Introduction
Anne Frank House is a testimony of the bleak memories of
the Nazi reign and Anne Frank’s Life. This museum was
originally the hiding place of Anne where she wrote her diary.
The museum narrates the history of the eight people in hiding
and also about their associates during that time. The original
diary of Anne Frank is one of the most precious objects on
display. This museum stands erect with a lot of memories of
World War II.
The building at number 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, popularly
known as the Anne Frank House, is not the place where Anne
was born, nor even the home where the Frank family lived after
Otto Frank moved from Frankfurt, Germany to the Netherlands
in 1933. Rather, it is a four-story merchant's house, built
in 1635, where Anne's father, Otto Frank, operated two businesses:
one which produced pectin to be used in making jelly and the
other which produced herbs and spices for making sausage.
The building is a typical Amsterdam four-story canal house,
which faces the Prinsengracht, one of Amsterdam's most beautiful
canals. Behind the house at 263 Prinsengracht street is a
separate building that was constructed at a later time: a
four-story annex with an attic.
The annex is separated from the main house by a space that
is about 12 feet wide, but it is connected to the main house
by passageways. The annex is the place where Anne and her
family hid for 25 months from the Nazis, along with the van
Pels family and Dr. Friedrich (Fritz) Pfeffer, a dentist who
was a friend of the Franks.
History of the House
Approximately 25,000 Dutch Jews went into hiding
during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands after the Germans
defeated the Dutch in May 1940 in the early part of World War
II. In February 1942, the Nazis began rounding up all the Jews
in Germany and the occupied countries for evacuation to the
East in what the Nazis called "The Final Solution to the
Jewish Question." Otto Frank began preparing a hiding place
in the annex and five months later, Anne and her family suddenly
disappeared, leaving behind notes saying that they had gone
to Switzerland, which was a neutral country during World War
II.
Many other Jewish families in Amsterdam did
the same, trusting that their Dutch neighbors and business associates
would not disclose their hiding places to the police.Those unfortunate
Dutch Jews who did not go into hiding were sent to the transit
camp at Westerbork, from where they were then transported by
train to Auschwitz, the infamous killing center, located in
what is now Poland, where millions of Jews perished in the gas
chambers.
Many of the 160,000 Jews in the Netherlands
were refugees, like the Franks and their friends in the annex,
who had escaped from Germany after Hitler and the Nazis came
to power in 1933. Westerbork was originally a refugee camp for
German Jews who were regarded as illegal immigrants in the Netherlands
after they escaped over the border from Nazi Germany before
the war.
The Franks went into hiding on July 6, 1942
shortly after Anne's 13th birthday on June 12th. One week later
they were joined by Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their 15-year-old
son Peter and Peter's cat. Dr. Pfeffer joined them on November
16, 1942, bringing along his dentist's drill. The doorway to
the annex was concealed behind a moveable bookcase constructed
especially for this purpose.
On August 4th, 1944, the police raided their
hiding place in the annex and they were taken to the Westerbork
transit camp on a passenger train, after a short stay at the
Amsterdam headquarters of the Security Police. On September
3, 1944, all 8 were loaded onto a freight train and taken on
the last transport of Dutch Jews to Auschwitz, where they arrived
on the night of September 5th and 6th.
Otto Frank was the only one of the 8 who survived.
He died on August 19, 1980 in Switzerland.Hermann van Pels was
murdered in the gas chamber at Auschwitz in either September
or October 1944, according to the information presented at the
Anne Frank House. Anne, her mother, sister and the others all
died later from disease in various Nazi concentration camps
to which they were transferred from Auschwitz. Anne and her
sister, Margot, were sent from Auschwitz on October 28, 1944
to the Bergen-Belsen exchange camp on a transport, which, according
to the International Red Cross, consisted of sick women who
were expected to recover from their illness. Later, Anne and
Margot both became ill with typhus and died in March 1945 during
the horrendous epidemic in Bergen-Belsen. Both were buried in
one of the unmarked mass graves there.
In 1957 the house was donated to the Anne
Frank Foundation who have restored it to give some idea of the
conditions in which the refugees existed. The front of the house,
where Otto Frank ran his business, now contains exhibition space
whilst the inner part has been left as it was; empty of furniture,
which was confiscated by the Nazis.
Biography of Anne Frank
Annelies Marie Frank was born on June 12, 1929
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She was the second daughter of
Otto Frank and Edith Frank-Holländer. Her sister Margot
was three years old when Anne was born. The family was Jewish
and German. The Frank and Holländer families have lived
in Germany for centuries. She was a teenager when she was forced
to go into hiding during the Holocaust. She and her family,
along with four others, spent 25 months during World War II
in an annex of rooms above her father’s office in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands.
