Anne Frank became world famous when a stage play based on her diary opened to sold out audiences.

Her story is now familiar to many of us. Anne was born a German Jew and her family moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands or Holland after Hitler came to power in 1933. When she turned 13 in June of 1942, her parents gave her a diary. Anne began to write several entries before her family, unknown to her, went into hiding in July. Anne liked to write and kept writing in her little checkered diary until August of 1944 when the Gestapo (German secret police) arrested the entire group and deported them to concentration camps in the east. All them perished in several different camps except Otto who survived Auschwitz, the largest of all the camps. Anne has become a symbol of the Jews who were persecuted and killed as a part of the Nazi policy to eliminate all Jews from Europe. The reasons behind the Jewish genocide is another topic for another day. However, the chances of the Franks surviving the Holocaust in the Netherlands were surprisingly good because several factors were in their favor. Otto Frank believed that the persecution that was occurring in Germany would never happen in Amsterdam. It was a port city and thrived on commerce. The Dutch had a tradition of religious tolerance since there was more money to be made when everyone cooperated. (Remember the Pilgrims went to Amsterdam first, but then decided to go to the New World because their children were adopting Dutch customs). Otto Frank ran successful business that sold ingredients for making jam and spices for seasoning meat. Otto joined with a partner, Hermann Van Pels, another German Jew who fled Nazi Germany. Otto ran the business even with Mr. Van Pels. He kind man and a natural leader. One of his several employees Miep (say Meep) said when any important decision needed to be made, everyone looked to Otto for direction. The business was located in the center of Amsterdam in a tall skinny canal house that were built for commerce in the 17th century. The house is deceptive: there was entire back section of it that was not visible from the front, inside there was a spacious attic and a kitchen with large sink that was used to make jam.

In May of 1940, Nazis invaded Netherlands and the Dutch lost the fight very quickly. By January of 1941, all Jews had to register with the local authorities. Sometime during 1941, Otto decided to go into hiding along with Hermann Van Pels in the back rooms in the canal house. Quietly, he squirreled supplies, food, furniture in the rooms in the back of his business. He asked his employee Miep (who was not a Jew) to help them while they were hiding. Without hesitating, she said yes. Her assistance touches on a major factor in successfully hiding from the Nazis. Overall, more Jews survived if that had a trusted Non-Jew relative or friend. Since the Franks mixed with Jews and NonJews alike, they had more Non-Jew contacts. Going into hiding required money and that means someone who wanted to hide had to have a job. In the 1940s, most men held jobs. During the Nazi occupation, Jewish men were captured or killed in concentration camps, leaving their families without any support. The Frank's situation was different. Mr. Frank had money from his business and a hiding place in mind early in the invasion, was in a better position than most Jews. Hiding meant that all food had to be bought on the black market or by illegal means. Many helpers that were hiding Jews forged or bribed ration coupons (tickets to buy bread, cheese, milk, eggs) or knew a trusted shopkeeper who turned a blind eye to the extra potatoes that would disappear. The Franks made careful plans to ensure their welfare during hiding. Before going into hiding, the Franks arranged for potatoes to be secretly dropped off at the hiding place in the basement. Half way through 1944, the potato deliveries suddenly stopped without notice. Anne wrote in her diary that they would be going hungry, but that was better than getting caught. Miep did the daily shopping and it was dangerous work. No one suspect that she was buying anymore than for herself and her husband. She invented elaborate routes and schedules to buy all that was necessary for the eight people hiding in the Frank's business. Unknown to the Franks, Miep and her husband hid another Jew at their apartment. So Miep had to buy for nine. If caught, she risked arrest and deportation to a concentration camp on a daily basis.

The only factor that increased their risk was that there were eight people hiding in the same location. The more in hiding, the greater the risk of detection. During the day, the eight people upstairs had to remain as quiet as possible so they would not arouse the suspicion of the workers downstairs. No shoes were to be worn during the day. The toilet was not to flush. Only a handful of workers were in on the secret. Some writers have criticized Otto's decision to stay together. Anne may have survived if she had posed as a Christian relative of a Non-Jewish family. Many Jews in hiding decided to broke up and hid in different locations so no one would notice. This is a historical blunder to think this. It's always easier to look back in history and know what would have been the better decision. No Jew at the time knew which method of hiding was better. A more accurate perspective of the Franks situation is that they didn't know if their plan would work or not. To them, it had a reasonable chance of success as any other. This, unfortunately, did give them away. The warehouse was burglarized twice during 1943 and 1944. No one knows who tipped off the local authorities. Many believe the thieves heard the Jews upstairs in the attic while the workers were gone for the night. Three Dutch policemen working for the Gestapo, arrived on August 4th and arrested everyone in the attic. Anne's diary was found on the floor. Miep tucked it away and gave it to Otto when it was clear that Anne had died at Bergen-Belsen. The Franks and the Van Pels hid in the center of Amsterdam for a little over two years. One of the Gestapo men were surprised to hear that they were able to hide for that long. Their two years is due to Otto Frank's leadership and forethought and Meip's bravery. Without it, today we would not have Anne's account of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands to represent the suffering of millions.