Who Was Anne Frank?

Anne Frank was a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish descent known for her work, The Diary of a Young Girl, which describes her life in hiding from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Early life

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929, four years before Hitler came to power. As the hostilities towards the Jews increased, her parents, Otto and Edith, decided to flee to Amsterdam when Anne was only four and a half years old, along with her sister Margot. In 1942, two years after the German army occupied the Netherlands, the family went into hiding.

Anne Frank's diary

On her 13th birthday, Anne Frank received a red-and-white plaid diary from her father, Otto Frank. She dreamt of becoming a writer and wrote in it religiously. Three weeks later, Anne took the diary with her when the Franks went into hiding. Over the next two years, she wrote about her life, the war, her thoughts, and her dreams.

She addressed the letters in her diary to Kitty, a fictional character from a series of books she had read.

On March 28, 1944, after hearing an appeal on the radio from Dutch minister Bolkestein asking the Dutch to hang on to important documents about their experience during the war, Anne began working on a book about her time in hiding. Titled Het Achterhuis, or The Secret Annex, the book was a revised version of her diary. However, before she could finish the book, they were caught by the Gestapo.

Miep Gies, Otto’s secretary, managed to save the diary. When Otto — the only survivor of the war—returned, Miep handed the book to him. Otto, who knew of his daughter’s dream, fulfilled her wish by publishing it. Translated into almost 70 languages, The Diary of a Young Girl continues to inspire millions.

Anne Frank’s life in hiding

Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in July 1942, and they chose a hidden space behind Otto Frank’s office as their hiding spot.

Anne Frank spent 761 days in the Secret Annex. Anne had to share her room with Fritz Pfeffer, a German dentist and Jewish refugee. Living in such close quarters often led to tensions.

Their day usually began at 6:45am. During the day, they had to stay extremely quiet so people downstairs couldn’t hear them. They walked around in socks, talked in whispers, and waited for the night to be able to flush. Lunch hour was more relaxed, with the workers going home for their meal. At night, after the workers went home, the people in hiding would relax and spread out through the building. When the sun went down, the windows had to be blacked out, and it would be quiet at the Secret Annex again. Sundays were meant for 'scrubbing, sweeping and washing', as Anne describes in her diary.

Otto’s coworkers and friends, including Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, and Bep Voskuijl, often brought the residents food supplies, along with clothes and news of the outside world. When Anne wasn’t doing chores, she was writing in her diary, studying with her father, or copying passages from books. She also cut out pictures from magazines to stick on her walls and spied on her neighbors at dawn for entertainment.

Arrest and death

On the morning of August 4, 1944, the secret annex was stormed by a group of German uniformed police led by the SS, a paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. They were transported to the Westerbork transit camp. Having been arrested in hiding, they were considered criminals and sent to the Punishment Barracks for hard labor.

On September 3, 1944, the group was deported on the last transport from Westerbork to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Here, the men were separated from the women and children. This was the last time Otto Frank would see his family. At the camp, they were used as slave labor. Owing to the terrible conditions, Anne Frank developed scabies.

In October or November, Anne and Margot Frank were transported to Bergen-Belsen. Edith Frank, who was left behind, died of starvation in early January, just before the evacuation of Auschwitz.

In early 1945, a typhus epidemic spread through the Bergen-Belsen camp, killing 17,000 prisoners, including Anne and Margot Frank. They died in February or March of 1945; the exact dates were not recorded. Otto Frank, the only survivor of those in hiding, was found hospitalized at Auschwitz when it was liberated by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945.

Anne Frank's diary in popular culture

As a story that has become so popular for the strength, hope, and determination it portrays, The Diary of a Young Girl has become a source of inspiration for many filmmakers.

A play by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich based on the diary won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955.
The Diary of Anne Frank, a 1959 film based on the play by Hackett and Goodrich, earned Shelley Winters an Academy Award for her performance. Winters donated her Oscar to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Anne, authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, was the first adaptation allowed to quote literal passages from the diary.
Alix Sobler's 2014 The Secret Annex imagines the fate of the diary in a world in which Anne Frank survives the Holocaust.
Anne formed the basis for Tagebuch der Anne Frank, a 2016 German drama film directed by German filmmaker Hans Steinbichler.
The 2021 film Where is Anne Frank by Ari Folman, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, focuses on Kitty, who sets out to find Anne Frank by reflecting on the diary's contents.

The video diary

Imagine a world where Anne Frank gets a video camera instead of a diary. What if she were a vlogger and not a diarist? That’s what ‘Anne Frank Video Diary,’ a video series created by the Anne Frank House Museum, tries to show. The series follows Anne Frank from March 29, 1944, when she had been in hiding for over a year and a half. She films herself and the events at the Secret Annex and reflects on her life before hiding. She talks about the war, her dreams, hopes, and feelings — just as in her diary. The series of 15 episodes, in which Luna Cruz Perez plays Anne Frank, ends on August 4, 1944, when Anne and the others are arrested.

Streaming on YouTube, the online series is available in 60 countries, with subtitles in five languages.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Anne Frank

How did Anne Frank's diary survive?

Anne Frank's diary was preserved by Miep Gies, one of the Dutch citizens who helped hide the Frank family. After the family was arrested, Miep found the diary in the annex and kept it safe until after the war, when she gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the family.

How did the diary become published?

Anne Frank’s diary was first published in 1947, after her father, Otto Frank, decided to fulfill his daughter’s wish to become a writer. He edited the diary and arranged for its publication, recognizing the importance of Anne's voice in telling the story of life under Nazi persecution.

What themes are explored in Anne Frank’s diary?

Anne Frank’s diary explores themes of identity, adolescence, fear, hope, and the moral questions posed by life in hiding. It also reflects Anne’s observations on human nature, her dreams for the future, and her thoughts on the cruelty of the world around her.

Who were the people who helped Anne Frank and her family?

Several people helped Anne Frank and her family during their time in hiding. These included Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, and Bep Voskuijl, who provided food, supplies, and news from the outside world, risking their lives to protect the hidden families.

How can I learn more about Anne Frank before visiting the house?

To learn more about Anne Frank before visiting the house, you can read her diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, explore documentaries and films about her life, and visit the Anne Frank House's official website for additional resources and information.

Are there any educational programs about Anne Frank at the museum?

Yes, the Anne Frank House offers various educational programs, including guided tours, workshops, and online resources designed to teach visitors about Anne Frank’s life, the Holocaust, and the importance of human rights and tolerance. These programs are aimed at students, teachers, and the general public.