisoners rose and the death toll due to disease were increasing rapidly.

Early 1945, a typhus epidemic spread through the camp and killed around 17,000 prisoners.  Due to all these chaotic conditions, it isn't really possible to determine the specific cause of Anne's death, but people believe it's due to the typhus epidemic that spread around that time. The exact dates of Margot and Anne's deaths were not recorded, but they were believed to die around February to March. Their death also occurred unfortunately just before British soldiers liberated the camp on the 15th of April, 1915.

A Memorial for Margot and Anne Frank shows a Star of David and the full names, birthdates, and year of death of each of the sisters, in white lettering on a large black stone. The stone sits alone in a grassy field, and the ground beneath the stone is covered with floral tributes and photographs of Anne Frank
Memorial for Margot and Anne at the former Berger-Belsen site.

Het Achterhuis (The Diary of a Young Girl)

Anne's father, Otto, actually survived the World War II in Europe. After her death, Miep Gles gave him Anne Frank's diary and a bundle of loose notes. Her father then published her diary as a book, which was published in the name of "Het Achterhuis" which translates into "The Diary of a Young Girl."

Anne Frank were then remembered as the world symbol of innocence, truth, perseverance, and hope. Many buildings and memorial places were made for her. There's the Anne Frank House, the Statue of Anne Frank made by Mari Andriessen, there's also the Anne Frank Educational Centre in Dornbusch, and a school named after her in Amsterdam, and many more. In 1999, the Time magazine named Anne Frank among the heroes and icons of the 20th century on their list The Most Important People of the Century because as a teen, she braved the Nazis and lent a searing voice to fight for human dignity.

For me, she is really inspiring because as a teenager she was really mature and she keeps on thinking positively. In the middle of a chaotic war, she kept believing that there's still good in every people and she keeps saying that the war will eventually end and the world will eventually come to peace. It's quite unfortunate that she couldn't see the world peace that is happening right now, but thanks to her, we know how important the world peace is, how important it is to see the good in the bad people, how important it is to start respect each others for the sake of our world.

Q&A's
1. Where was Anne Frank born?
a. Frankfurt
b. Hamburg
c. Diesel
d. Amsterdam

2. Who got transported to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp?
a. Anne Frank
b. Anne and Margot Frank
c. Anne, Margot, and Edith Frank
d. Anne, Margot, Edith, and Otto Frank

3.What did she get for her birthday at 1942?
a. A diary
b. A notebook
c. An autograph book
d. A math book

4. What is believed to be the cause of Anne's death at that time?
a. Starvation
b. Typhus
c. Diarrhea
d. Injuries

5. Who survived the war?
a. The whole Frank Family
b. Otto and Edith Frank
c. Otto Frank
d. Edith Frank

Sources:
wikipedia.org
(all images were taken from the original English wikipedia site)




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