The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank

Anne Frank, World War II, and the Holocaust… Grade 8 Anne Frank Auschwitz

Anne Frank Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany on June 12, 1929. Her sister, Margot, is three years older than her. Her family is both Jewish and German. (In that same year, the United States experienced The Great Depression)

1921-1939 in Germany: Adolph Hitler becomes head of the Nazi party in 1921 and Chancellor of Germany in 1933. The first concentration camp at Dachau is established in March of 1933 mainly for anyone who speaks out against Hitler and the Nazi party. Nazis pass anti-Jewish measures. (Between 1933 and 1939, FOUR HUNDRED laws were passed in an attempt to isolate, exclude, and impoverish Jews.)

1933-1934 In late December, 1933, the Frank family decides to leave Germany to escape the rising Anti-Semitism. They move to the Netherlands. This is the last photograph taken of them before leaving Germany.

Anschluss http://Definition of Anschluss Germany annexes (takes) part of Czechoslovakia and Austria in March 1938. Neville Chamberlin (Prime Minister of England) meets with Hitler to condemn the action. Hitler promises that he will take no more territory. The Munich Agreement is signed in September, 1938.

September 1, 1939 German attacks Poland to regain territory that had been lost after World War I. World War II has begun.

Denmark , Norway, Belgium, France and the Netherlands fall to the German army. 1940

1940 in the Netherlands: The Netherlands surrender to Germany in May, 1940. Anti-Jewish measures become law. Their purpose is to drive Jews into poverty, isolate them, and eventually exterminate them. Jews must wear a Yellow Star. Bicycles must be turned in. Jews are banned from trains, cinemas, parks, playgrounds, and swimming pools. They may only shop between 3 and 5 p.m. and only in Jewish shops. Jews may not visit Christians. They may only attend Jewish schools. Curfew for Jews is 8 o’clock.

December 7, 1941: A date that will live in infamy. America enters World War II after the December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan. Click on the photo for a brief history of the attack on Pearl Harbor:

1942 Anne receives her diary for her 13th birthday on June 12, 1942. The Call-Up: Jews, who are summoned, receive this document from the Central Office of Jewish Emigration: an exact list of what they are allowed to bring with them. It also indicates when they must depart. Margot Frank receives her call-up notice. She is ordered to report for deportation to a labor camp on July 5, 1942, along with thousands of other Jews in Amsterdam. She has to go to a labour camp in Germany. Otto and Edith have no intention of allowing their daughter to be sent to Nazi Germany.

1942 The Franks go into hiding in the Secret Annex on July 6, 1942. The hiding place is located in an empty section of the building owned by Otto Frank’s company. The entrance to the secret annex is concealed by a movable bookcase. The VanPels (Hermann, Auguste, and their son, Peter) join the Frank family one week later. Anne calls them the VanDaans. Fritz Pfeffer, a Jewish dentist, (Mr. Dussel) joins them in hiding in November, 1942. Click on the picture above for the video or the link below for the whole site: Anne Frank Site

Inhabitants of the Secret Annex http://www. annefrank Anne changes the Van Pels to the Van Daans in her diary. Fritz Pfeffer moves in with the families. Anne changes his name to Dussel.

In-Hiding Helpers The people in hiding are helped by Otto Frank’s four employees: Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler (Kraler) and Bep Voskuijl. They arrange the food supplies, clothing, books, and all sorts of other necessities. In addition, they keep the people in hiding up-to-date with the news from the outside world. Miep Gies died in 2010 at 100 years of age.

D-Day: June 1944 Operation Overlord was executed on June 6, 1944. While a phantom army maneuvered about in northern England threatening to cross at Calais, the real assault took place on the beaches along a 50-mile stretch of fortified coastline in Normandy. Five thousand ships carried 150,000 men and nearly 30,000 vehicles across the English channel, one of the most unpredictable and dangerous bodies of water in the world. Click on the infographic to enlarge it so you can see the facts about D-Day

D-Day

August 4, 1944 At approximately 10 am, August 4, 1944, the Frank family's greatest fear comes true. A Nazi policeman and several Dutch collaborators appear at 263 Prinsengracht, having received an anonymous phone call informing them that Jews are hiding there. The police head straight for the bookcase that leads to the Secret Annex. Karl Joseph Silberbauer, an Austrian Nazi, forces the residents to turn over all their valuables. When he finds out that Otto Frank had been a lieutenant in the German Army during World War I, he is a little less hostile. The residents are taken from the house, forced into a covered truck, taken to the Central Office for Jewish Emigration, and then sent to Weteringschans Prison. Miep Gies gathers and saves Anne's scattered diary pages. Two of the helpers, Victor Kugler and Johannes Kleiman, are imprisoned for their role in hiding the family. Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl are not arrested, although Miep is brought in for questioning by the police.

Concentration Camps of Europe Click on the map to open a thinglink. Once you’re there, you can read about the Concentration Camps Anne and her housemates were.

Auschwitz Death Camp On the morning of September 3, 1944, a very long train comprised of freight cars leaves Westerbork. There are more than 70 prisoners packed into each wagon. Among the 1019 Jewish prisoners are also the eight people from the Secret Annex. After a dreadful train trip, lasting three days, they arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Two Groups On the platform at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the men and women are separated. Nazi doctors divide the prisoners into two groups: prisoners who they consider fit enough to work and prisoners who will be killed immediately in the gas chamber. The eight people in hiding are spared. They are expected to perform heavy labor. After a short while, Hermann van Pels can no longer do this kind of work. He is murdered in the gas chamber. Mrs. Frank dies of starvation in January, 1945.

Anne & Margot At the end of October 1944, Anne and Margot are transported from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen. Their mother remains behind in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Edith falls ill and dies of exhaustion in January 1945. Auguste van Pels arrives at Bergen-Belsen with another transport of prisoners in November 1944. There she meets Anne and Margot again. Auguste van Pels is only at Bergen-Belsen for a short while and probably dies during a transport of prisoners to Theresienstadt. Anne and Margot succumb to typhus in March 1945, a few weeks before the camp is liberated by the British Army.

The Others Fritz Pfeffer died at Neuengamme Concentration Camp in December, 1944. Hitler committed suicide in April, 1945 in a Berlin air raid bunker. Otto Frank is liberated from Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Shortly before his release, the Nazis evacuate the camp. Prisoners, who can still walk, must go with them. Peter van Pels is among these prisoners. He arrives at the Mathausen concentration camp in Austria at the end of Janaury. The prisoners have to perform heavy labor. Peter van Pels dies of exhaustion on day 5, 1945.

dies at the age of 91 in August 1980. Otto Frank -- 1980 Otto Frank dies at the age of 91 in August 1980.

1947 The Diary of Anne Frank was published in 1947. The play, The Diary of Anne Frank, was written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It was performed in 1956 and continues to be performed all over the world today.