Anne Frank (BACKGROUND NOTES)
You need to understand this film in order to really understand “Freedom
Writers” – the next film to view and study.
Chronology of Key Events during Anne Frank's Lifetime
(Exact dates are supplied wherever possible.)
June 12, 1929
Anne Frank is born in Frankfurt,
Germany.
1929-1932
The Great Depression. The
National Socialist Party (Nazis)
gains support.
January 30 , 1933
German President Paul von
Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler
as the Chancellor (prime minister)
of Germany.
April 1, 1933
The Nazis organize a general
boycott of all Jewish-owned
businesses.
April, 1933
Otto Frank moves to Amsterdam,
Holland. The family soon follows.
1934
Anne begins school in Amsterdam.
June-August, 1935
"Juden Verboten" ("No Jews")
appears on signs in restaurants
and stores all over Germany.
September 15, 1935
The regime decrees anti-Semitic
"Nuremberg Laws."
March, 1938
Germany occupies Austria.
July 5-13, 1938
The Evian Conference is held in
Evian, France.
November 9-10, 1938
Kristallnacht, a night of anti-Semitic
riots throughout German and
Austria, is initiated by the Nazis.
November 15, 1938
Jewish children are expelled from
German schools.
March, 1939
Germany takes control of
Czechoslovakia.
September 1, 1939
The German army invades Poland,
sparking the beginning of World
War II.
September 3, 1939
Britain and France declare war on
Germany.
April 9 - May 10, 1940
Germans invade and conquer
Denmark, Norway, Holland,
Luxembourg, Belgium, and France.
February 22, 1941
Deportations of Jews to
concentration camps begin in
Holland.
April, 1941
All Dutch Jews must wear the
yellow star.
June 22, 1941
Germans attack the Soviet Union
and begin to murder all Jews in
their path.
September, 1941
Young Jews are excluded from
Dutch schools and colleges.
October 14, 1941
Deportation of Jews from Germany
to concentration camps begins.
July 5, 1942
Margot Frank, Anne's sister, is
ordered to report to the Nazi
authorities.
July 6, 1942
The Franks move into their hiding
place, "The Secret Annexe."
July 13, 1942
The Van Daan family joins the
Franks in hiding.
1942-44
Nazis search for Jews in hiding.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews
throughout Europe are transported
to concentration camps and
murdered.
March, 1944
The Nazis invade Hungary.
June 6, 1944
D-Day. The Allied invasion of Nazioccupied western Europe begins in
Normandy, France.
August 4, 1944
The inhabitants of the Secret
Annexe are betrayed and taken to
Westerbork, the Dutch transit
camp.
September 3-6, 1944
The Franks, the Van Daans, and
Mr. Dussel are taken in a transport
to Auschwitz, a death camp in
Nazi-occupied Poland.
September 6, 1944
Mr. Van Daan is put to death upon
his arrival in Auschwitz.
October 28, 1944
Anne and Margot Frank are taken
to Bergen-Belsen, a concentration
camp in Germany.
November 24, 1944
Mrs. Van Daan is taken to BergenBelsen.
December 20, 1944
Mr. Dussel dies in Neuengamme, a
concentration camp in Germany.
January 6, 1945
Mrs. Frank dies in Auschwitz. J
January, 1945
The Russian Allies liberate
Auschwitz and free the remaining
prisoners, including Mr. Frank.
March, 1945
Margot and Anne die of typhus a
Bergen-Belsen within a few days of
one another.
April, 1945
Mrs. Van Daan dies.
April 30, 1945
Hitler commits suicide.
May 5, 1945
Peter Van Daan dies in
Maauthausen, a concentration
camp in Germany.
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders
unconditionally. The war ends in
Europe.
Anne Frank's Amsterdam Home
(axonometric floorplan, links)
When they went into hiding on 6 July 1942, the Franks had to leave their apartment behind:
37-II Merwedeplein.
In 1933, when the Franks moved into this brand-new building, Anne stayed
behind in Germany for a few months at her grandmother's house in Aachen.
The Franks were getting the apartment ready and Margot was along in order to
start school right away. Anne arrived on Margot's birthday in February 1934.
Their family of four had the full use of this big, nice apartment for the next
few years. For it's time, it had modern amenities: central heating, hot and cold
running water, and a sink in the bedroom(s). It also had a working fireplace, a
balcony, and a bay window. There was a cabinet hidden in the living room
wall and sliding glass doors separated the
living room from the dining room.
The apartment included an extra room
on the roof. It had a sink and a walk-in
closet. You have to climb two flights of
stairs from the rest of the apartment to get
there. It has no bathroom. Perhaps it was
meant as a guest room or a recreation room.
Probably in late 1938, her parents
decided to start renting the room upstairs
to people, in order to bring in some money.
Anne described this in her short story,
"Roomers or Subtenants." Over the years,
there were four roomers, one after the other,
right until the day they left (and he stayed
after they left). Anne wrote that the family
needed to rent the room because of
financial difficulties. The roomer was also allowed into the rest of the
apartment. At the very least, they needed to do this in order to give them
access to the bathroom and kitchen, and for their coming and going outdoors.
