Manual Guide for the travelling exhibition “Anne Frank

Manual Guide

for the travelling exhibition

“Anne Frank – A History For Today»

1. Introduction

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

The “Anne Frank House” was founded on the 3rd of May 1957, because people wanted to preserve the

house at Prinsengracht 263 and prevent it from being torn down. It was in this house that Anne Frank

hid from the Nazis with seven other Jews for two years. The house was opened as a museum for the

general public in 1960. Since its opening, people from all over the world have visited what used to be the

secret annex. With more than a million visitors each year, the Anne Frank House is one of the most visited

museums in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that the Holocaust lies further and further behind us, the

number of visitors to the museum increases each year, attesting to the importance of Anne Frank’s Diary

for future generations.

The travelling Anne Frank exhibition

The international exhibition “Anne Frank – A History For Today» has travelled all over the world, and is

presented more than 150 times per year. The worldwide tour is coordinated by the Anne Frank House,

but the local organisation is in the hands of partner organisations.

The Anne Frank exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank against the background of the Holocaust and the

Second World War. Various versions of the exhibition are available. They are similar in content, but dier

in design and scale. The exhibition is usually presented for a period of two to four weeks. The exhibition

is accompanied by materials including a catalogue, a DVD and a handbook for guides.

In many countries the presentation of the exhibition has led to follow-up activities such as teacher trai-

ning courses, theatre presentations and educational projects for school students.

Teaching about the life of Anne Frank and the history of the Holocaust is not done to advance a par-

ticular opinion or accounting of events, but instead to encourage people to think for themselves and

develop their own opinions and actions. Critical thinking is a key feature of democratic societies.

Personal stories

Individual accounts create a greater impact that recounting pure facts or statistics. As educators and

exhibition guides we want to invite visitors to gain a better idea what it must have felt like for a par-

ticular person to live through the period of history discussed in the exhibition. By understanding the

“small” actions that took place during the Holocaust and the lead up to this tragedy, we are better able

to connect this history to today’s world. Ideally, we would like people to respect the human rights and

dignity of those around us and to take action where necessary to defend the rights of others.

Perpetrators, victims, bystanders, helpers

Those who actively violated the human rights of others during the period of National Socialism are best

referred to as perpetrators, while those who were persecuted can be referred to as victims or targets.

Many groups became the victims of the Nazi persecution policies, but the main victims were Jews. It is

often said that ‘not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims’.

Those who helped victims are best described as helpers or upstanders. These people often risked their

jobs, and even their lives. Finally, we distinguish a category of people who remained on the sidelines.

These were people who did not get involved while the atrocities of the Holocaust unfolded. We refer

to this group as bystanders. These categories are useful but not always mutually exclusive. Some vic-

tims also became perpetrators and some perpetrators later became victims or even helpers. This is

part of the reason we refrain from calling Germany and Austria ‘guilty countries’ and the Netherlands a

Aims of the exhibition

1. To inform visitors about the history of the Holocaust from the perspective of Anne Frank and her

family. To show historical facts and events that governed their lives, thus illustrating the eects of

National Socialism on one particular Jewish family.

2. To show visitors that dierences between people exist in all societies (cultural, ethnic, religious,

political or otherwise). In many countries, however, there are people who consider themselves supe-

rior to others, and deny them the right to equal treatment. To show also that these ideas might lead

to discrimination, exclusion, persecution, and even murder.

3. To encourage visitors to analyze the concepts of intolerance, persecution, exclusion, mutual res-

pect, human rights, democracy, and their meaning for us.

4. To convince visitors that the creation of a society in which dierences between people are respec-

ted is not something automatic. In addition to laws (and their implementation), it is essential that

each individual is committed to defending the rights of others to the best of his or her ability.

Structure of the exhibition

Anne Frank’s life is the thread that one can nd throughout the exhibition. The experiences of the

Frank family sheds light on events and processes that took place before, during and after Second

World War. The exhibition contains many photos of the Frank family that are combined with other

photos and information about historical events. The story told in the exhibition presents the concrete

consequences of the political decisions that were made at the time, and also the consequences that

individual choices had for others who were persecuted, like the Frank family.

‘victim’ or Germans and Austrians ‘perpetrators’ and the Dutch, French or Belgians ‘victims’. Within each

country, and even among their political leadership, we can nd people who t all categories. By labeling

countries or entire populations as ‘perpetrators’ or ‘victims’, would give people the false impression that

the situation was less complex than it actually was. There were for instance German and Austrian victims

and Dutch people who decided to support the Nazis. You could nd this situation throughout Europe

and beyond. Not all Germans were Nazis and not all Nazis were Germans.

Anne Frank’s diary is read around the globe. It has become such an important educational tool, both

in and outside of classrooms because of its broad relevance. Many read the diary and recognise how

Anne can serve as a symbol for the enormous suering of millions of people during the period of

the Holocaust. Others see her more in terms of the writer she aspired to be. Still others focus on the

strength and courage that characterised Anne during her time in hiding and her keen understanding

of both the world and human nature, something she continues to pass on through her writing to

young and old alike. The use of quotes in the exhibition brings the remarkable writing of this young

girl to life and gives us insight into her unique vision.

Anne Frank was born June 12, 1929 in Germany at a time when Germany was being deeply eec-

ted by political turmoil and by the world economic crisis. Many “found shelter” in extreme political

views. Both the extreme right (i.e. National-Socialist) and left (i.e. Communists) tended to benet

from these situations. Violence had become a part of everyday life in Germany. The NSDAP (National

Socialist German Workers Party), its leader Adolf Hitler and their followers (called Nazis) believed that

the German people were a superior ‘race’ and had a special mission to fulll; Jews and other minori-

ties were believed to be responsible for everything that had gone wrong in society.

The Frank family was apprehensive about these changes but Anne still had a happy childhood. Pho-

tos show how the family enjoyed a normal life in Frankfurt. The NSDAP became the largest political

party in Germany after elections in November 1932, and in January 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazis

came into power. Fearing growing anti-Jewish sentiment, Otto Frank emigrated to Amsterdam. The

rest of his family soon followed. Immediately after coming into power, the Nazis introduced anti-

Jewish measures. While Jews and other minorities gradually suered more and more oppression in

Germany (the November Pogrom – sometimes called the Night of Broken Glass - in November 1938

represented the worst incident until that moment), the Frank family seemed to be safe in Amster-

dam.

The following years were still happy ones for Anne, as she later described in her diary. But the suf-

fering of war was not far away. The Second World War began when German troops marched into

Poland on September 1, 1939. This caused more concern for the Frank family but these events had

no immediate consequences for family life. Jews in Central and Eastern Europe were less fortunate. A

reign of terror against minorities quickly became the standard policy of the invading German armies.

Jews were forced out of their homes and into ghettos in many cities.

The situation in the Netherlands changed drastically when the German army invaded the country.

After May 10, 1940, it became almost impossible for people at risk of persecution to ee the Nether-

lands. By then, the Nazis had started to persecute Jews and other minorities in Western Europe as

well. The persecution became worse and went beyond denying people of their basic human rights.

With their attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, deportations to so-called death camps began.

The plan to systematically murder all Jews (called ‘The Final Solution’) was put into action after the

Wannsee-conference in January 1942, but mass executions of Jews had already started a year earlier.

Margot Frank was the rst of the Frank family to receive a call-up to “abroad” in July 1942. This call-

up led to great consternation in the Frank family and the Franks decided to leave the safety of their

home behind for an uncertain, conned and risky life in the secret annex behind Otto Frank’s com-

pany.

Miep Gies was Otto Frank’s secretary. Without her and the other helpers, it would have been abso-

lutely impossible for the people in hiding to live in the secret annex. Miep Gies, often considered a

heroine, however, emphasized again and again after the war that people don’t have to be heroes to

help others.

There were eight people who lived in the secret annex at Prinsengracht 263 between July 1942 and

August 1944: The Frank family, the Van Pels family (married couple and their son Peter) and a former

dentist by the name of Fritz Pfeer. In her diary, Anne Frank refers to the Van Pels family as the “Van

Daans” and Fritz Pfeer as “Albert Dussel”. They constantly were in fear to be discovered. That meant

a death sentence. Quotes taken from Anne’s diary give insight into the feelings people in hiding had.

The eight people in hiding were betrayed on August 4, 1944, and immediately arrested. Later they

were brought to the transit camp Westerbork and from there they were deported to Auschwitz death

camp in nazi occupied Poland (on September 3, 1944). Auschwitz was the largest and most notorious

of the Nazi death camps. More than one million people were murdered in Auschwitz. Anne and Mar-

got Frank survived the rst months in Auschwitz but were deported in November 1944 to another

concentration camp called Bergen-Belsen, near Hannover in Germany.

After Europe was liberated from the Nazis in May 1945, there was a celebratory mood throughout

Europe. But not everybody felt like celebrating. In addition to happiness about the end of the war,

there was still a lot of suering and uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead: many people dico-

vered the horrible news that their families and loved ones would never return. During the rst few

years after the war, the injustice and pain that the Jews had experienced were rarely a topic of dis-

cussion. With some 50 million war deaths in total, the suering and pain had been extensive. People,

even many Jews, wanted to forget the war as fast as possible – they wanted to move on with their

lives and build up a new existence.

Miep Gies, who had found Anne’s diary in the secret annex, gave it to Otto Frank after it became clear

that Anne and Margot had died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen. Otto Frank decided to publish the diary,

following the wishes of his daughter. Since this time, Anne Frank’s diary has become synonymous

with the persecution of Jews during the Second World War. After the war, a new attempt was made to

create a new international body that could help prevent war and genocide in the future. The United

Nations was founded on June 26 1945, followed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on

December 10, 1948. Despite this important document and many like it in later years, racism, anti-

Semitism and other forms of discrimination still exist in our society today. The exhibition emphasises

that every nation has the duty to combat racism and discrimination, but that every individual also

has a responsibility to take a stand on these issues and defend the human rights of others.

