Anne Frank
-
Sara de Jong van Koningsbrugge was born in Schoten, the Netherlands, on 24 April 1914. The SS murdered her in Auschwitz on 21 January 1945 at the age of 30. Since 1936, Sara de Jong was married to Adolphus (‘Dolf’) Adrianus Petrus van Koningsbrugge (Amsterdam, 21 October 1913 – Heerlen, 15 June 1974). Based on…
-
Many people believe there were only a handful of concentration camps during the Holocaust, but in reality, there were over 44,000 camps and incarceration sites. The Nazis categorized camps into transit camps, extermination camps, forced labor camps, concentration camps, and prisoner-of-war camps. Despite their different classifications, the overarching purpose of most of these camps was…
-
Friedrich “Fritz” Pfeffer was born on April 30, 1889, in Gießen, Germany, into a Jewish family that owned a bustling clothing store in the city’s center. Bright and ambitious, Fritz pursued dentistry in Berlin, eventually establishing a successful practice. After completing his education, Fritz trained as a dentist and jaw surgeon, obtained a license to…
-
Anne Frank’s schoolmates played a significant role in her early life, forming a close circle of friends that shared childhood dreams, games, and conversations during a turbulent time Anne Frank attended two main schools in Amsterdam before she and her family went into hiding: Montessori School (from 1934 to 1941)Jewish Lyceum (from 1941 to 1942)Since…
-
On October 30, 1944, Margot Frank and her younger sister Anne were put on a transport from Auschwitz to Bergen Belsen. By November 1944, Bergen Belsen received approximately 9,000 women and young girls. Margot and Anne were murdered there in February 1945. I deliberately say murdered because they were ill and received no treatment—to me,…
-
Dear Mr. Otto Frank, I write this letter with the humility and deep respect that one father extends to another. However, though no words can ever truly capture the weight of what you have endured. As a father of three children myself, I can only begin to imagine the depth of love, worry, and hope…
-
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…
-
I always like ‘What if?’ scenarios. Sometimes, I wonder what would have become of Anne Frank if she had survived. The following are diary entries in Kitty that I envisage Anne may have written after the war. Diary Entry – September 13, 1948 Dear Kitty, I have not written to you in so long. Sometimes,…
-
Karl Silberbauer is remembered in history primarily for his role in one of the darkest episodes of World War II: the arrest of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl whose diary has since become a symbol of the Holocaust. His life is a window into the complexities of individual responsibility during the Nazi era and…
-
Among the 97 transports from Westerbork, the one on September 3, 1944, holds particular significance. It was the last major transport from the camp and included Anne Frank, whose diary would later become one of the most poignant testimonies of the Holocaust. Westerbork: A Transit Camp of Despair Westerbork was initially established in 1939 as…
History of Sorts 