Anne Frank

A picture of Anne Frank

Dear Readers,
As you may have read on my previous post, I have recently been for a long weekend in Amsterdam. One of the highlights of my trip was when we visited Anne Frank's house. I thought that I would do a blog post about why I liked it and my experience visiting it.

To begin, I will write a bit of background information about Anne Frank for those readers who don't know much about her. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who grew up at the time of World War 2. She was one of the many victims of the dreadful holocaust. Anne enjoyed four happy years growing up in Frankfurt before the Nazis came to power. In 1933, her family moved to Holland where her father started up a business. Anne and her sister Margot attended school in Amsterdam and Anne showed a keen interest in writing. She had quite a strong character and she was slightly outspoken at times! Unfortunately, in 1940, the Nazis came to Holland and things started becoming dangerous for the Jews. At first they just had to wear a yellow star on them at all times but before long, the divide between Jews and other people was becoming bigger and the Jews were deprived of certain things such as being able to go to school with other children. Anne and Margot ha to go to a special Jewish school and things were becoming quite difficult. On her 13th birthday, Otto gave Anne an autograph book bound with white and red checked cloth and closed with a small lock. She proceeded to use this as her diary, with the first entries detailing how her family were segregated and discriminated against.Otto Frank, Anne's father, had made plans for the family to go into hiding but they had to go into hiding earlier than expected because in July 1942, Margot received a call up notice from the Central Office of Jewish Emigration ordering her to report for a relocation to a work camp. This forced the family to go into hiding. On 6 July 1942, Anne and her family went into hiding with four other families. They hid in a secret annexe which was in a specially prepared space above the offices of Otto's business. They were helped by a group of friends who brought them food, books and much more. Anne kept a diary in which she fluently poured out all her emotions and worries. She wrote about how she disagreed often with her Mother and about how she fancied a boy who also lived in the annexe. Her diary ends quite suddenly in 1944 when the secret annexe was raided by the Nazi authorities. Anne and Margot were first sent to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belsen where they died of typhoid in 1945.

Anne Frank's diary is available to buy as a book and it her story has moved millions of people including myself. I can't help admiring her bravery as she did a thing that I don't think I would be able to do. To be hidden away from all her friends, her school, her home and the light of day must have been absolutely awful and she coped with it so well. I think that it takes something like a diary for people to truly understand what Anne and thousands of other Jews were going through. Her diary really helps the reader to understand her emotions and truly empathise in her situation. However many sources we have about the holocaust and the brutal way the Jews were treated, I don't think we can ever fully appreciate what it was like and how terrible the situation was. I was extremely moved by her diary and it made me understand why Anne Frank's house is such a big destination in Amsterdam. Before I describe my visit to the house, I am going to include eight beautiful quotes written by Anne Frank in her diary.

'Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.'
'Despite everything I think that people are really good at heart'
'Sympathy, love, fortune... We all have these qualities but still tend not to use them!'
'People can tell you to keep your mouth shut but that doesn't stop you from having your own opinion.' 
'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.'
'What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.'
' I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself and then I am satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inward strength and plenty of courage.'
'Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!'

Anne Frank's house was something quite special. As you walked around the annexe, there were videos to watch, quotes to read and pictures to look at to help you picture what it would have been like. The annexe is not furnished because Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, wanted it this way. However the house was furnished for certain exhibitions and photos were taken which are on display so you can get a feel for what it was like. I was quite surprised about how small it actually was. It would have been quite tight for one family considering they couldn't go outside but there were four! The staircases were extremely steep and I couldn't imagine having to climb them every day. I thought that it was presented  quite well in that quotes from Anne's diary were on the walls where they were relevant. This ensured that even if you hadn't read the book, you still could get a feel as to where everything was and what it was like. The tour included information about the Holocaust too which I found quite upsetting but I felt it did Anne and all the other people who died in the Holocaust justice. I would really recommend it to anyone but beware if you have young children as they might find it quite upsetting and not fully appreciate the experience. I really enjoyed the opportunity and am keen to revisit it later in my life.

I hope you liked my post about Anne Frank's house! Look out for my upcoming post about the Rijk's Museum, another of my highlights from the trip!

Bye!