2.Guiding groups

Preparation

You can prepare yourself for your task even before you see the exhibition for the rst time. For ins-

tance, you could (re-)read Anne Frank’s diary and/or watch the DVD “The Short Life of Anne Frank”.

The Anne Frank House has several educational websites. There are many other websites with general

information about the Second Worl War. Remember though, we do not expect you to be a professio-

nal historian and know every detail. Most important is to get people to reect on the past, present

and future and their own role in actively spreading the key insights presented in the exhibition. You

should also think about the message you would like to get across. This could be a thought, a reec-

tion about what happened, and it could also be related to present events. Of course, the message

should be related to the themes and topics that are discussed in the exhibition.

Structure of a guided tour

The Beginning

Beginnings are important. The more you know about the group before it arrives the better. Try to

nd out from the organisers whether the subject of the Holocaust or the Second World War has

been taught at school and if so, when and how. Is there anything special you should know about the

group? How old are the pupils?

As the group arrives, have a few words with the teacher. You can nd out whether anything has hap-

pened that day or week which might have inuenced the pupils’ concentration. Also, a brief chat can

help teachers reassure themselves that you are somebody they can entrust the class to. In addition,

he or she can help you in case the group does not pay attention.

At the beginning, the group might be mulling around, lacking focus. You need to gain their concen-

tration and invite them to actively participate in the tour from the very beginning. It is vital that

you give the participants an opportunity to say something (no matter what!) very early on. At this

point, the only priority needs to be that the group members feel engaged in the tour. Experience has

shown that if people do not have an opportunity to speak at the beginning of a tour, they often say

nothing at all for its entire duration.

Prepare a good opening phrase: greet the group and introduce yourself. The pupils probably do not

know. If you make your introduction personal it is more likely that they will work with you. You can

for instance talk about what motivated you to become a guide and maybe what you personally have

learned from the exhibition (though you might want to leave this until the end).

After introducing yourself, you can ask, for instance, what the group has done so far that day, what

they think of Anne Frank, what particularly interests them about her. You can ask how they have pre-

pared for the visit (the teacher might have mentioned something and you can get this conrmed).

Some pupils may have read the diary and remember something about it or have some questions

about what they read (you can then mention that you will try to answer those questions as the tour

proceeds). You can ask whether any of them keep a diary themselves and what this means to them?

If so, how does it dier from Anne’s diary? Is there anything unusual in reading someone else’s diary?

During the guiding, you will most likely be confronted by dierent pupil reactions - interest, surprise,

pity, disgust, skepticism, dismissal, and boredom. Always try to remember why you decided to do

this work and why you feel the exhibition is important. It could be helpful to meet with the other

guides beforehand and talk about why the exhibition is important to everybody and what they think

the main things are that they want to get across.

Doing the guiding

During the actual guiding through the exhibition, it will be up to you to arouse the participants’ inte-

rest in the history of Anne Frank, to teach them about the Holocaust and encourage them to reect

on their own attitude towards human rights. A few tips:

• Instead of telling the group that the Franks were an ordinary family, try to have them discover this

themselves. The more people discover things themselves, the more they feel part of the process of

learning something. In the same way, attempt to have the pupils come to the realization that the

Franks were innocent victims and that they were in no way responsible for the horrible things they

were forced to experience.

• Try to get the pupils to realise that the Nazis were mostly ordinary people as well and that many

ordinary Germans came to believe the Nazi promises through very eective propaganda. However, it

is also good to point out that not all Germans joined the Nazis. Many opposed the Nazis in small ways

and more signicantly, some Germans took great risks to help Jews that they did not even know.

They risked their jobs and even their lives. Return frequently to the subject of what these historical

issues can mean to us today.

Make sure that you use words that are not too dicult for the age and ability of your group and fully

explain unusual words (such as ‘scapegoats’). We have dened some key concepts in the glossary.

Be aware of the attention span of your group. For pupils and a number of the teachers, these events

took place long before they were born. You can ask the teachers and the pupils why, in their opi-

nion, this history is important to our world today (a good question especially at the end). You can

help make cautious connections to today’s world to generate responses (do we still have genocides

today, do we still have racism, are there still Nazis or people who believe in some of the same things

that Hitler’s Nazis believed in?).

As much as possible, make use of the photographs on the panels, any objects that might be present,

any talks that you might have heard (for instance from a survivor) and even the atmosphere created

by the exhibition. These are the things that make the exhibition come to life for the pupils. You can

use, for example, a quotation from the exhibition or from Anne’s Diary for discussion purposes.

However, do not end up just reading all the time.

Be aware of your time limitations. Your actual time for guiding is usually an hour or less. It is impos-

sible, however to have a standard plan for every guided tour. Some groups will ask more questions

than others and this means that you might have to talk about less photos or topics, and have more

discussion. As has been already stated, the most important thing is to interact with the group and to

get them to participate as much as possible. A successful tour is a tour where the pupils comment,

ask questions of clarication, oer their opinions and engage in (brief) discussion. Nevertheless,

there are some basic points for conducting a good guided tour, and we will talk about this in the

next paragraphs.

Be aware of chronological nature of the exhibition. Pupils will usually expect to be shown the exhi-

bition chronologically. The diculty is that it is impossible to focus on each panel (let alone every

photo) in the time that you have available. In our experience, a chronological tour works best if you

choose no more than 30 photographs to show your visitors. Even if your tour lasts 45 minutes, this

still only means less than 1½ minutes per photo (allowing for moving from one panel to the next).

Concentrate on these photographs (unless your group is particularly interested in some of the other

photos) and pass all the others with just a few explanatory words.

Closing the tour

Most tours end when the nal panels have been presented and hopefully discussed in brief. It is

good to have an idea of how much time you still have, if any. Hopefully, you were able to make sure

during your tour that you had some time left at the end for discussion. Some closing statements, no

matter how short, are appropriate. Remember, the pupils have just been introduced to (or learned

more about) one of the darkest periods in human history. This deserves some reection. You cannot

read the minds of the pupils, but most will be aected in some way by what they have seen and

heard.

Once in a while, for whatever reason, it can happen that you cannot keep the attention of the group.

In such situations there is no harm in asking the teacher whether you should nish early and ask the

pupils to pay attention for another ten minutes so that you can nish your program.

The closing comments should ideally allow reection on the link between the exhibition themes and

life in today’s world. This is the moment to talk about the relevance of the exhibition for the pupils

and their lives.

Every tour should end with an expression of thanks to the group for having listened attentively - this

indicates that the tour is now really over. If you wish, you can also thank the teacher; from whom

you may well get an idea of what the impact was of your presentation. Also ask them to inform the

exhibition organizers of any further work they might undertake in school.

Have a look at several examples of how to end your guided tour:

1. A common way to end one’s tour is to summarise some of the main things the students saw in the

exhibition and to also come back to one or more key comments that the group made.

2. You might want to focus on the main lessons in the exhibition and a message that the pupils can

take with them. Be careful that this message is not too preachy.

3. You can invite the pupils to come visit the exhibition again so that they see the rest of the photos

and information. They can also be invited to come back with their friends and family members.

4. You can make suggestions for the teachers and pupils as to how they can engage in activities that

are a good follow-up to the exhibition. Often, communities that host the exhibition have a number

of other events planned, like talks, plays, music and lms.

5. If the pupils have a lot of extra time you can suggest ways in which they can make good use of

their time in the exhibition. For example, you can ask the pupils, individually or in small groups, to

go around the exhibition once more to nd the photograph which impressed them most or you can

also ask them to write their reections about the exhibition. Many exhibition venues provide a ‘guest

book’ or some other way for people to write down what they think.

Individual visits

Another possibility is to let a group explore the exhibition without a guide. This can be done in

various ways:

- Let them look at the exhibition in the order they prefer, without any specic instructions, and ask

them about their opinion afterwards;

- Ask the students (either individual students or small groups) to go and nd the photo that im-

pressed them the most and to think about who could have taken the photo and why, what might

have happened before and after the photo was taken, what the photo represents and what the

people in the photo might be thinking/feeling/doing etc. They can carefully mark their favorite pho-

tos with a piece of masking tape or a post-it. After they have done so you take the group through

the exhibition and discuss the photos with them, telling them about the background of the photos,

going from one photo to the next.

- You separate one large group into several small ones, ask them to collect all sorts of information

linked to a certain topic and then present what they discovered to the rest of the group.

Advantages of individual visits

- Especially interesting for participants, lets them actively explore things themselves;

- Even makes the small parts of the exhibition an important part of the visit;

- Focuses on individual demands that the visitors might have and allows them to explore in the way

they deem appropriate, spending more time where they want this; and

- Enables you and the visitors to experience the exhibition in an intense way

Disadvantages

- May take a lot of time;

- Students often need to be motivated, they need to be supported and encouraged;

- The students might miss key photos and information, since they might be unable to distinguish

between key events and minor events; and

- You will need to be able to link all the photos and themes to one another

Contents of the exhibition

The Anne Frank - A History for Today exhibition consists of the “personal history” of Anne Frank and

the “larger history” of the Second World War.

- Panels 1-7 focus on Anne Frank’s life in Germany against the backdrop of Nazis coming into

power in Germany.

- Panels 8-13 show how Anne Frank and her family were able to live in safety in the Netherlands. The

panels also show how the Nazi’s created a dictatorship that started to completely control all aspects

of German society.

