History of Sorts

Auguste van Pels, born September 29, 1900, in Buer, Germany, lived through one of the most tragic periods in history, ultimately losing her life during the Holocaust. Though she might have remained unknown to the world, she is now remembered as one of the residents of the Secret Annex, a small group of Jewish individuals who hid in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam and became immortalized through Anne Frank’s diary. Known in Anne’s writings as “Mrs. van Daan,” Auguste’s story is emblematic of the suffering, courage, and complexity of those who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust.

Early Life and Family

Born Auguste Röttgen, she grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Germany. We know little her early life, but as with many Jews in Germany at the time, her life was shaped by rising anti-Semitism during the 1920s and 1930s. She married Hermann van Pels, a butcher, and they had one son, Peter, who was born in 1926. In 1937, like many Jews seeking to escape the tightening grip of Nazi policies, the van Pels family fled to the Netherlands. The Netherlands, though later occupied by Nazi forces in 1940, initially seemed like a safer place for Jewish families to start anew.

In Amsterdam, Hermann van Pels worked with Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, in a company that sold herbs and spices. Auguste, known for her lively and sociable personality, sought to maintain a semblance of everyday family life in the face of increasing persecution. However, as Nazi restrictions against Jews became more oppressive, especially after the occupation of the Netherlands, the van Pels family faced growing danger.

Life in Hiding: The Secret Annex

On July 13, 1942, the van Pels family joined the Frank family in hiding at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, in a concealed part of Otto Frank’s office building. The Franks had gone into hiding a week earlier to avoid deportation to the Nazi death camps, and the van Pels followed suit after the situation worsened. Auguste, her husband Hermann, and their teenage son Peter joined the Franks, and a few months later, Fritz Pfeffer, a local dentist, also moved in. This group of eight people would remain hidden for just over two years.

The experience of living in the Annex was marked by fear, deprivation, and the constant threat of discovery. Life was tightly regulated; they had to be silent during the day to avoid detection by office workers and could only move about freely at night. The close quarters naturally led to tension among the occupants. Auguste, a woman accustomed to social interactions and maintaining her appearance, found herself in an unnatural situation, isolated and dependent on the help of a few trusted Dutch friends who provided food and news of the outside world.

Anne’s diary gives the impression that Auguste and her husband Hermann frequently quarreled but were always quick to reconcile. One of these rows occurred when Hermann forced Auguste to sell her fur coat to finance the hiding. Anne: ‘The yells and screams, stamping and abuse—you can’t possibly imagine it! It was frightening. My family stood at the bottom of the stairs holding their breath, ready if necessary to drag them apart.’ Soon after, according to Anne, “the reconciliation period of ‘Oh darling Putti’ and ‘my cute Kerli’ set in.” Auguste and Hermann had nicknames for each other—she called him “Putti,” and he called her “Kerli.”

Anne Frank’s diary gives readers an intimate, though subjective, view of life in hiding. Auguste is portrayed as somewhat vain and materialistic, often quarreling with her husband and others in the Annex. Anne was a teenager at the time, and her observations of Auguste frequently focused on their differences. She describes moments when Auguste prioritized appearances, cared about fashion, and engaged in disputes with Hermann over petty matters, which Anne found frustrating. However, this portrayal reflects only part of who Auguste was. Anne herself acknowledged her own evolving understanding of the adults around her as she matured during their time in hiding. Auguste was a wife, mother, and woman under extreme duress, trying to protect her family in a situation no one could have prepared for.

The bond between Auguste and her son Peter was evident, especially as Peter grew closer to Anne during their time in hiding. Auguste’s protectiveness of Peter, and perhaps her desire to preserve some sense of normalcy for him, added another layer of emotional complexity to their life in the Annex. The families endured hunger, cold, and the psychological toll of being trapped in silence and darkness, constantly fearing betrayal.

Betrayal and Arrest

On August 4, 1944, the van Pels family, along with the others in the Annex, were betrayed by an unknown informant and arrested by the Gestapo. Their capture marked the end of their precarious existence in hiding and the beginning of a far worse ordeal. They were first taken to Westerbork, a transit camp in the Netherlands, and then, in September 1944, deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Poland.

At Auschwitz, the van Pels family was forcibly separated. Hermann was placed in the men’s barracks, while Auguste and Peter were sent to the women’s section. The conditions were brutal, with overcrowding, malnutrition, and rampant disease. Auguste, like many women, faced dehumanizing treatment, including forced labor and the constant threat of violence.

The Final Months: Survival, Loss, and Death

After the Auschwitz death camp was evacuated in January 1945, Auguste was transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where conditions were even worse. The camp was overcrowded, with little food, no sanitation, and widespread disease. In early 1945, as the Nazi regime was collapsing, the camp’s chaos intensified. Auguste was later moved to another camp, Raguhn, a subcamp of Buchenwald, as the Nazis tried to cover up their crimes and evacuate prisoners.

Though the exact date and circumstances of Auguste’s death are not known, it is believed that she died in the spring of 1945, likely in April or May, during one of the forced marches between camps. These marches, which occurred as Allied forces advanced, were brutal death marches where thousands of prisoners perished from starvation, exposure, and exhaustion. Auguste’s son Peter, tragically, died around the same time in the Mauthausen concentration camp, just days before its liberation.

Legacy and Memory

The life of Auguste van Pels is remembered mainly through the writings of Anne Frank, who immortalized her as “Mrs. van Daan” in her diary. Although Anne’s portrayal is sometimes critical, it captures Auguste as a real person with flaws, hopes, fears, and human complexity. She was a woman who, like millions of others during the Holocaust, found herself thrust into an unimaginable situation, facing the destruction of her family, her community, and her life.

Despite the tension between them, Anne Frank’s diary has ensured that Auguste’s memory, along with the others in the Secret Annex, lives on. The diary became one of the most significant personal accounts of the Holocaust, providing future generations with insight into the daily lives of Jews in hiding, the cruelty of the Nazi regime, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of oppression.

Auguste van Pels’ story is a testament to the broader tragedy of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis. Her life was marked by displacement, fear, and loss. Yet, she managed to survive for years in hiding, maintain her love for her family, and show resilience under the most harrowing conditions. While her end was tragic, her life and the lives of those she loved have been remembered through the words of a young girl who shared their fate, ensuring that Auguste van Pels and millions of others like her are not forgotten.

Sources

https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/main-characters/auguste-van-pels/

https://openlibrary.org/subjects/person:auguste_van_pels

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19185832/auguste-van_pels