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1. Why does Anne use the word "a true hiding place" while writing about the secret annex?

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1. Why does Anne use the word "a true hiding place" while writing about the secret annex?

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Look around the landing with the bookcase that hides the door to the Secret Annex.

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2. What was her solution for dealing with fear?

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2. What was her solution for dealing with fear?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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Discover the entrance directly behind the bookcase. The entrance leads to the other rooms in the Secret Annex.

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3. Why did people in the annex have to keep quiet between 08.30 and 9.00?

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3. Why did people in the annex have to keep quiet between 08.30 and 9.00?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944] 'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.'

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4. What languages did Anne learn in the secret annex?

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4. What languages did Anne learn in the secret annex?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944] 'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.'

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5. Who did Anne fall in love with in the secret annex?

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5. Who did Anne fall in love with in the secret annex?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944] 'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.'

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6. Why do you think Anne made some changes in Kitty?

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6. Why do you think Anne made some changes in Kitty?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944] 'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.'

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7. Why did the quality of the food deteriorated?

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7. Why did the quality of the food deteriorated?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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The room of Hermann and Auguste van Pels

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Look around the bedroom of Auguste and Hermann van Pels. The people hiding in the Secret Annex used this room as a kitchen, dining room, and living room.

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8. What words or phrases does Anne use revealing that she started to fall in love with Peter van Pels?

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8. What words or phrases does Anne use revealing that she started to fall in love with Peter van Pels?

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944]

'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.' [Anne Frank, 17 February 1944.]

To prevent discovery, the people in hiding kept away from windows that had not been blacked out. The attic window was the exception, and it gave Anne a chance to look outside.

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When they had just gone into hiding, the food was still fairly good, but before long, it became more difficult to get food of a reasonable quality. 'Blech, the mere thought that I have to eat that swill makes me nauseated!' [Anne Frank, 14 March 1944] 'As long as this still exists, I cannot be sad.'

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'What I read in her book is so indescribably captivating that I just have to keep reading.'

At first, Otto could not bear to read Anne's texts. 'I don't have the strength to read them,' he wrote to his mother on 22 August 1945. A month later, he had changed his mind and could not put them away. Otto decided to copy excerpts for his relatives in Basel and started working on a translation into German.

'At first, I was put off by the idea of publication, but I gradually realised that they were right.'

'A very different Anne'

Otto had always thought that he had a fair idea of what went on inside Anne's head. But when he read her texts, he realised that this had not been the case. 'The Anne that appeared before me was very different from the daughter I had lost. I had had no idea of the depth of her thoughts and feelings.'

Otto's excerpts were read not just by his relatives, but by friends as well. They felt that Anne's texts were 'an important human document' and that Otto should not keep the texts to himself. It took some time before Otto agreed with them. Still, it was not easy to find a publisher so soon after the war, because most people wanted to look to the future.

'A Child's Voice'

His acquaintances Jan and Annie Romein, both historians, helped Otto Frank find a publisher. Jan Romein had read the diary and written a short column titled 'A Child's Voice' about it for Het Parool, a Dutch newspaper.

Among other things, he wrote: 'When I finished the book, it was night and I was amazed that the lights were still on, that there was bread and tea, that I did not hear the roaring of airplanes or the thumping of soldiers' boots in the street - I had been captivated and taken back to the unreal world that is now almost a year behind us.'

Otto's compilation

Jan Romein's column piqued the interest of Contact, an Amsterdam publishing house. Otto made a compilation of Anne's diary, her rewritten diary texts, and some short stories.

He decided, for instance, to include some of the critical texts that Anne had written about her mother and that she had left out from her rewritten version. Anne had also omitted her crush on Peter, but Otto decided to include those texts as well. He omitted other things, such as a piece in which Anne wrote harshly about Otto's marriage to Edith.

The complete works of Anne Frank

Anne's wish comes true

The book was published in 1947, just over five years after Anne's thirteenth birthday, the day she had received her diary. She had come up with the title of the book herself: Het Achterhuis ( The Secret Annex). Looking back, Otto Frank wrote: 'How proud Anne would have been if she had lived to see this. After all, on 29 March 1944, she wrote: "Imagine how interesting it would be if I published a novel about the Secret Annex."'

The Dutch edition received positive reviews, such as 'a war document of striking density' and 'Parents and educators are strongly advised to read this diary.' After the first edition (3,036 copies), the second edition (6,830) followed in December 1947 and the third edition (10,500 copies) in February 1948.

Learning from the past

The success of Het Achterhuis in the Netherlands encouraged Otto Frank to look for publishing opportunities in other countries. After a French edition (1950), followed a German one (also in 1950). In 1952, two English versions were published, one for Great Britain and the other for the US. According to Otto Frank, the book made a deep impression on readers everywhere.