After being betrayed by the trusted, Anne,
her family, and the others living with them were arrested and
deported to Nazi concentration camps. In March 1945, nine months
after she was arrested, Anne Frank died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen.
She was fifteen years old. Her diary, saved during the war by
one of the family’s helpers, Miep Gies, was first published
in 1947. Today, this diary has translated versions into 67 languages
and is one of the most widely read books in the world. The original
version of the diary is on display as part of the Anne Frank
House's permanent exhibition. The collection and temporary exhibitions
focus on the wartime persecution of Jews, contemporary fascism,
racism and anti-Semitism.
Location
Located at the Centre of Amsterdam, the museum
is at 20 minutes walking distance from Central Station. All
kinds of transport are available. Both Tram and Bus stops are
located nearby at Westermarkt. Trams 13, 17 and Buses 21, 170,
171, and 172 can be taken up from Central Station. The Museum
is also close to the Schiphol Airport and takes 20 mins. by
train.
Direction
Take Exit Centrum (S 105) from the Ring Road
(A10) and the parking signs will help you to reach the museum.
Parking
Facility
Paid parking is available close to the museum.
Public transport
The following transports can be availed:
Streetcar 13, 14, or 17 to the Westermarkt stop
Bus 21, 170,
171 or 172 to the Westermarkt stop
The Museum
Boat stops directly in front of the Anne Frank House
15 minutes
walking from the Centraal Train Station
Opening Hours
The museum is open from 9 AM to 7 PM daily.
Activities
With an effort to maintain and provide access
to the Anne Frank House and to spread the ideals of Anne Frank
as expressed in her diary, the museum develops products and
activities to promote tolerance and mutual respect in our society,
nationally as well as internationally.
Education
Developing and arranging teaching materials, projects along
with exhibitions based on the Anne frank’s life story,
the Second World War, anti-Semitism, discrimination and human
rights now.
International Projects
Developing mobile exhibitions on Anne Frank across the globe.
Documentation
Documentation on Anne Frank, holocaust education, racism, discrimination
and right-wing extremism can be found at our documentation center.
Research Racism & right wing extremism
An effort to map the developments and evolution in the field
of racism, discrimination and right-wing extremism in the Netherlands
and Europe.
Seminars
Arranging seminars and study days for educational institutions,
the business community, different professional groups and associations.
Collections
The following collections of the museum is
worth viewing:
The pictures that Anne Frank pasted on the walls of her room.
In 2001, work was started on the extra measures for the preservation
of the original pictures.
What started
with several documents and personal letters has grown into a
sizeable collection over the course of the.
Admission
prices
The entry charges are as follows:
Adults: Euro 7,50
Age 10-17:
Euro 3,50
Age 0-9: free
Facilities
The museum café & the museum store
are the special facilities Anne Frank House:
Museum Café: Offers hot beverage, soft drinks and lunch
menu for rolls & soups.
Museum Store:
Almost all publications on Anne Frank and Anne Frank House are
available in different languages. Postcards and Anne Frank House
CD-Rom are also available on sale.
Visitor’s
guide
Here is some important information for the
new visitors:
How to Enter
Visitors to the Anne Frank house must first purchase a ticket
from the booth just inside the entrance to 267 Prinsengracht.
A free brochure about the exhibits inside is available at the
ticket booth. There are no X-ray machines at the entrance and
purses and backpacks are not searched. The entry tickets are
not timed and there is no guide; visitors are allowed to stay
as long as they like and view the exhibits for as long as they
wish. However, the tour moves in only one direction and visitors
may not go back through the exhibit rooms. There are emergency
exits through the building, which lead to stairs in the building
at 265 Prinsengracht. The exhibits are not wheel chair accessible,
and there is no elevator.
Anne Frank Foundation
The Anne Frank Foundation was founded in 1957 to save the Anne
Frank House from being demolished. In 1960, the house was opened
as a museum and since then it has been visited by millions of
people from all over the world. The Foundation also develops
educational programs and activities.
Popular hotels nearby
Many popular hotels are available near this
museum. Tourists may check out the following popular hotels
for a better deal: The NH
Caransa, Golden
Tulip Amsterdam Art, Hotel
Crystal are all located very close to the museum. Hotel
Manofa, Hotel Toro
Amsterdam, Radisson
SAS Hotel Amsterdam and NH
Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky can also be good choices. Tourists
may be pleased with the services of Renaissance
Amsterdam Hotel, Victoria
Hotel Amsterdam, Ramada
Amsterdam Art located within walking distance. Also don’t
forget to check out Golden
Tulip Hotel Inntel Amsterdam Centre and HEM
Hotel Amsterdam within easy reach.
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