- Panels 14-18 show how war changed life in the Netherlands and how Anne started to write in her

diary. This is shown against the backdrop of the Second World War and the persecution of the Jews

- Panels 19-25 describe life in the secret annex and how the people in hiding were betrayed and

arrested.

- Panels 26-31 describe how Otto Frank published his daughter’s diary. The “larger history” tells about

concentration camps and the Holocaust.

- Panels 32 and 33 discuss the period after the Second World War and the establishment of the United

Nations.

The path through the exhibition

Some guides prefer to have a specic focus as they take a group through the exhibition. One pos-

sibility is to tell people more about the story of the Frank family and the others in hiding. This is a

good way to introduce people to the main issues in the exhibition, but also suitable for students who

already have some general knowledge about this period of time, but know rather little about the

Franks. A focus on historical facts and an overview of the Second World War could be another focus.

This approach might be appropriate for people who already know a good deal about Anne Frank.

You can also focus on the persecution of the Jews, prejudice and discrimination in general or human

rights issues. In that case, the story of Anne Frank provides insight into these issues. This approach

might be suitable for older students. A focus on issues such as human rights does demand more

knowledge on these issues for you as a guide.

Guiding: be exible

Guides tend to nd it useful to be exible while taking groups through the exhibition. One can never

be sure which questions or discussions will arise. Each group is dierent (dierent energy level, dif-

ferent preparation) and an experienced guide will learn to take advantage of this. But this does take

some condence and some experience.

Working with younger students

Primary school students often visit the exhibition. With younger students, it is often best to focus

on Anne Frank herself, since they might be easily overwhelmed by the facts relating to the Second

World War and the Holocaust. Younger students tend to respond well to details such as the writing

of the diary and its contents, the movable bookcase or a specic photo. Suitable themes can be

“friendship” (Do you have a best friend? Why did Anne call her diary “Kitty”?), “hiding” (Have you

ever tried to hide from people? Why? What was that like for you? Why did Anne hide?), “helping” or

“outsiders”. Children can also discuss what they already know about Anne Frank. Realize that some

children – for a variety of reasons – might not want to respond to confrontational questions. Do not

force the issue.

Working with photos

Try as much as possible to use the photos during the exhibition and try to sense what the group

would like to hear. Reading a pre-prepared script or reading directly from the panels is usually less

appreciated by groups, since they could also do this themselves. Naturally, you can always use a

quote (for instance from the diary) to introduce a certain issue, but it’s dicult to do that with every

issue. The following questions can help get a discussion going about certain photos:

- What do you see in this photo?

- Where and when do you think it was probably taken?

- What do you see in the faces of the people in the photo? Why do you think this is the case?

- Who do you think took this photo? Why? Where was he/she standing?

- What do you think happened shortly before or after the photo was taken?

The photos can help you steer the course of the discussion and also help students discover things

they might not know or expect. Here are a few tips:

- Try to have the group nd out for themselves that the Frank family was actually just a normal family.

There was no reason to view them as enemies or threats.

- Let students discover that many Nazis were also normal people, that a lot of normal people belie-

ved in the Nazi belief system and all the promises and mythology that was part of this belief system.

- Show them that people did have options and choices, though not always easy ones: Many people

decided to join the resistance and many helped victims.

- Keep on drawing their attention to the role of the bystanders. What was the reason that so many

bystanders kept silent and did not do anything about the situation? Do you think you would you

have behaved dierently? Why or why not?

If you want to ask a question, rst reect on what the possible response might be. If you ask a ques-

tion and you are not sure what you might do with the responses, you might not want to ask the

question.

Questions and discussions, not monologues!

You’ve probably been guided through a museum at least once in your life. Why were some so incre-

dibly boring? One reason is denitely that in traditional tours, the content of the exhibition is explai-

ned in long, tedious monologues. It almost sounds as if somebody is simply reading a text to you.

Hopefully that was not the case.

It is a good thing if groups manage to inuence their tour guide. It’s worth trying to nd out what

the group already knows, their opinions and what they are interested in. Naturally, you can also

answer in a more detailed way to some questions, but if somebody asks you why the Franks ed Ger-

many and you start to explain anti-semitism during the Middle Ages then that’s probably not what

the person wanted to know. If you, however, point out other interesting stories in your answer, you

encourage people to ask more questions.

Your “thread” through the exhibition

Make a careful decision about which photos and themes interest you and tell the story of the exhibi-

tion. This also depends very much on the time you are planning to use - if you want to use 5 minutes

for one photo, this gives you the time to talk about eight photos in 40 minutes (if the tour through the

exhibition is 40 minutes). Try not to show the entire content of the exhibition - this takes too much

time. Your selection has to t your interests. In this way, the tour will be most authentic. Your “thread”

also helps you when something goes wrong or when you don’t really know how to continue after a

dicult question. With a thread you can simply continue with the next photo in your thread and feel

comfortable again. As you gain more experience you will learn to use dierent photos depending on

the questions and comments you get. While at rst many guides wonder how they will get through

40 minutes, after some experience the issue is more how to get through so much information is such

a short time and not to run out of time halfway through the exhibition.

How do I stand in front of a group?

You’ll most probably know what it’s like to stand in front of your classmates, having to do a presenta-

tion and being very nervous because of it. Such reactions are totally normal. Here are some tips you

might want to consider:

-Eye contact: Only when you look at people directly will they feel approached and listen carefully.

Here it is especially important not to forget that the group members in the last row are distracted

more easily and that you should also look at them when possible. But if you feel a little nervous,

focus on those paying attention. It will help you regain your condence.

-Speak loudly: If you try talking to the person standing the farthest from you, the loudness will be

just about right.

-Ask questions: Don’t forget to ask questions! And spend enough time trying to address the ques-

tions.

-Bounce back questions: If somebody asks your opinion, ask them to rst give their opinion. Or ask

others in the group what their opinion is. It is then better to summarize their opinions (you do not

seem to agree on this, some say X and some say Y) than to directly give yours. Try to give facts rather

than your opinion since your opinion might not be shared and could lead to some group members

losing interest. The tour is not about YOUR opinion, but it IS about trying to draw out THEIR opinions

and providing factual information that will get them to reect further.

-Let the group describe the photos: In this manner you can motivate them to actively participate in

the tour.

-Give dierent people the opportunity to say something: Try to prevent the same person from tal-

king again and again.

-Stand next to and not in front of a photo: With all the excitement going on it might happen that

you end up standing in front of a photo, so that the group cannot see it. You should always stand

next to a photo and speak to the group facing them, much like you see people show a weather map.

-Let people read: If you feel it will help focus the group, you can have dierent people read the texts

on the panels, also the sentences underneath the photos. This is not ideal, but will give you a short

break and enable the group to hear somebody else speaking for a change. Here you should be sen-

sitive as far as non-uent readers are concerned.

Dicult situations

Most tours are non-eventful. People tend to want to please the guide. But once in a while, a dicult

situation might arise. In general, try to discuss these situations with other guides and the organisers,

etchers, etc. Some of them will have had to deal with similar situations.

It can be useful to anticipate how to deal with some of these dicult situations. What may seem

dicult for one person may be very easy for another. The rst step is to think about what made you

feel uneasy. The second is to discuss this with others and nd strategies for the future.

In the past, the following situations have been dicult to handle from time to time:

- The group is and stays bored, quiet and doesn’t respond to the guided tour at all

- The group is restless, unfocused and distracted, doesn’t listen

- Somebody continues disturbing the tour with comments or through disruptive behavior

- Somebody asks very dicult questions that are either meant to challenge the guide or ridicule

what is stated in the exhibition

- Somebody tries to provoke other people in the group using inappropriate comments

- The students have a hard time understanding even the easiest explanations

- The teacher continues to interfere when you are giving your tour

- Factors like noise, extreme heat or cold, or other people disturb the tour

- There are too many people in the group or in the exhibition

Build up your own “repertoire”

Since every “dicult situation” is dierent, there is no standard solution to these situations. It might

be helpful, however, to have some general guidelines. The following suggestions aim to help you

cope with those rare moments when groups are dicult. They will help you develop your own stra-

tegies. After all, the most important thing for a successful tour is that you feel comfortable.

How do I cope with “trouble makers”?

Loud, restless students can inuence the rest of the group and the tour enormously. Often, it is pos-

sible to inuence them in a positive way, while at the same time making sure that there’s less focus

on them than on the (well-behaved) rest of the group. Dierent strategies can work.

On the whole, remember that somebody else is responsible for the group (usually the teacher).

Make sure that this person is in the vicinity before you intervene (not o drinking coee). This is also

important because a tour is most eective if a teacher takes discussions and questions back to the

classroom.

When dicult situations occur, make eye contact with the person in charge and pause briey. Often

the teacher will intervene to deal with the situation. If not, the following options remain open to you:

- Ignore the trouble makers: Do not respond to the person. This only works if the group also ignores

him/her. Once the atmosphere has started to be controlled by a person, ignoring him/her will be

counterproductive.

- Eye contact: Often, a clear stare does the job by communicating to them that they are misbehaving

- React: If the person makes an inappropriate comment, it is denitely good to ask the person to

explain his/her view in a more detailed why. Ask why he/she thinks that, etc. You have to be careful

that you don’t end up in a discussion while the rest of the group becomes bored.

- Involve the rest of the group: You can also ask others in the group what they think of the ‘trouble-

makers’ comments or what they think you should do. However this is only a good solution when you

have the feeling that the group is generally on your side and willing to cope with the problem.