Likewise, the family was allowed upstairs in order to sit on the flat part of the
roof. There are photos of Anne and Margot relaxing in the sun.
Anne called the upstairs room, "the big bedroom," so I wonder if she and
Margot were sleeping up there, at 9 and 12 years old, or if her parents were, or
if it was just for guests. Whoever was up there, there was another bedroom for
them to move into: the second bedroom. But a few months later, things
changed again.
By March 1939, the Nazis had made life for Grandmother ("Oma") very
hard in Germany. Her health was also declining. She was somehow able to
emigrate to the Netherlands to live near her daughter's family, On 10 May
1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands, despite its neutrality. As the
months went by, the Nazis enacted more and more restrictions on the Jews.
Oma got cancer in the summer of 1941, had surgery, and moved in with the
Franks. In a letter to her cousin Buddy, Anne explained that she and Margot
camped out every night in the living room. The family continued to rent the
room upstairs to roomers. In late 1941, the apartment got another resident, a
kitten who they named Moortje (MOORR-TEE). Meanwhile, Oma's health
deteriorated further. She died on 29 January 1942. Presumably Anne and
Margot then moved into the second bedroom.
Anne got her diary on her birthday on 12 June of that year. She was heaped
with presents because her previous birthday had been overshadowed by her
Oma's surgery and failing health. One of the presents on the dining room table
that morning was her first diary. Anne wrote in it that she missed Oma every
day.
Just a few weeks later, on Sunday, 5 July, while reading out on the
balcony, a delivery was made that changed their lives: Margot had been
called up for labor service in Germany! The grownups had already nearly
completed a secret hiding place. They advanced the plan by ten days, moving
there early the next morning. Later, writing in her diary from the hiding
place, Anne described how that lazy fun Sunday turned very hectic and fearful.
All evening, their roomer would not leave the main part of the apartment!
They had to act calm and quietly sneak out bundles to their friends to put in the
hiding place. The next morning, they all awoke early and snuck out, leaving
the roomer instructions about the cat. They also left a phony clue that they had
escaped to Switzerland. He was dismayed!
Anne's father, Otto Frank, continued have a hand in running his businesses
while in hiding. Records show that he paid the rent for their apartment until
March 1943, nine months after going into hiding. People still believed they
were in Switzerland, so it made some sense to outsiders to hold the property.
After the war, the family's sole survivor, Otto Frank, had no reason to
expect the apartment to still be his. Of course, he had been unable to justify
paying the rent very long after he was gone. He stayed with the Gies.
In 2005, the apartment was bought to be refurbished and decorated in 1930's
decor. Some of the pieces were made or found to match items seen in photos
of the Franks. The apartment will house one visiting writer per year: writers
persecuted in their native countries. The restoration brought it back to the type
of decor the Franks had or were likely to have (plus some modern
conveniences like a refrigerator). I did find one English news article about this
(seems to be a dead link).
The links below include a few comparison photos from the past and
many photos of the current, refurbished, apartment. You can compare the
past with the present. You can also look at the restored rooms and imagine
different moments with more realism. The restored dining room: imagine it as
their roomer found their table: covered with dishes from breakfast because
they obviously left in a hurry. You can look at the stairs and imagine when
Anne's friends came to the door waiting and waiting. When the roomer finally
answered the door, he showed them upstairs to the main part of the apartment:
the Franks had clearly fled! There are other home scenes Anne described in
her diary while they were still there, and then reminiscences while in hiding.
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl -- A Summary
Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only annex inhabitant who survived the war. When he
returned to Amsterdam after the war, he was given Anne's notebooks and papers that the
Gestapo left scattered on the floor of the Secret Annex. Among these papers was her diary.
The first entry in Anne's diary is dated June 14, 1942, two days after her thirteenth birthday
and three weeks before she and her family were to go into hiding. She wanted to confide
completely in her diary, which she addressed as Kitty, she writes, because neither her
friends nor her family seems sufficiently interested in understanding her deepest thoughts.
The early entries show that Anne is a fairly typical, although exceptionally sensitive, young
teenager.
After Anne and her parents go into hiding, the diary records her perceptions of the
confined life that she and the others lead. As might be expected, Anne was often miserable,
but there were times when she experienced happiness and joy in the midst of her hardship
and suffering.
Living in such close proximity, the residents of the Secret Annex frequently get on each
other's nerves. Anne was often furious with Mr. Van Daan, who, in her opinion, was
superficial and petty. The pedantic Mr. Dussel sometimes drove her to distraction. Although
petty quarrels were commonplace among the residents, the remarkable fact that emerged
from Anne's diary is not that conflict arises, but that eight individuals can endure constant
fear and total confinement, with grace and dignity.
Perhaps the most appealing quality of Anne Frank's diary is its sensitive expression of a
young girl's dreams and her struggle to grow into a woman.
