Anne Frank

My other big goal in going to Amsterdam was to visit the Anne Frank house.  In preparation, I reread the diary and also a book called “The Betrayal of Anne Frank”.  The diary was really really interesting to read again as an adult.  I hadn’t read it since I was a teenager.  I didn’t remember or realize that she had heard a radio broadcast about saving diaries and stories of people living during the war, especially in hiding.  She began rewriting her diary with the intent of sending it off to be part of that voice.  She also wrote other short stories and many other writings.  She specifically wanted to be a famous writer when she was older.  Her growth as a person and her own reflection on her growth in the two years she was in hiding is really remarkable.  While her diary and writings were saved after the raid on the secret annex, they were kept in a drawer, mostly unread until her father came home and ultimately learned of her death in the camp. Then their dear friend and helper, Miep Geis gave him the diary.  Various edits have been made over the years, but now it is available in its entirety.  

The other book I read was about a team of highly qualified cold case investigators who spent about 5 years working to find who told the police of the people in the secret annex.  I don’t want to spoil the ending, but they did come to a satisfying conclusion.  They cannot say with 100% assurance, but they did find enough evidence to feel pretty confident in their conclusion.  The book was a fascinating read.  It went through so many different possibilities in detail.  Thus, in the process gave a glimpse of so many other people living in that time, expanding on the experiences of those living through those days.  What amazed me more than anything is the amount of documentation that still existed - mostly in paper form - even in about 2015ish when they were doing this research.  The Germans were master record keepers - and the Dutch.

In order to visit the Anne Frank museum, you have to book ahead online.  They always sell out.  You have to get online 6 weeks ahead of time - tickets open up at 10:00 am Amsterdam time.  So I got up several weeks ago and logged onto the website exactly at 2:00.  I was automatically something like 3,000th in line waiting to buy tickets.  It went pretty quickly though, and after only about 20 minutes I was all done.  I felt terrible for some people we saw on a tour walking by the museum who were disappointed that their tour did not include time at the museum.  I’m sure that the tour said it included the Anne Frank museum, but didn’t mention that they just walk by.  I’m so grateful for my sister and others who gave me the advice to prepare.

This is Westerkerk, a beautiful church just a couple doors down from the Secret Annex.  Anne described hearing the bells each day from the hiding place. The photo of the statue of Anne Frank above is from the courtyard around this beautiful place.

This is the facade of the building.  It basically has not changed since the 1940s.  This is not the place where you go in for the museum.  That is around the corner.  That makes it nice to keep the crowds away a bit and keep it feeling somewhat authentic.  Right across the street is one of the major canals in the city.  The building - like most in Amsterdam - is long and narrow.  The secret annex is several rooms in the back. They are not visible from the street.

The door to the building - not used, but with signs that give the famous address - 263 Prinsengracht and another sign that says it is the Anne Frank house.

This is the entrance to the museum - around the side of the building. With a nice courtyard and benches for the crowds.

No photos are allowed in the museum. There is no furniture inside.  Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only member of their family to survive the camps.  When it was decided to turn it into a museum, he said he didn’t want any furniture in it.  The thought it that is was just too painful for him.  At any rate, his wish is respected to this day.  However, this model is made to scale from his detailed descriptions of what the furnishings were like.  There are also photos in every room of it furnished like it was to help you visualize it.  The Anne Frank Museum website also has a great interactive tour that gives you a real sense of what it was like. This was the main room - the living room and kitchen, but also the bedroom for the Van Pelt couple what hid with them

Anne’s bedroom that she later shared with another man who came to hide with them.

Bathroom

I like taking selfies because then I can prove I was there…not just a photo from the internet.  But it felt strange to smile here.  Thus my strange expression.

I’ll pause here and just comment about the experience of the museum. There must be 1,000 people that walk through there every day.  Yet, because they control the timing of the tickets and the traffic flow, it isn’t too bad.  There is a one way path through the whole thing and an audio tour is included with your ticket.  Thus, people are somewhat quiet going through it because they are all listening to the audio tour.  There are video displays of Otto Frank and others describing events and perspectives.  I felt the museum did a great job of telling the basic story and also a few other things you might not know if you hadn’t gone to visit.  Anne’s original diary and other papers are also there, carefully preserved.  It is surreal to see her actual diary and handwriting.  There is also a nice display and memorial about the Jewish Lyceum (school) she attended before going into hiding.  Of course most of those teachers and children also died.

This building is on the same block as the Secret Annex.  In the 1940’s, it was the headquarters for the police.  The opposite corner of this block is the church.  It is amazing and wonderful that the Frank family hid so close to them for over 2 years and they had no idea.

I really wanted to find the “stumbling stones”, or Stolperstein, for the Frank family.  When we did not see them at the museum, we did a little research.  Since the Secret Annex was not their home in Amsterdam, their Stolperstein is in front of where they actually lived.  Caleb and I decided to go on a bit of a treasure hunt to find it.  I was surprised at how far it was.  It would have been over an hour walk.  Anne walked from her home to the Secret Annex with her parents in order to go into hiding.  It took them most of the day.  If I remember correctly, they were so careful, stopping to shop and eat and just try to look like a family out for the day.

Right across the street from Anne’s childhood home was this adorable little park with another statue of her.

We found it.  The apartment complex is obviously under renovation, but there they were, the Stolperstein of the four members of the Frank family, in the middle of the modern chaos.

My foot is in the corner to prove I was there. I cannot describe how touched I am by these things.  And so, so, so many of them say the person was murdered in Auschwitz.  I always knew it was the worst one, but sheer volume is really hitting me seeing these.

I’m so glad we went and found her other home.  It felt like an undiscovered and unappreciated place.  And it was such a nice neighborhood.  A reminder that most of their life in Amsterdam was normal, happy, peaceful.  It feels right that they are honored here.