- Find arguments: You take the inappropriate comments seriously and nd good and clear argu-

ments of your own. But entering into a dialogue will only help if the ‘troublemaker’ is willing to learn

from you. That is often not the case.

- Directly address the problem: Speak to the person directly about his/her behavior. Tell the person

that you and the others are disturbed by it. And that they are also ruining the tour for the others. This

can be a very eective strategy in many cases.

- Show feelings: Be honest and mention that the behavior really bothers you and that you are doing

the tour voluntarily. Ask the person to treat you and the others with respect. If nothing helps you

might want to say that you are close to ending the tour since continuing makes no more sense. Stay

calm and friendly throughout by the way – that way you keep the moral upper hand!

- Further measures: If you don’t see your way out of the situation at all you can also decide to warn

the person or even send him/her away and thus exclude the person from the group. This is the least

ideal situation, also because many ‘troublemakers’ want exactly this.

Addressing tough questions

Very few guides are historians or history students. This is also not necessary to be an eective guide.

One key issue is not to pretend you know the answer if you do not. If you do not know the answer to a

tough question, mention that this is a good question, that you do not know the answer and that you

will try to nd out. This does not make you seem stupid, it makes you seem honest. Another option

is to pass questions on to the group, asking them what they think. This is a good option in general.

The advantage is that you can “capture” the group’s attention again and motivate them take part in

the discussion.

When the group is very quiet

There are a number of reasons why a group might be quiet. Reasons include:

Possible reasons for the quietness:

- The group is tired, and has already had a busy day. You can suggest taking a break or watching a

video rst. If students have a note pad, you can take a short break and ask students to write down

one question. Then have them read a question or two.

- The group did not want to go to the exhibition but they were forced to go by the teacher - this is

not much of a motivator for the start of the tour.

- The group is in the middle of a “very cool” phase and is trying to irritate you.

- The group knows everything and is bored. You can often nd out at the beginning by asking what

they already know, what they have covered in school

- The group knows too little and doesn’t understand what you’re saying. Again you can nd out how

much they already know at the start of the tour and begin with denitions like “Jew” or “hiding”. You

can also ask them to raise their hand if they do not understand a certain word you are using.

- You might also want to have a look at “Working with younger students” (see above).

When a teacher keeps interfering

Many teachers, especially those with extensive knowledge of history, are probably able to add so-

mething to your tour. Sometimes this may not be a problem, but if it occurs throughout the tour

you might feel disturbed and irritated. When you have the feeling that the group is on your side and

has already started to roll their eyes when the teacher makes a comment, you can politely ask the

teacher to leave the guidance to you. After all, it’s your task. Part of the problem can be resolved by

talking to the teacher before the tour and explaining your role.

When a teacher answers all your questions enthusiastically and does not give the students an op-

portunity to speak, you can try to address students directly. A short break in which you speak to the

teacher alone about this can also be very helpful. You can tell the teacher that the active participa-

tion of the students is a unique feature of the whole program. Teachers should understand at the

outset that you are the guide so it shouldn’t surprise them.

Some tour guides prefer doing the touring without teachers being present because it is less intimi-

dating for them and also sometimes for the students. But that has disadvantages as well since the

teacher cannot intervene if there are problems and the teacher is less able to take any questions or

discussions back to the classroom for further discussion. If the teacher is too intrusive and the strate-

gies above do not work, you can ask the teacher to take over the tour him-/herself. They usually will

not do this but it makes it clear to the teacher that she/he is not cooperating.

The diary’s authenticity

There are still people who deny that the Holocaust happened. Mostly, these people are anti-semitic

(see glossary of terms).

One of the questions that comes up once in a great while is whether Anne Frank’s diary is real. Since

Anne Frank has become an important symbol of the Holocaust, especially far right wing activists

see the book as an obstacle to their agenda of hate. Her description of the persecution of Jews and

the fact that she died in a concentration camp helps prevent National Socialism from rehabilitating

itself. The original diary, with all the attached and loose sheets, is now kept in a safe in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Governmental Institute for War Documentation (www.niod.nl) conducted a very detailed

investigation of the handwriting, the ink and the paper in 1986 and stated conclusively that the

entire diary text was written by Anne Frank between 1942 and 1944. As a tour guide it is good to

have the following arguments and answers ready so that you can address any questions like this. All

the minute details of this investigation can be found in the scientic version of “The Diaries of Anne

Frank” at The Dutch Governmental Institute for War Documentation (Den Haag, 2001), as well as on

the Anne Frank House website (www.annefrank.org).

- There are dierent versions of the diary: This is true. Anne started to edit her diary entries herself in

May 1944, since she wanted to publish her writings after the war. Hence, there is a second version of

the diary. Additionally, the diary was translated into many languages, but all this doesn’t change the

fact that the diary is real.

- The diary text was written by several authors and is a phony: This is False. This rumor has no basis

at all.

- Her father, Otto Frank, changed the text: This is False. Otto Frank left out certain passages when

the book was rst published since he found them to be too personal. The passages he had removed

from the published version were mainly about the parents’ marriage and Anne’s body and sexuality.

Also, he felt that some passages were insulting to people still alive at the time (Anne had a sharp

tongue). Gradually, the book was completed and in 2002 the complete version was published for

the rst time.

- Supposedly, there are ballpoint marks in the original version, and ballpoints were only invented

after the war: This is True. There are 26 small corrections that were placed on the manuscript by care-

less scientists. This does not aect the authenticity of the real diary.

Film“The Short Life” and other support materials

In some ocasions you will be able to show the educational dvd “The Short Life of Anne Frank” (28

minutes). It is good to know this lm beforehand. Do remember that lms are still a rather passive

way of learning, so you might want to ask questions afterwards. Examples of questions are:

- Did anything surprise you in the lm?

- Did you learn something new? What?

- Was there something you didn’t understand?

- Free2choose: (about 4 minutes per video clip, 50 minutes in total) These are short lms about hu-

man rights and where they might conict with each other. The lms focus on so-called freedom

rights: freedom of speech, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of religion, freedom of the press and

right to privacy. Free2choose aims to encourage people to think critically about the importance of

these basic human rights. Are those rights unlimited? What happens when basic rights collide with

each other? Or when democracy is threatened? Viewers are asked to give their opinion about a spe-

cic dilemma (for instance, should Hitler’s autobiography Mein Kampf be banned ?). After the exhibi-

tion you can watch and discuss some of these clips with the group, with or without the guidance of

a teacher. There’s also a special manual for the Free2choose lm clips that explain how the clips can

best be discussed. Many of the clips are also on youtube (by searching for Free2choose or F2C and

then typing in the name of a country such as ‘Turkey’) and they are ideal (in combination with the

manual) for classroom follow-up.

3.The exhibition

In this chapter some key photographs in the exhibition will be discussed. You will nd information

on the most important aspects of these photos so that you might feel more condent in your tour.

You might choose other photos of course, but the ones we highlight here are often used by guides

we have discovered.

Anne Frank

Opening panel

Catalogue: page 40

Background information

This school photo of Anne Frank was taken in 1941. On June 12th 1942

(her thirteenth birthday) she receives a diary. For about two years, she

writes in the diary on a regular basis. The introductory panel provides a

good opportunity to introduce Anne Frank and to discuss the image that

people have when they hear her name.

Anne’s diary is by far the most well-known document that relates to the

Holocaust and details her feelings and emotions as she watches what is

happening around her. Through the quotes you can see that the diary has

a dierent meaning for dierent people. It has been published in 60 lan-

guages and more than 50 million copies have been sold worldwide.

Possible questions and issues

-Why do you think the Diary of Anne Frank is the best known

document related to the Holocaust?

-What does Anne Frank mean to you?

Anne at the Montessori School

1941

Anne’s birth

Panel 2

Catalogue: page 9

Background information

Otto Frank was a German army ocer during the First World War. Otto

Frank and Edith Holländer were married on May 12th 1925, Otto’s bir-

thday. The marriage took place in the Aachen synagogue. Nine months

later, on February 16th 1926, their rst daughter, Margot Betty, was born.

On June 12th 1929, Anne(lies) Marie followed.

Otto Frank perceived himself as being German. The Franks were very libe-

ral Jews, and their relatives had lived in Germany for centuries. Edith went

to the synagogue regularly, while Otto did not think this was important.

For him, his German identity was much more important than his Jewish

identity. He had no problems being both German and Jewish, like many

other German Jews at the time.

Possible questions and issues

-Anne wrote her diary in Dutch, but what was her mother tongue?

-Can you think of reasons why Otto would have fought in the German

army?

-Edith went to the synagogue. Do you know the names of other places of

worship for other religions?

-The Frank family was both German and Jewish. Do you know other

examples of people with a mixed identity?

Anne’s father (on the left) and her uncle

Robert as German ofcers during the

First World War

The wedding of Anne’s parents

12th of May 1925

Crisis in Germany

Panel 3

Catalogue: page 11

Money had become worthless because of the economic crisis. In 1923,

ination was at its worst. The government had printed more money to

pay employees their salaries. Because of this, German money lost all of its

value.

A demonstration against the Treaty of

Versailles in front of the Reichstag in

Berlin

Berlin, 1923

Economic Crisis. Children playing with

worthless money.

Hitler’s rise to power

Panel 5

Catalogue: page 12

Background information

People looking at an NSDAP poster with the text: “Hitler: Our last hope”,

which was the NSDAP’s slogan in 1932.

