Anne Frank
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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,…
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In November 1942, Fritz Pfeffer joined the Frank and Van Pels families in hiding, bringing the total number of people to eight. He was a solitary figure among two families and shared a room with the adolescent Anne Frank. Fritz was also a father—he had a son, Werner, with his first wife, Vera Henriette Bythiner.…
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It is important how you report on history. No one expects things to be always 100% accurate, but facts that can easily be verified should always be correct. In the case of Hanns Albin Rauter, I have seen him described as the Dutch head of Police during World War II, this is not true, he…
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In the solemn and haunting grounds of Bergen-Belsen, where the echoes of a dark past resonate, exists an unexpected symbol of hope amidst the memories of suffering and loss: a single rose. This rose, though seemingly insignificant in the vastness of the camp’s history, carries within its delicate petals a story of resilience and defiance…
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Liberation for Bergen-Belsen arrived on 15 April 1945. Major Dick Williams, one of the first British soldiers to enter and liberate the camp said, “It was an evil, filthy place; a hell on Earth.” The British comedian Michael Bentine, who took part in the liberation of the camp, wrote this on his encounter with Bergen-Belsen:“Millions…
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Anne and Margot Frank’s final days were marked by extreme suffering, starvation, and disease in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the winter of 1944–1945. Their exact date of death is unknown; however, there is a wide belief that both sisters perished in February or March 1945, just weeks before British forces liberated the camp on…
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As a father of three children, although they are all supposedly adults now, I often have nightmares and worries about them. I lie awake at night when they are out with friends. When they leave the house, there are a million worst-case scenarios that haunt my brain. There is some news you hope as a…
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Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929. As we all know her story through her diary, I will not go into Anne’s story, but instead, I will look at a few other children who were also born on that day and who, like Anne, were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Levy Spanjer…
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A few years ago, I was asked to give a speech at my eldest son’s high school graduation as a representative of the Parents’ Council. I ended the speech with a quote from Margot Frank. “Times change, people change, thoughts about good and evil change, about true and false. But what always remains fast and…
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On may 15 1945 , Otto Frank wrote the following letter, while on board the Monowai steamship. This was exactly 5 years after the Dutch army had capitulated to the Germans. “The closer we get to home the greater our impatience to hear from our loved ones. Everything that’s happened the past few years! Until…
History of Sorts 