About

Anne Frank (1929-1945) Age 15

When Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, antisemitism expanded rapidly, leading Otto Frank and his family to leave Germany and begin a new life in Holland. Otto opened a business while his daughters Anne and Margot attended school. In 1939, Hitler began his conquest of Europe. By May 1940, the Franks were trapped in Amsterdam and forced in July 1942 into hiding in a crowded attic along with four strangers. Anne had just turned thirteen.

Anne kept a diary which she nicknamed “Kitty.” During the many days when silence was essential for survival, Kitty became Anne’s refuge. She wrote of her feelings growing up as a young woman and of the family’s challenge to live in such close quarters along with strangers.

Their hiding place in the attic was raided in August 1944 and all were taken away to the transit camp of Westerbork - and from there to Auschwitz-Birkenau. At Auschwitz, Anne and Margot, with countless others, were forced onto a death march to Bergen-Belsen where both died of typhus in 1945. A marker at Bergen-Belsen has been erected in their memory. Otto was the sole survivor of the family.

After the war, Miep Gies, who had helped the Franks while they were in hiding, discovered Anne’s diary in the attic and gave it to Otto. It was published in 1947 as The Diary of a Young Girl. As a result, Anne Frank has probably become one of the most familiar victims of the Holocaust.