It did not stop at these four translations. Over the years, many more were added. Anne Frank's diary is now available in over 70 languages. Until his death in 1980, Otto Frank continued to receive reactions from readers from all over the world, who had been moved by the book. With some of them, he developed close friendships. About these letters, he wrote that '(...) despite all the differences (...) there is usually a desire to learn from the past and to work towards a better understanding among people.'

Attachment: pseudonyms of the people in hiding and the helpers.

The real names of the people in hiding and the pseudonyms Otto selected for the people in Het Achterhuis.

Real names Otto's decision

Otto Frank

Otto Frank

Edith Frank

Mrs Frank / Mum

Margot Frank

Margot Frank

Anne Frank

Anne Frank

Hermann van Pels

Mr Van Daan

Auguste van Pels

Mrs / Petronella van Daan

Peter van Pels

Peter van Daan

Fritz Pfeffer

Albert Dussel

The real names of the helpers and the pseudonyms Otto selected for them in Het Achterhuis.

Real names Otto's decision

Miep Gies

Miep van Santen

Jan Gies

Henk van Santen

Johannes Kleiman

Mr Koophuis

Victor Kugler

Mr Kraler

Bep Voskuijl

Elli Vossen

Johan Voskuijl

Mr Vossen

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'What I read in her book is so indescribably captivating that I just have to keep reading.' At first, Otto could not bear to read Anne's texts. 'I don't have the strength to read them,' he wrote to his mother on 22 August 1945.

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Take a look around and explore the Secret Annex where Anne Frank was in hiding for more than two years during World War II, and where she wrote her diary.

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Her life, the diary, and the Secret Annex

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Anne didn't just keep a diary. She also wrote tales and planned to publish a book about her time in the Secret Annex. After the war, Otto Frank fulfilled her wish.

Since then, Anne Frank's diary has been translated into more than 70 languages. Discover the story behind the diary of Anne Frank.

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Anne didn't just keep a diary. She also wrote tales and planned to publish a book about her time in the Secret Annex. After the war, Otto Frank fulfilled her wish. Since then, Anne Frank's diary has been translated into more than 70 languages. Discover the story behind the diary of Anne Frank.

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During this period, the Anne Frank House was also used for literature, poetry, or classical music events. The performers at the concerts were mostly young students from the school of music.

In the second half of the 1960s, the Anne Frank House made room for social criticism. Photo exhibitions and other means were used to protest the war in Vietnam and apartheid in South Africa.

The takeover allowed the Austrian Nazis to flaunt their antisemitism. They visited Jews at home, robbed them and smashed their furniture. In Vienna, Nazis forced Jews to scrub pro-Austrian slogans off the streets. Many Jews tried to flee, others committed suicide. In two weeks' time, more than 200 Viennese Jews took their own lives.

On 15 September 1935, the Nazis introduced the Nuremberg Race Laws. These racist laws were directed against the Jews in Germany and essentially stripped them of their civil rights.

Based on family lineage, the laws determined who was Jewish and who was not. People with three or four Jewish grandparents were considered Jewish. Jews were no longer considered citizens and therefore could not claim certain civil rights, could no longer vote and could not work for the government.

Another section of the Nuremberg Laws was called the 'Law for the protection of German blood and German honour'. Under this law, marriages between Jews and Germans were forbidden. Moreover, Jews were not permitted to employ female citizens of German blood under the age of 45 as domestic workers.

The Nazis were horrified by relationships between Jews and non-Jews. In July 1935, for example, Julius Wolff and his non-Jewish fiancé Christine Neumann were paraded through the streets of Norden by the SA. They were forced to carry signs saying "Ich bin ein Rassenschänder" ("I defile the race") and "I am a German girl and I allowed a Jew to defile me".

Christine was taken to a concentration camp and released after a month. Julius was locked up in the Esterwegen concentration camp. After his release, he fled to the United States.

The prisoners, mostly young men, were deported to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Before long, their families were informed that they were 'dead' or had been 'shot on the run'. These messages made Mauthausen a notorious place. The Nazis threatened to take Jews there who broke their rules.

The west of the Netherlands suffered from shortages of fuel and food. In order to heat their houses, the population tried to find firewood wherever they could. They illegally cut down trees, burned old furniture and stole the wooden blocks from between the tram rails. They took all the wood from the abandoned houses of deported Jews, which sometimes caused the houses to collapse.

The food shortage caused severe hunger. People ate everything they could get their hands on: tulip bulbs and sugar beets, but also dogs and cats. There was still some food in the countryside, so people walked or cycled dozens of kilometres to buy food from farmers. Some of these farmers took advantage of the famine and only exchanged food for jewellery or piles of money. Others did their best to help, but the food shortage persisted. About 20,000 people died because of the hunger winter.

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During this period, the Anne Frank House was also used for literature, poetry, or classical music events. The performers at the concerts were mostly young students from the school of music. In the second half of the 1960s, the Anne Frank House made room for social criticism.