The rst NSDAP party (Nazis) congress took place in 1923 in Munich. The

second congress was banned and reorganized in Weimar. Later, Nurem-

berg became the main place for Nazi congresses. The NSDAP tried to turn

the nation’s desperate state of aairs (a consequence of poverty, unem-

ployment and the 1929 world economic crisis) into a mandate for power

and declared that the Jews were the cause of all these problems. Parties

with radical solutions received more and more support, while the belief

in democratic solutions diminished. Polarization in society grew. After the

First World War many political parties had created paramilitary groups

because of the unsteady political situation. The SA (storm troops) was the

paramilitary force aliated with the Nazis.

Strong radical opinions on dierent sides led to street ghts and violence.

During national elections in July 1932, the NSDAP received 37 percent of

all votes and therefore became the largest party in Germany. On January

30th, 1933 Hitler became chancellor, and the NSDAP immediately started

to take control of all power. On July 14th, 1933, the NSDAP became the

only legal political party in Germany – all other political parties were ban-

ned. Democracy was no more.

Possible questions and issues

-Why was Hitler’s party so successful in 1932?

-Did all Germans support Hitler at this time?

-Hitler was a dictator. But did he seize power?

-In the 20s and 30s, Jews were deemed responsible for everything wrong

in society. This is called ‘scapegoating’. Do you know examples of groups

that are now blamed for things when they go wrong? What is the best way

to prevent such scapegoating in your view?

NSDAP Advertising campaign

1932

Hitler’s rise to power

Panel 5

Catalogue: page 13

Background information

This photo can be used to compare today with the 1930s. We see an enor-

mously long queue in front of the Employment oce in Hannover. Also

have a look at the wall in the background: It says “Vote for Hitler” with

a swastika next to it. This shows one of the ways people expressed their

support for the NSDAP.

Hitler promised Germans several things:

- Work for all, including in the weapons industry and in construction

- Increased wealth for all

- Restoration of Germany’s honor after its losses during First World War

- To put the Jews in their place and remove their inuence from society

Possible questions and issues

-What can you say about the people in this photo? Can you tell how they

are feeling?

-Why are the people standing in line?

-What does the slogan on the wall say?

-Do people seem surprised or upset by the slogan?

-Do you think slogans like this are eective?

Hannover - the unemployed standing

in line

Boycott

Panel 6

Catalogue: page 19

Background information

On this photo you can see how the general boycott against Jewish

lawyers, doctors, shops and warehouses started on April 1st 1933. On the

poster it says “Germans, resist! Don’t buy anything from Jews!” On this day,

the Nazis prevented access to any Jewish shop. Shops were often marked

with the Star of David and anti-Jewish slogans were written on the shop

windows.

The Frank family had probably already decided to emigrate around this

time, since they had been living with Edith’s mother in Aachen since

March.

Possible questions and issues

-Why was there a boycott? What was its goal?

-What do you think the men in uniforms are thinking?

-What does the poster tell us about who is dened as being

German?

-How do you think the woman on the left of the photo feels?

-How would you react if you were her?

Germany, April 1st 1933

The new power

Panel 7

Catalogue: page 17

Background information

This photo provides an opportunity to talk about Hitler’s path to absolute

power and the major role that propaganda played in this process.

When the NSDAP became the largest party in the Reichstag in January

1933, Hitler was able to create his own government. On January 30th, he

became chancellor, which was the highest political post in Germany. The

Nazis celebrated this with a huge celebration in Berlin. On the photo you

can see what this looked like. But the photo was actually not taken on

January 30th: A few months after this date, the Nazis repeated the cele-

bration so they could make a propaganda lm out of it. The Nazis were

very skilled at using propaganda and the new media for the time such as

lm and radio.

Otto Frank around January 30th 1933:

“On January 30th we were invited to our friends’ house. We were sitting

at a table, listening to the radio. Then there was the news that Hitler had

become chancellor and we could hear screams and cheers in the back-

ground. Then Hitler said “Just give me four years...” and our friends replied

“Let’s see what he’s really capable of doing.”. I didn’t know what to say any-

more and my wife was so shocked she could not move.”

Possible questions and issues

-Why was this celebration repeated for the lm?

-What is the purpose of propaganda? Why is it so eective?

-Do you know any other examples of Nazi propaganda?

-How does propaganda dier from education?

-Do you know of any propaganda that is used today?

-Neo-Nazi marches still take place in some countries? Do you think they

should be allowed? Why or why not?

Berlin, Brandenburger Tor

May 10th 1933

The new power

Panel 7

Catalogue: page 19

Background information

On May 10th 1933 there was a large book burning event that took place

on the square in front of the Berlin opera. Works by Heinrich and Thomas

Mann, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweif, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Alfred Kerr,

Kurt Tucholsky and many more were burned.

The book burnings, which also took place in other cities, were a major part

of the Nazis’ four week program “against the un-German mind”. National

Socialist students compiled lists of book titles of undesired authors. Those

lists were disseminated at Universities and colleges. The book burning si-

gnaled the beginning of the persecution of all authors who didn’t comply

with the National Socialist point of view. The books deemed ‘un-German’

were removed from (public) libraries. In National Socialist language, this

process was called “cleansing”.

Possible questions and issues

-Why would people want to burn books?

-Why would people want to make the distinction between ‘German’ and

‘un-German’

-What do books mean to you?

«Wherever books are burned, men also, in the end, are burned.» - Heinrich

Heine (1823)

-What could this German author have meant by this?

-Should modern authors and journalists be able to write anything they

want? Can you think of reasons why certain writings should be banned?

-Do you think people should be able to buy ‘Mein Kampf’, Hitler’s autobio-

graphy?

Berlin

May 10th 1933

Book burning

To the Netherlands

Panel 8

Catalogue: page 22

Background information

The Frank family emigrated to the Netherlands and Otto Frank started to

work as the director of the Opekta company (which produced jams). The

family moved into an apartment at the Merwedeplein, where they lived

from 1933 until July 1942.

The house has recently been refurbished and partly decorated in the style

of the 30s. This apartment is now a place where foreign authors can live

and work freely, and where this is not possible in their home country.

Possible questions and issues

- Can you think of times when freedom of speech needs to be limited?

- Can you think of key freedoms that should be inalienable?

- Why would authors not be allowed to work freely in their home country?

- How important is freedom of speech to you?

Anne at the Montessori-school

1935

On this photo, you can see how well

Jews were integrated into Dutch society

Otto Frank and his secretary Miep Gies

(born Santrouschitz)

Youth

Panel 9

Catalogue: page 25

Background information

The Hitler Youth was founded by the NSDAP in1926 as a youth organiza-

tion and became increasingly important from 1933 onwards. Other youth

organizations were either shut down, banned or “voluntarily” folded into

the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth was responsible for all education out-

side the school and the home. If you were young, all your free time was

controlled and you were bombarded with Nazi propaganda.

Sub-organizations of the Hitler Youth were:

-Young German people (for boys aged 10 to 14)

-Hitler Youth (for boys aged 14 to 18, the name was also used for the orga-

nization as a whole)

-Young Girls United (for girls aged 10 to 14)

-League of German Girls (for girls aged 14 to 18)

A law was passed in 1939 that required boys and girls aged 10 to 18 to take

part in the Hitler Youth. Non-participation could be punished. In 1939, the

Hitler Youth had almost 9 million members. Jewish children were not al-

lowed to join the Hitler Youth.

Until Hitler became chancellor, the Hitler Youth functioned more or less as

a youth division of the SA, taking part in demonstrations and street ghts.

Later it organized sport festivals, pre-military preparation and excursions.

Boys were prepared to be soldiers, girls to be mothers (they were sup-

posed to give the German nation as many German children as possible).

Possible questions and answers

-What do you see in the photo?.

-What was it like for those who were not permitted to participate in the

Hitler Youth? And for those who didn’t want to?

-What kinds of advantages were associated with being a member of an

organization like the Hitler Youth?

-What are the negative and positive aspects of joining a club?

-Who decides for you what you do in your free time?

-What would you feel like if the government forced you to become a

member of a club?

“All children aged 10: Participate in the

Hitler Youth”

Hitler’s rise to power

Panel 9

Catalogue: page 25

Background information

This celebration served propagandistic purposes. The Nazis used these

kinds of celebrations to demonstrate their power and strength and to

impress the German population. Look at the perspective of the photo:

Hitler seems to be quite tall, in reality however, he was quite short.

Possible questions and issues

-What were the Nazis trying to accomplish by publishing photos like this?

-What would the average German Jew feel when seeing a photo like this?

What about the average non-Jewish German?

Dortmund

1933

Racial laws

Panel 11

Catalogue: page 27

Background information

Hitler had two main goals: To create a superior “racially clean and pure”

German people and to create one large and unied German nation. The

“Nuremberg Race Laws” were passed in September 15th 1935. The Nurem-

berg Race Laws deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship. The

laws also banned Jews from marrying or have sexual relations with Aryans

or to employ young Aryan women as household help. In the 1930s, almost

everybody believed in the existence of distinct human races. The Nazis

claimed that there was a race hierarchy; that one race was better than the

others. According to them, the Jewish race was the lowest human race

and therefore had to be destroyed.

Due to modern science, we now know that there is no such thing as sepa-

rate human races. People might have dierent hair, eye and skin color, as

they have dierent facial characteristics, but there is only one human race.

Possible questions and issues

-Why would the government want to decide who you could marry?

-What does the word “discrimination” mean?

-Does racism still exist today? What is the best way to combat racism in

your view?

Children being studied for

“racial characteristics”

Children from the St. Joseph

Children’s Home, 1944

Violence and escape

Panel 13

Catalogue: pages 30-31

Background information

The so-called “November pogrom night” or “Night of Broken Glass” was a

mixture of humiliation & insult and persecution, as well as physical danger

and even death for many German Jews.

