January 27th is dedicated to the Holocaust Memorial Day which refers to a number of world-wide commemorations of the Holocaust taking place during World War II. Speaking of which, we brought you the astonishing history of a German girl who became famous after her death. Here we introduce you the Anne Frank House.
The Netherlands had been through horrible things during World War II. Anne Frank and her family among lots of people went into hiding in order to avoid the cruelty that Hitler imposed on Jews. We visited the place where Anne Frank went into hiding and all details follows.
Visiting the Anne Frank House
Anne Frank’s history – in brief
Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) was a young Jewish girl who moved from Germany to the Netherlands with her family after Hitler and the Nazis came to power and made life increasingly difficult for Jews.
In 1942 she and her family went into hiding in a secret apartment behind her father’s business but they were discovered in 1944 and sent to concentration camps.
Anne’s father, Otto Frank, was the only family member who survived. When he returned to Amsterdam following his release from Auschwitz, he met Miep Gies, who was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family and four other Jews from the Nazis. She gave Otto 5 notebooks and some 300 loose papers containing Anne’s writing.
Otto Frank knew that Anne wanted to become an author or journalist. She had even been inspired to edit her diary for posterity after hearing on the radio that Dutch government urged people to keep journals & letters that would help provide a record of what life was like under the Nazis. (source)
The secret annex is open for the public. Photos are not allowed but I truly agree with that! When you start visiting the place where they lived for about 2 years, the energy becomes heavy & you start getting overwhelmed whilst you go from one room to another. It’s really sad to imagine how hard was to live making no noise at all! Besides, all the windows were covered by a black fabric in order to avoid any suspicious. Have you thought about living for 2 years without seeing the daylight?
During your visit, besides seeing the rooms, there’s a museum where you can check Anne’s notebooks and also some loose papers. It’s incredible! How could a little girl write those things? Even her father said he realized he didn’t know her own daughter.
There’s a couple of videos, testimonials, you can watch throughout your visit. VERY interesting, by the way.
When you leave, you can buy any of her books at the museum’s bookstore. They are available in many languages.
Click here to get US$ 37.00 or € 31.00 off on your first booking on Airbnb and help our blog keep creating great content! ♥
You can buy the tickets online but if you don’t, try to get there a few minutes before it opens in order to avoid more than 1 hour waiting on the queue. We arrived there at 9am (when it opens) and it took us 15 min to get in. When we left, around luchtime, the queue was huge!!! It would take about 1 hour and a half waiting, I guess! So it’s worth waking up a little bit early! 😉
For further information such as opening hours and ticket prices, visit Anne Frank House official website.
You may also want to check the article “Visiting Auschwitz“
Check out the following video about the Secret Annex.
“In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart.” – Anne Frank (1929 – 1945)
I didn’t read the book yet but it’s def on my list. What about you, guys? I’d love to know your thoughts about her history.
See also:
Click here to check all posts about the Netherlands
Click here to check all posts about Amsterdam attractions.