Miep Gies by Aidan Perry

Who was Miep Gies?

aperry177 — 2025-05-07 16:19:09 UTC

Miep Gies was a woman known for her role in helping Anne Frank and her family hide from the Nazis in 1944.

She was born on February 15, 1909. When Miep was 11 she was sent from her home in Vienna, Austria, to live with a family in the Netherlands. There in Amsterdam she started working for Otto Frank. Otto was a Jewish businessman who owned a company that made ingredients for jam. His daughter was Anne Frank.

When the Nazi party took control of Germany and began enacting laws against the Jewish people, Otto knew his family was in danger. He asked Miep to help hide them.

Miep Gies helped the Frank family stay hidden and safe for almost two years. Miep knew that if she was found she would be arrested or even worse. Miep did everything possible to keep her efforts hidden, she didn’t even tell her own parents.

Miep Gies quotes

aperry177 — 2025-05-08 16:22:03 UTC

"I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be someone to help others."

"But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room"

"Any attempt at action is better than inaction. An attempt can go wrong, but inaction inevitably results in failure."

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 01:27:49 UTC

Miep Gies, while she was working at Opekta (company owned by Otto Frank). Part of her job was to answer costumers questions about the product.

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 01:54:23 UTC

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 02:10:52 UTC

The Diary of a Young Girl

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 14:32:05 UTC

Miep held on to Anne’s diaries, hoping she would be able to return them to her. Anne’s diary papers and other writings were kept hidden and safe within Miep’s desk. She later, after the war, gave them to Otto Frank who published Anne’s Diary.

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 14:56:57 UTC

Trailer to A small light

1944

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 16:04:41 UTC

In 1944 the secret annex was discovered. Miep, again, risked her life by trying to bribe officials for their release. She was unsuccessful. The families along with the Franks were sent to Auschwitz’s and Bergen-Belsen. Anne and her sister died in Bergen-Belsen a few months later and Otto Frank was the only survivor of the eight hiding.

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 16:20:17 UTC

Miep Gies standing next to the hidden passage to the attic.

Jan Gies

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 16:26:59 UTC

Jan Gies was Miep’s husband. He played a crucial role in helping Miep hide the family’s during World Was ll. Jan secured extra for ration cards from the Dutch underground resistance. He also provided news and books from his friend’s private library.

"Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Women Who Helped Hide the Frank Family"

aperry177 — 2025-05-12 20:36:03 UTC

Miep Gies wrote this book in collaboration with Alison Leslie Gold. It was published in 1987. This book tells the story of the Frank Family throughout the Holocaust and how their lives had been changed. Gies also illustrates her great determination to keep these families alive.

aperry177 — 2025-05-13 13:57:46 UTC

Her Legacy

aperry177 — 2025-05-13 14:08:56 UTC

Miep is now known world wide for her courage, bravery and determination during the Holocaust. She risked her own life for the sake of others. She is a role model to others and made sure Anne’s diary was kept well and preserved, so it could be shown to the world.

aperry177 — 2025-05-13 14:09:49 UTC

aperry177 — 2025-05-14 14:27:52 UTC