The Nazis organized a mass attack on the Jewish communities of Ger-

many. Almost 30,000 Jews were arrested and deported to concentration

camps in the nights of November 9-10, 1938. Synagogues throughout

Germany were burnt to the ground, numerous Jewish apartments and

shops were destroyed and more than 200 German Jews were killed. The

SA and members of the NSDAP were joined by civilians who also took part

in the attacks. Many German Jews decided to leave Germany after this

night because they no longer felt safe and feared for their lives. The name

“Night of Broken Glass” comes from events in Berlin, where the streets

were entirely covered with glass from the broken windows. Many prefer

the name “November pogrom night”, since “pogrom” describes violence

against national, religious or ethnic groups.

Possible questions and issues

-How do you think the media responded to the attacks on German Jews?

Use Google to read what was in your country’s major newspapers the days

after the November pogrom.

-What choices did Jews have after the November pogrom? Why were

these dicult choices?

-What prevents pogroms from happening in your country today ?

Looking at a destroyed shop in Berlin

during the early morning.

Berlin, November 10th 1938

Burning synagogue during “Night of

Broken Glass”.

Frankfurt, November 10th 1938

Violence and escape

Panel 13

Catalogue: page 30

Background information

Many Jews wanted to leave the country after the November pogrom, but

only very few countries were willing to let refugees enter their country.

Two of Anne’s uncles were fortunate and managed to ee to the United

States. Anne’s grandmother moved in with the Frank family in Amsterdam.

Most countries were of the opinion that they had already accepted

enough Jews. Therefore, the remaining Jews in Germany were trapped.

The story of the SS St.Louis highlights this in an especially sad way. With

900 refugees on board, the ship left Hamburg harbor on May 13th 1939.

It arrived in Havana (Cuba) on May 27th 1939, but the large majority of

passengers weren’t allowed to enter Cuba and the ship was forced to

continue its journey on June 2nd. The USA was put under a lot of pres-

sure to at least let those passengers with a visa come to the USA. On June

3rd, the US Congress rejected this proposition. The following day, the SS

St.Louis steamed northward along the coast of Florida to the North and

then back again. On June 6th , it went from Miami to Havana and was then

forced to return to Germany. At the time, various meetings took place to

decide which countries would still accept some refugees. Belgium, Great

Britain, France and the Netherlands were prepared to take some of them.

On June 17th, the ship arrived in Antwerp (Belgium). Some of the refu-

gees were brought to reception camps, where they remained until the

war broke out. Many died in the Nazi concentration camps.

Possible questions and issues

-Why do you think almost all countries turned away German Jewish refu-

gees at the time?

-Are there any refugees in your country today? Where do they come from?

-What kinds of challenges do refugees face when eeing to another

country?

Children on board the “SS St. Louis”

June 17th 1939

The Netherlands

are occupied

Panel 14

Catalogue: page 39

Background information

The sudden occupation of Holland came as a major shock to the Dutch.

The country surrendered after German aircraft had bombed Rotterdam

and threatened to bomb Amsterdam and other major cities - the military

campaign lasted only ve days.

This photo of the Westerkerk shows how Germany rst presented itself

as a new occupying power. It was of great importance to the Nazis that

the Dutch population perceived them as a new and friendly authority.

In contrast to the populations in Eastern European countries, the Nazis

viewed the Dutch as allies and friends. This was one reason that after the

initial violence to defeat the country militarily, there was little violence

directed at the population. During the rst year of occupation, however,

all Dutch Jews were registered. The Nazis did not only persecute Jews,

however. In their quest for global dominance and to restore the German

race to its ‘rightful place in the hierarchy of races’ they persecuted Jews but

also Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), Slavic people (anyone living in Central and

Eastern European Countries), disabled people, Jehovah Witnesses, Com-

munists, homosexuals, Blacks and all political enemies.

The Nazis soon required all Dutch citizens to ll in so-called “Aryan decla-

rations”, in which they had to state whether or not they had Jewish rela-

tives, and if yes, how many. Many Jewish ocials were red and all 140,000

Jews residing in the Netherlands were registered, among them the Frank

family. The registration of Jews was followed by isolation, deportation and

eventually death.

Possible questions and issues

-Why did the German occupying forces want to be popular in the Nether-

lands and in Denmark, but not in Poland or (White) Russia?

-Why would the Nazis want to persecute not only Jews but other minori-

ties as well?

German Nazis making their way

through the Netherlands. In the back-

ground you can see the Westerkerk in

Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, May 16th 1940

Jews lose their rights

Panel 16

Catalogue: page 40

Background information

The yellow star symbolized the isolation of the Jews. It made it clear to

everybody who was a Jew and who was not – so also who was seen as

undesirable and not. In her diary, Anne describes the laws the Nazis set up

for Jews. The plan against Jews consisted of three main stages: Registra-

tion, isolation and deportation/death. In December 1939, all Jews in the

occupied territories were forced to place a yellow star on all their clothes.

The star had to be visible at all times. This step was quickly followed by

more anti-Jewish measures.

Such laws made life increasingly dicult for the Frank family. From Sep-

tember 1941 onwards, Anne and Margot had to attend a school for Jewish

pupils only and Otto Frank appointed his colleague Johannes Kleiman as

the new director of Opteka. As a Jew, he was not longer permitted to own

a company. In the summer of 1941, Otto Frank started to turn the annex

attached to the company’s building into a hiding place.

Possible questions and issues

-Why weren’t anti-Jewish measures introduced all at once, but only step

by step?

-Why was it so important for the Nazis that Jews wore a yellow star?

-If your government decided that certain people needed to be identiable

at all times, what arguments would you use against this?

Yellow badge with the word “Jew” on it;

Jews had to wear it so that they could

be easily identied.

Approximately 1941

February Strike in the

Netherlands

Panel 16

Catalogue: page 42

Background information

The passing of anti-Jewish measures gave rise to resistance by some

among the Dutch population. In February 1941, 421 Jewish men were

arrested and brought to a concentration camp after they were caught

during a round up (razzia). This led to a two-day-long strike by the popu-

lation of Amsterdam’s. This was the rst public confrontation between the

occupying army and the Dutch population. Trains and trams stopped run-

ning. More and more people gathered in the streets, shops were closed

and pupils stayed home from school. As the news of the strike spread,

other cities decided to join in as well; thousands of metal workers, ship

builders, factory workers, harbor workers and ocials joined. At rst, the

occupying force was unsure how to respond. On the second day, however,

the occupying force threatened to re ocials who continued to strike.

Army and police used violence in the streets. Nine people were killed and

many more injured.

Possible questions and issues

- The strike lasted only two days. What would have happened if the strike

had continued?

- What other ways do you think people could have had to oppose the

occupying force?

Amsterdam

February 1941

Anti-Jewish Measures

Panel 17

Catalogue: page 40

Background information

The Nazis decided to systematically murder all European Jews. On January

20th 1942, during the Wannsee conference, the plan to murder all Euro-

pean Jews was discussed by the heads of the Nazi party. The actual deci-

sion to put such a plan into action was most likely already made during

the rst half of 1941. Starting in June 1941, mass executions had been

taking place in Eastern Europe. Special forces went about killing Jewish

(and sometimes other civilians) in the conquered regions.

In the Netherlands, the deportation of Jews started in the summer of

1942. Margot was among the rst group that received a call-up. Some

Jews obeyed the orders, since disobedience meant severe penalties.

Additionally, many Jews believed that they were only being sent to work

in the camps. Others simply ignored the call-up and stayed at home. The

occupying forces, however, organized large round-ups (razzias) in which

they closed down whole streets from all possible sides and arrested any

Jewish person they could nd. In order to go into hiding, Jews needed

the assistance of non-Jewish people. These people were taking risk by

helping. Help from non-Jews was hard to come by after the anti-Jewish

measures went into eect. Also, going into hiding cost a lot of money. For

most, even if they wanted to, helping Jews was just too risky. Many Jews

also did not want to endanger others.

Possible questions and issues

-What do you think is going through these people’s minds?

-What are the children most likely carrying in their luggage?

-What do you think these children will miss the most as they board the

trains?

-What would you take with you if you had to leave your home forever and

you had one suitcase?

“Wannsee protocol” - this Nazi docu-

ment lists the number of Jews who

were destined to be deported, by

country.

Wannsee Conference January

20th,1942, Berlin.

The Call-up

Panel 19

Catalogue: page 45

Background information

On July 5th, 1942 Margot Frank received a call-up (summons) to register

for one of the work camps in Germany. Since the Frank family realized how

dangerous it was to ignore such a call-up, they immediately decided to go

into hiding.

Possible questions and issues

-Why were people summoned to “work” and why were the real plans of

the Nazis not revealed?

-Margot was only 16 years old when she received this call-up. What do you

think was going through her mind when it arrived in the mail?

The Call-up document

Amsterdam, 5th of July 1942

Miep Gies

Panel 19

Catalogue: page 48

Miep Gies

Approximately 1940

Background information

One of the helpers was Miep Gies. She is especially known today for being

the person who rescued Anne Frank’s diary. She often stated that it was

only natural for her to help Otto Frank and his family go into hiding, des-

pite the risks. Together with Bep Voskuijl , she was responsible for deli-

vering daily necessities to the family. She also went to the library every

Saturday to get new books for those in hiding. Time did not pass quickly

in the Secret Annex - especially since everybody had to be quiet – and

books were very welcome. Miep’s husband, Jan Gies, was also involved in

helping the family. Without his many contacts it would have been impos-

sible to get ration cards for food.

Tips for tour guides: This complex and sometimes controversial topic of

helping people who have gone be into in hiding is a good opportunity

to talk about what people do nowadays when they witness unfairness,

oppression, human rights violations and violence. Miep is an excellent

example of someone who dared to help and to question the authorities,

while uncountable others remained silent.

