
Little Anne with her mother Edith Frank

Although her father's family had lived in Germany for generations and the family were liberal Jews, growing anti-Semitism in Germany - and a job offer for Otto - caused the family to move to Amsterdam in 1934.
Anne and Margot, 1933

In 1939, Hitler invaded the Netherlands and Jewish persecution began in the Franks' new country.
Anne walking her dog in 1940

Anne circa 1941

So Margot and Anne were forced to leave their schools and enroll in Jewish only schools while Otto had to turn ownership of his two businesses over to non-Jewish owners in order to keep them going.

His most trusted employees - only four people - would become the family's helpers.
The Frank family walking to a wedding in happier times

Anne's last entry in her diary was on August 1, 1944. On the 4th, the German police stormed the house - no one has discovered who turned in the occupants - and in September the group was transported to Auschwitz. All under the age of 15 who entered Auschwitz were immediately put to death but since Anne had turned 15 three months earlier, she was spared the gas chamber - as were all occupants of the annex. Eventually, everyone but Otto died in the camps - Anne in February or March of 1945 (the date is unknown) of typhus.
Other Holocaust victims from The Netherlands







