History of Sorts

After surviving the horrors of the Holocaust, Anne Frank’s life took an unexpected turn, one where love, loss, and resilience shaped a different path than the one the world had once imagined.

Anne Frank and Peter van Pels had been more than just fellow refugees hiding in the secret annex. Their bond, born from shared hardship and mutual understanding, had grown into something deeper. In the tense months during their time in hiding, they had whispered dreams of a future together. Though their relationship had remained a secret, Anne had allowed herself to imagine a life beyond the cramped walls, beyond the looming shadows of Nazi occupation. In the years after the war, when the nightmare was over, Anne found that their love was not a fragile thing, but one that endured.

After the war, Anne’s family and the van Pels family found each other in the wreckage of Europe. The Frank family eventually relocated to Switzerland, while Peter’s family moved to Paris. Anne’s journey, however, led her to Israel, drawn to the newly established state as a place of healing and hope.

Anne and Peter reunited in Tel Aviv in the early 1950s. It wasn’t an easy adjustment for either of them. Peter, struggling with the trauma of his own experiences and the loss of his family, had found solace in working with other survivors to rebuild their lives. Anne, whose vivid diary had touched the hearts of millions worldwide, had come to Israel with a sense of purpose: to live a life dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish community, to helping preserve the history of the Holocaust, and to offer hope to younger generations.

Though the Holocaust had taken so much from them, it did not take away their love. They married in a quiet ceremony in Jerusalem, surrounded by a small circle of friends and family who had also survived the atrocities of war. Anne’s writings, which had been kept a secret for so long, were finally published. But in this alternate world, it was not just Anne’s diary that captured the world’s attention—it was her sister Margot’s. Margot’s diary, more pragmatic and filled with a deeper reflection on the psychological effects of the war on the family, became a global bestseller, eclipsing Anne’s own in fame. It was a painful irony that Margot, always in Anne’s shadow, was now celebrated for her words.

Anne was proud of her sister’s posthumous success, though she felt the sharp pang of grief whenever she thought of Margot, who had died in a concentration camp before she could fully realize her own potential. In her writings, Anne often spoke of how Margot’s calm wisdom and resilience had been a quiet force in their shared years of hiding, and how her untimely death had marked the family forever.

Years passed, and Anne and Peter lived in the vibrant heart of Israel They had children, and Anne, now a mother herself, worked tirelessly in education and the preservation of Holocaust history. She became a leading voice, traveling the world to speak about the importance of remembering the past so that such atrocities would never happen again.

But in 2023, as the shadow of history seemed to rise once more, Anne’s life took another tragic turn. On October 7, 2023, Israel was rocked by a surprise attack. The world watched in horror as violence erupted. In the chaos, Anne and Peter were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. Anne, now in her late 90s, was no longer the young girl who had hidden in the attic of Amsterdam. She was a living legend, a symbol of survival and hope—but in that moment, she was once again a captive.

Though Anne’s life had been a testament to strength, the memory of those dark years still lingered. In the face of yet another crisis, she maintained the dignity and resilience that had defined her, even as she was held hostage. Sadly prior to her release date she died because of the trauma caused by the attack.

This of course didn’t happen, but if she had survived it could have been a real possibility, Some Holocaust survivors were taken hostahe on October 7, 2023. A clear indication that “Never Again” are just 2 hollow words.