Also resources to be considered:

-“Witnesses”(video): Miep Gies

-“My time with Anne Frank”(book) by Miep Gies

-The Anne Frank Webguide: www.annefrankguide.com

Possible questions and issues

-What impresses you the most about what Miep did? What risks did she

take?

-Do you think that people like Miep Gies are heroes?

-Why were most non-Jews not prepared to help Jews?

-What possibilities do you have when you witness violence or oppression?

-Have you ever needed the help of others?

The secret annex

Panel 20

Catalogue: page 52

The people in hiding

Otto Frank, born on May 12th , 1889 in Frankfurt, died on August 19th

1980 in Basel, Switzerland

Edith Frank (maiden name Holländer), born on January 16th 1900 in

Aachen, died on January 6th 1945 in Auschwitz Death Camp from exhaus-

tion and malnutrition.

Margot Betty Frank, born on March 16th 1926 in Frankfurt, died in

March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen from typhus.

Anne(lies) Marie Frank, born on June 12th 1929 in Frankfurt, died in

March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen from typhus.

Hermann van Pels, born on March 31st 1898 in Gehrde, murdered in

October or November 1944 in Auschwitz. In her diary, Anne calls him “Herr

van Daan”. Hermann van Pels was one of Otto Frank’s working colleagues.

Auguste van Pels, born on September 29th 1900 in Buer, died in April

or May 1945 in Theresienstadt. In Anne’s diary she is called “Frau van Daan”.

Peter van Pels, born on November 8th 1926 in Osnabrück, died on May

5th 1945 in Mauthausen. In Anne’s diary he is called “Peter van Daan”.

Fritz Pfeer, born on April 30th 1889 in Gießen, died on December 20th

1944 in Neuengamme due to illness. In her diary, Anne calls him “Albert

Dussel

The secret annex

Panel 20

Catalogue: page 52

The helpers

1. Miep Gies, she is one of Otto Frank’s co-workers and, together with Bep,

is responsible for the delivery of food, books and news from the outside.

2. Victor Kugler. He gets money to the people in hiding and feels res-

ponsible for their security. In Anne’s diary he’s called “Mr Kraler”.

3. Johannes Kleimann, he gives the people in hiding general support and

manages the company “Opekta” for Otto. He is called “Mr Koophuis” by

Anne.

4. Bep Voskuil, just like Miep she works in the oce of the company. Her

father works in the warehouse of the company and is the only worker who

knows about the Secret Annex. He built the special book case that func-

tions as a door.

Background information

Here you can see the portraits of all eight people who had to go into hi-

ding. In addition to the Frank family, four other people were hiding in the

Secret Annex. The Van Pels family joined the Frank family one week after

they had moved in. The eighth person, Fritz Pfeer, followed on Novem-

ber 16th.

The building belonging to Otto Frank’s company at Prinsengracht 263

consists of two parts: The normal front-building as well as an annex, a pro-

per house that is only accessible through the front-building. This annex

was unoccupied until Otto Frank decided to transform it into a hiding

place. The only entry to the annex was then made invisible by means of a

specially built book case that functioned as a door, thus turning it into a

secret annex.

On July 6th 1942 the Frank family moved into the Secret Annex, bringing

only a few of their things. They stayed there for about two years. The hel-

pers made sure they always had enough to eat, wear and read. Through

very small gaps between the windows and the black curtains, the people

living in the Secret Annex could look outside. This had such a huge impact

on Anne that she wrote about it in her diary.

Possible questions and issues

-What do you think the most frightening things were about going into

hiding?

-Do you also keep a diary? If so, what do you write about in your diary?

Everyday life in

the Secret Annex

Panel 21-24

Catalogue: page 53-58

The book case that concealed the

entrance to the secret annex.

Background information

During the day it was important to be as quiet as possible, which meant

that from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. it was absolutely forbidden to ush the toilet

or to leave the top oor, since that was the time when workers were in the

warehouse. Actually, none of those in hiding were planning on staying for

two years but their hopes for a swift end to the war were destroyed time

and time again.

It was hard for the eight people in hiding to always be together without a

break. Nobody could ever be alone in a room - which led to many verbal

ghts. Above all, Anne had to share a room with Fritz Pfeer and they did

not get along. Both of them wanted to use the table in the room they were

sharing and this was impossible.

The diary reveals how Anne developed during those two years in hiding.

In the beginning she was very focused on school and her friends. Later,

she became very self-condent and reective, and wrote a lot more about

her future, her hopes, her fears and herself. Her dream was to become a

writer.

Possible questions and issues

-What do you think daily life was like in the Secret Annex?

-What kinds of feelings and thoughts did Anne have?

-What did Anne miss most of all?

-How did she try to get along with the others?

-What would irritate you the most about sharing one space for 24 hours a

day with seven others, without a break?

Arrest

Panel 25

Catalogue: page 58

Karl Silberbauer

Background information

Arrest

August 1st 1944 was the last time that Anne Frank wrote in her diary. On

August 4th, Karl Silberbauer, working for the security forces, together with

three Dutch policemen, came to the Opekta oces. He walked directly to

the bookcase and forced Victor Kugler to open it. Silberbauer then told

everybody in the Secret Annex to come downstairs with their hands in the

air. The following days, Miep Gies tried, without success, to convince the

police to let the inhabitants of the Secret Annex go free. One week later,

everything was removed from the Secret Annex and brought to Germany,

where all the furniture and other property found in the hiding place was

sold.

Betrayal

Somebody must have given the police detailed information. Until now,

millions of readers have asked the question: who betrayed the people in

hiding? There is still no answer, but there are several theories: A worker in

the warehouse, a cleaning lady, a neighbor or a burglar? All are still pos-

sible.

Possible questions and issues

- How important is it to nd out, now that more than 60 years have passed,

who betrayed the Frank family?

-What reasons could Karl Silberbauer have had to be engaged in such

work?

-Why would anyone want to betray Jews?

Hungarian Jews at the section

in Auschwitz

Concentration camps

Panel 26-29

Catalogue: page 74-75

Background information

All eight people in hiding were brought to a jail in Amsterdam from where

they were sent to the transit camp Westerbork, which is in the Northeast

of the Netherlands. They were on the last transport from the Netherlands

to Auschwitz – which left on September 3rd 1944.

What happened after the arrest of the Frank family?

One day after the arrest, the eight people who had been in hiding were

brought to a jail on the Weteringschans in Amsterdam. On August 8 they

were brought to Westerbork, where they spent all of August. Together with

about 1000 people (in total 498 men, 442 women and 79 children) they

were then sent to Auschwitz. They endured a three-day long journey in an

overcrowded train. In the night of September 5 to 6, their train arrived at

Auschwitz Death Camp. About half of these 1000 people were murdered

on this rst day, among them all children under 15 years of age. Anne was

lucky since she had just turned 15. All eight of them were ordered to work

instead of going directly to the gas chambers. Anne and the rest of the

women were then transported to the women’s camp in Birkenau, where

they stayed for almost two months. The conditions were inhuman; mal-

nutrition, extreme violence and disease became a part of everyday life.

Edith Frank tried her best to protect her daughters and stay with them

but they were soon transported to the next and nal concentration camp:

Bergen-Belsen, where they found even worse conditions than at Birkenau

since this camp was also overcrowded. Edith Frank died on January 6th

1945 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, her daughters became infected with typhus

causing the death of both of them. Margot died in March 1945 and Anne

died a few days after that. Only a few weeks later, the camp was liberated

by British soldiers.

The Dutch Red Cross stated that only 45 men and 82 women out of the

1000 who were in the train with the Frank family survived the war.

Otto Frank

Panel 30

Catalogue: page 76, 88

Otto Frank

Otto Frank showing the tattooed num-

ber on his lower arm, a sign that he had

been in Auschwitz.

Background information

Otto Frank survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in the sick barracks.

Due to his poor physical condition he was not evacuated to another camp,

which led to him being rescued. On January 27, 1945 the Soviet Army

reached the camp and liberated it. The SS had decided to leave all the ill

people behind so that no witnesses of the genocide would survive. This is

also the reason why most prisoners were deported to other camps or for-

ced to take part in so called death marches. Before the Red Army arrived

in Auschwitz, the SS tried to blow up the entire Auschwitz-Birkenau Death

Camp but there was not enough time. Auschwitz-Birkenau was a death

camp, which means that the Nazis organised mass killings. The gas cham-

bers were added to “their program” in September 1941. More trhan one

million Jews were executed in this camp alone. The exact number cannot

be known since anybody who was gassed immediately after his or her

arrival was never registered.

Otto Frank survived in the Auschwitz-Birkenau sick barracks, Edith Frank

died in January of 1945 in the women’s camp there. Hermann van Pels

was gassed shortly after his arrival in Auschwitz, Peter van Pels survived

the death march but died in Mauthausen, only three days before the li-

beration. Auguste van Pels was brought to Bergen-Belsen together with

Anne and Margot and then continued on to Buchenwald and then to The-

resienstadt, where she died in the spring of 1945. Fritz Pfeer arrived at

Auschwitz and was then brought to Neuengamme (near Hamburg) where

he died on December 20th,1944 in the sick barracks.

Possible questions and issues

-Why did Otto Frank say “I have lost everything, not just my family.”?

- What do you think is meant by the following statement: “Six million

Jews were not killed. One Jew was killed six million times.” (Abel Herzberg,

Dutch historian)

Anne Frank’s diary

Panel 31

Catalogue: page 81

“The secret annex”

Background information

The war is over. Those Jews who survived the war had to face the further

trauma of  nding out that most of their relatives and loved ones had

perished. Some Nazis were brought to justice in special trials, such as at

Nuremberg, where the surviving Nazi leaders were tried. Otto Frank was

the only person out of the eight people in hiding who survived the war.

