Being in Amsterdam, I could not miss out on the opportunity to visit the Anne Frank House. Though knowing that it would bring some sadness, it was important to know about the world’s history, so as to be an agent of change for the future and not be a part of the problem.
The beauty of visiting the Anne Frank house is that you book your tickets online, as such there is no waiting time. I arrived an hour early, however, being alone I was permitted to enter the museum early. This was a surprise for me and was happy that the attendants were pleasant and allowed me entry.
As I entered the museum, no photos were allowed and I respectfully obliged. The first thing that caught my attention was a large photo of Anne Frank, the youthfulness of the photo and the child-like innocence was only a mask to the darkness of what her family would have to endure.
The story is told that the Franks had settled from Germany in Amsterdam as the war had begun. They opened a business and made the Dutch quarter of Rivierenbuurt their home. Mr Otto Frank wanted them to emigrate to America, as he saw that tensions in Europe rose and that the Jews were being persecuted, however, his efforts proved futile. He and his family listened anxiously to the various happenings and when Margot their older daughter was called by the Germans for work, they knew it was time to go into hiding.
They couldn’t pack much and Anne being the teenager took in her small brown satchels, her random effects, things that made her happy. As she was leaving she gave her neighbour a tea set that is still in the museum today. They made it to the secret annexe in Mr Frank’s office, where he and his friend built a secret room with a bookcase disguising its entrance. There they would have helpers who would supply them with food and other necessities.
The days were lonely and boring for Anne, and her only escape was writing in the precious diary her father had given her, she had always wanted to be a writer and she had hoped that after the war she could publish her books. Each day she would journal, the different things that happened each day and how they had to whisper so as not to alert people who were working in the warehouse and how the bathroom was strictly limited during the day so as not to alert the workers.
As I journeyed back in time and walked through the annexe she lived in, I am able to imagine how in such a small space, and the lack of the basic privileges, such as walking outside would make anyone crazy, she was in a prison but her freedom was gained through writing. The rooms were small but luckily they had an attic, where they could take breaks and view the sky and walk around for a bit.
As I continued to walk through the museum, I learned that the Franks are marked in history not because they hid from the Germans, but the fact that in comparison to other Jews who were found in a matter of days or weeks, the Franks and their friends were able to hide away in the secret annexe for two years.
August 4, 1944, marked the day when the hiding place was discovered by the Gestapo and to this day no one knows who truly betrayed the family. Sadly the family were sent on the last train ever to leave Amsterdam( what a pity) to the concentration camps, the women to one and the men to another. Anne survived the first concentration camp but unfortunately died in another concentration, Bergen-Belsen, at the tender age of 15.
After the war, Mr Frank desperately searched for his family, his precious wife and daughters but he was the sole survivor. Finding the diaries of Anne, which he had promised never to read, he decides to publish her work in hopes that she may become a writer even in death. He always encouraged her writing and even when her diary was finished, went on to write in several notebooks. Anne even had a notebook where she wrote her favourite lines from her favourite books.
Today her works have sold over 30 million copies and translated into 70 languages, and her strength has been admired by the greats such as Mandela and Dalai lama. Mandela, said while he was imprisoned he read the works of Anne Frank and was strengthened by her courage in the face of adversity.
Thus I say, if you ever visit Amsterdam, take a moment to journey in time and visit the Anne Frank House. She represented not only a child but a philosophy of equality, justice and liberty.
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