Discerning about the circumstances of wartime Holland, Anne also looks inward to discover
herself. The entries reflect her intense desire for self understanding. Also revealed is her
need to be loved and respected as a unique individual. She dreamed of becoming a writer so
that she would be remembered after her death. Shortly before she and the others were
arrested by the Gestapo, Anne experienced the first flush of love with Peter Van Daan, a
shy boy also reaching out for love and understanding. The tragedy of Anne Frank is that she
died before her l6th birthday, her dreams unfulfilled.
Jew's could not own pets or bicycles. They also had a strict curfew to obey. Nazi Youth was
the only youth organization allowed. Synagogues were destroyed during Kristallnacht and
finally many friendships between Jews and non-Jews were torn apart (often from fear of
being associated with Jews). Friendships were also destroyed between those Christians who
supported and did not support the Nazi regime. Reference the Nuremberg Law's for more
restrictions. The Nuremberg laws were passed on September 15, 1935. Nazi Germany
instituted a series of laws designed to make freedom increasingly difficult for the Jews and to
restrict their freedom. Excerpts follow:
'Reich Citizenship Law: A Reich citizen is a subject of the state who is German or related
blood, who proves by his conduct that he is willing and fit to serve the German people and
Reich. A Reich citizen is the sole bearer of all political rights.'
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE USED WITH YOUR MINDMAP ACTIVITY:
Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor (9-15-35)
Moved by the understanding that purity of the German Blood is the essential condition for
the continued existence of the German people:
a. Marriages between Jews and subjects of the state of Germany or related bloods is
forbidden. Marriages nevertheless concluded are invalid, even if concluded abroad to
circumvent this law'.
b. Extramarital intercourse between Jews and those of Germany or related blood is forbidden.
c. Jews may not employ in their households female subjects of German or related blood who
are under 45 years old.
d. Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich or National flag or to display the Reich colors. They are,
on the other hand, permitted to display the Jewish colours.
Questions:
1. Does the title of the Law give you any hints as to the purpose of the Law? To the
attitudes feelings of those in power?
2. Why would Jews not be allowed to hire female household employees under 45 years
old?
3. Why would Jews not be allowed to fly the German flag?
4. How do you think that would affect them (would it bother them)?
5. Why do you think Jews would be allowed to fly the Jewish colours?
6. Would you marry someone if the Law prohibited it (Even if the punishment were a
prison sentence with hard labour)? Explain.
7. Why do you think Jews were made to wear the yellow star?
Nazi Germany continued to pass laws that discriminated against Jews.
a. Regulation for the Elimination of the Jews from the Economic Life of Germany (1112-38) Jews are forbidden to operate retail stores, mail order houses or sales
agencies, or to practice a craft. They cannot offer for sale goods or services, to
advertise these or to accept orders at markets, fairs and exhibitions of all sorts.
b. Jews are forbidden to ride streetcars, go to the theater, play sports, go to the parks,
practice medicine, law, farming, and can only walk on certain streets. Jews must shop
only at certain stores during certain hours, and Jewish children can attend Jewish
schools only.
In addition to the above laws, in 1939, Jews were ordered to turn in their radio sets. They
were forbidden to leave their homes except for a few hours each day. Jews were forced to
deposit all their money in banks, then forbidden to take their money out. The money was
confiscated by the Nazis. Telephones were taken away. By 1942, Jews could not have pets,
could not attend school of any kind, and had to give up extra clothing.
Questions:
1. What things do you notice about the progression of the laws from the passing of the
Nuremberg laws until 1942? (continually got stricter, more repressive, more
confining)
2. What was the purpose of these laws?
3. Which possessions/freedoms would be hardest to give up? Why?
4. Which would you miss the least?
5. Why would Jews be forced to turn in their radios?
First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law (11-14-35)
a. A Jew cannot be a Reich citizen. He has no voting rights in political matters. He
cannot occupy a public office.
b. A Jew is a person descended from at least three grandparents who are full Jews.
c. A Mischling is considered a Jew if he is descended from two full Jewish grandparents;
who was a member of the Jewish Religious Community; who was married to a Jew;
who was born from a lineage with a Jew or as the result of extramarital intercourse
with a Jew.
Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How is a Jew defined?
What do you think is the purpose of this law?
Why do you think Hitler felt it necessary to define Jew?
Why do you think Hitler felt the need to further clarify the Reich Citizenship Law
only two months after its passage?
Second Regulation for the Implementation of the Law Regarding the Changing of Family
Names and Given Names (8-17-38)
Insofar as Jews have given names other than those to which they are permitted to bear they
are required to take an additional given name: males will take the given name Israel, females
the given name Sara.
There was a separate list of names that Jews were required to use.
Questions:
1. Why do you think Jews would be forced to assume the name Israel or Sara?
Questions:
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If you were a Jew living in Nazi Germany, how do you think you would have felt?
What emotions do you think you would have?
If you were a non-Jew living during this period, how do you think you would have
felt? What emotions would you have?
Which laws would you find objectionable? Would it make a difference if they applied
personally to you? Explain.
Should governments ever pass laws that violate individual rights?
ACTIVITY:
Complete your answer in YOUR BOOK across a double page.
Using the questions above – AS A GUIDE- , you are required to complete a
mind map explaining what you understand as Life Under Nazi Germany, World
War II.