The Anne Frank House is one of the most visited attractions in Amsterdam. The museum is in remembrance of Anne Frank and her family. This Jewish family was in hiding in Amsterdam. Anne was given a diary for her 13th birthday, in which she often wrote. The whole diary was written during the time they were in hiding. The Frank family had been discovered and had to go to a concentration camp. When the Second World War was over, Anne’s father was the only one who survived. He made sure the diary was published and turned their hiding place into a museum.
The story of Anne
Anne was born in Frankfurt in 1929. In this period things went very badly with Germany. Hitler got bigger and bigger with his party. Many people joined. He said it was the Jews’ fault that things went so badly with Germany. For this reason Anne and her family moved to Amsterdam. Everyone had found their niche here.
In 1939 the second world war started. Nazi Germany invaded Poland and one year later the Netherlands as well. Soon the Netherlands surrendered and more and more things were forbidden for Jews. For example, Jewish people were not allowed to have their own business, so Anne lost her father’s business. Jewish children also had to attend separate schools. Later it became worse and worse. All Jewish people had to wear a yellow star, so it was easy to see who was Jewish. Anne was 10 years old at the time.
At one point every Jewish person had to report to the Nazi. They were told that they had to go to Germany to work. Anne’s sister also received this call in 1942. The Frank family therefore decided to go into hiding. The family could not believe that you went there to work. They made a hiding place in Anne’s father’s old business in the secret annex. Anne’s father’s old colleagues help him. A few days after they went into hiding, another family joined them. They were not allowed to make a sound upstairs. When she turned 13 she got a diary. This way she could write down everything they went through and what she thought.
From England Radio Oranje was called in to keep all the documents and diaries of the war. Anne got an idea. She decided to write her diary again, but as an ongoing story. She called it The Secret Annex. She was never able to finish it, because in 1944 the police discovered the two families. The people who helped the family were also arrested. Two other helpers were able to get the diary quickly.
Anne was put in wagons with her family and many others. Far too many people were in one wagon. There was hardly anything to eat. All these people were taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. When they were finally there after three days, everyone was sorted. The people who were too bad to work were taken directly to the gas chambers. Anne, her sister and her mother had to go to the women’s camp and Anne’s father had to go to the men’s camp.
In the same year, 1944, Anne and her sister were again transported to Bergen Belsen concentration camp. In this camp it was dirty, wet, no food and a lot of contagious diseases. Anne and her sister both contracted typhus, so they did not survive.
Anne’s father was liberated from Auschwitz by the Russians. Of the entire Frank family, he is the only one who survived. The helpers returned Anne’s diary to him late, and he made sure that the story would be heard. A film was made and in 1969 The Anne Frank House was turned into a museum. Anne’s father died in 1980.
The museum
The museum can be visited daily from November to April from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
From April to November daily from 9.00 to 22.00.
If you have difficulty walking it is difficult to visit the museum, because you have to climb many steep stairs. Anne’s hiding address is Prinsengracht 362, but the entrance to the museum is Westermarkt 20.
Entrance to the museum can be arranged here!
City walk
During this city walk a lot is told about the youth of Anne Frank, the Jewish quarter, the Second World War and you walk past important monuments. You’ll pass places you won’t easily find yourself. In smaller groups you walk the route with a guide. The tour is in English and German. This city walk takes two hours and does not include a ticket for The Anne Frank House. If you book a city tour online, you will receive a ticket after purchase, which you can download to your phone or print out.