On March 5th 1945 he began to travel back to Amsterdam. He arrived on

June 3rd. Knowing that his wife was dead, he still had hope that Anne and

Margot would be alive. After two months, a witness told him that Anne

and Margot had died at Bergen-Belsen. Hearing this, Miep Gies decided to

give Otto Frank his daughter’s diary. After consulting some of his friends,

he then decided to  nd a publisher, only wanting to publish a “censored”

version of the diary which excluded passages about Edith Frank and about

Anne’s developing sexuality. At  rst, he had di culty  nding a publisher

but when he  nally managed to  nd one, 1500 copies of the book were

printed. Just like many other victims, Otto Frank had a hard time speaking

about what he had endured in the camp. “I still can’t speak about many

things. And I still don’t want to speak about many things, like for example

the feelings I had when they came into the Secret Annex, or when my

family was torn apart at the platform in Auschwitz.” (Otto Frank in Welt am

Sonntag, February 4th 1979)

Since the  rst publication of the diary, more than 30 millions copies of

“Anne Frank’s Diary” have been sold.

Possible questions and issues

-Liberation - what exactly does that mean? Does this mean something dif-

ferent for the Jews who had survived?

-Why were so many victims unable to speak about their experiences?

After the

Second World War

Panel 32

Catalogue: page 83

Demonstration by Swedish Neo-Nazis

Background information

This part of the exhibition aims to inform about people’s responses to dis-

crimination, racism and anti-Semitism before, during and after the Second

World War. In the photo you can see demonstrating Neo-Nazis. The photo

was taken in 1985, but could have been taken more recently. Try discus-

sing this photo with your group: What do you see in this photo? Why is it

a part of the exhibition? Is this the most appropriate response to the Neo-

Nazis? What risk is she taking? Whose rights are being violated? Doesn’t

the demonstrator have the right to freedom of speech?

At this point we have to ask ourselves: Do rights have limitations? Where

do we draw the line of what is acceptable and what not in a democracy?

When and where do we limit free speech? Who decides?

Helpers - perpetrators - courts

As was the case on panel 19 (p.38) the main theme of this section is moral

courage. Why are some people prepared to help others despite the risks

for themselves? What motivates them to do so?

On this panel we try to focus on people who chose to be on the other side,

those who were frightened and decided to side with the perpetrators and

eventually became perpetrators themselves. Major perpetrators, such as

those who stood trial at Nuremberg or those who have more recently

been tried for war crimes in The Hague have been held accountable for

their actions in international courts (mostly the UN). Why is this impor-

tant?

It is always an individual decision which role you will play: perpetrator,

bystander or helper, though these decisions are often dicult.

Possible questions and issues

Photo “Neo-nazi Demonstration”

-When and how do we limit freedom of speech, if ever?

-What do Neo-Nazis believe in?

Issue “Helpers and civil courage”

-What does “moral courage” mean?

-What would it take for you to intervene if somebody’s rights were being

violated?

Issue “Perpetrators and trials”

-What is the function of a trial for perpetrators of war crimes?

-What is the UN aiming to do by setting up these special tribunals?

Eleanor Roosevelt and the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

International Peace and

Safety

Panel 33

Catalogue: page 86

Background information

In 1948, three years after the end of the war, the United Nations (UN) was

founded. Its goal is to ensure international peace and safety, something

that is still unfortunately a lofty ideal. The newly formed United Nations

decided that certain basic human rights needed to be guaranteed for all

people on the planet. This led to the creation of the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights (UNDHR), signed into being on December 10, 1948. This

date is now ocially Human Rights Day and is celebrated throughout the

world.

You can nd a list of all the human rights in this Declaration at:

www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm

In reality, however, even these very basic human rights are still not adhe-

red to in many places. It is not only the task of the governments to ensure

that human rights and peace are promoted and defended. We all, as world

citizens, have the responsibility to defend the rights of those who have

their rights denied, whether in a far away land or in our own community.

Possible questions and issues

-Have you witnessed a demonstration by Neo-Nazis?

-What do you know about Neo-Nazis and their world view?

-What does “discrimination” mean? Try to nd examples of it and consider

your own experience with discrimination as well.

Tips for tour guides

Talk to your group about current examples of human rights violations,

consider local, national as well as international issues. Take a copy of the

UNDHR with you on the tour.

Appendix Timeline

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

1889 May 12: Otto Frank born in

Frankfurt

1900 January 16: Edith Holländer

born in Aachen

1925 May 12: Otto Frank and

Edith Holländer married in

Aachen

July 18: The first part of

Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”

is published

1926 February 16: Margot Frank

born in Frankfurt

February 15: The number of

unemployed in Germany

reaches a new record,

increasing by another two

million

1929 June 12: Anne Frank born

in Frankfurt

October 25: With the start of

the great depression in New

York, a worldwide economic

crisis spreads

1933 March: The Frank family

moves in with Edith’s

mother in Aachen

January 30: President Paul

von Hindenburg appoints

Adolf Hitler as German

chancellor and asks him to

form a government

February: 6,047,000

Germans are unemployed

March 23: Hitler’s enabling

law (that he uses to

establish the dictatorship) is

approved

September 15: Otto Frank

establishes the company

“Opekta” in Amsterdam

September: Edith moves to

the Netherlands as well,

Margot and Anne stay with

their grandmother

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

October 14: The German

government declares its

withdrawal from the

“League of Nations”, which

was founded in 1919 as a

guarantor of world peace

December: Margot moves

to the Netherlands

1934 February: Anne also moves

to Amsterdam as a surprise

for Margot’s birthday

January 30: One year after

having been appointed

chancellor, Hitler becomes

the absolute leader in

Germany

July 16: The concentration

camp Buchenwald is built

Summer: The Aryanisation

of German society starts to

take hold; also involving the

German economy

1937 May: The Dutch

government decides to

close the borders for Jewish

refugees from Germany

1938 November 9/10: During The

Night of Broken Glass,

some 30,000 Jews are

taken to concentration

camps

1939 March 15: Hitler’s armed

forces (Wehrmacht) reach

Prague

April 28: Hitler declares the

withdrawal from the

German-British naval

agreement and the

German-Polish agreement

June 12: Anne celebrates

her tenth birthday with

friends

Spring: Westerbork (later a

transit camp) is set up as

internment camp for

German Jewish refugees in

the Netherlands

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

September 3: German

troops invade Poland

unannounced; Britain and

France declare war on

Germany. This is the official

beginning of the Second

World War

1940 April 27: Heinrich Himmler,

head of the SS, arranges

for the construction of the

Auschwitz concentration

camp of. At first, mainly

Polish prisoners are brought

there

May 10: German troops

enter the Netherlands,

Belgium and Luxemburg.

1941 Summer: Otto Frank begins

to develop the secret annex

into a hiding place at

Prinsengracht 263

June 14: German troops

start to occupy Paris

June 22: German troops

enter the Soviet Union

unannounced

July 31: Hermann Göring

asks Reinhard Heydrich to

find a ‘final solution’ to the

‘Jewish problem’

October: Margot and Anne

need to register at a Jewish

Lyceum

October 25: German troops

encounter their first

difficulties in fighting against

the Soviet Union in Moscow

December 11, Germany

and Italy declare war on the

United States

1942 January 20: Leading Nazis

hold the Wannsee-

conference in order to

agree on a “final solution”

for the systematic murder of

all European Jews

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

April 29: The “Yellow

badge”, required to be worn

by all Jews, is introduced in

the Netherlands

June 12: Anne receives a

diary for her 13th birthday

June 11: Adolf Eichmann

decides that the deportation

of Jews from Belgium,

France and the Netherlands

has to start within a few

weeks

July 5: Margot receives a

call-up to work in Germany

July 6: Otto, Edith, Margot

and Anne move their lives

to the Secret Annex at

Prinsengracht 263

July 14: The systematic

transport of Dutch Jews

from Westerbork to

Auschwitz begins

July 13: Hermann, Auguste

and Peter van Pels arrive at

the Secret Annex

July 17: The first train from

Westerbork arrives at

Auschwitz

November 16: Fritz Pfeffer

is the last person to arrive

at the secret annex

December 10: The Polish

government asks the allied

forces to end mass

executions at Auschwitz

1943 February 18: After the

German defeat at

Stalingrad, Joseph

Goebbels (Minister of

propaganda) calls for “total

war”

April: Concentration camp

Bergen-Belsen is set up

April 19: A rebellion among

Jews in the Warsaw ghetto

breaks out; it ends in the

mass murder of its

residents

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

1944 June 6: “D-Day” - The allied

forces arrive in Normandy

August 4: The eight people

in hiding are betrayed and

arrested

August 8: The eight people

in hiding are taken from a

local jail to camp

Westerbork

August 23: The allied forces

liberate Paris

September 3: They are

taken by the last train to

leave Westerbork to

Auschwitz

September 4: The allied

forces liberate Antwerp and

Brussels

September 6: The Franks

and the others arrive at

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Hermann van Pels dies in

an Auschwitz gas chamber

at the beginning of October

October 6/7: A rebellion

takes place in Auschwitz.

Before the Nazis are able to

stop them, prisoners

destroy one of the gas

chambers

October 28: In the face of

Soviet troop gains, Anne

and Margot Frank and

Auguste van Pels are

moved to the German

concentration camp

Bergen-Belsen

December 16: Hitler’s

troops start their last major

military campaign in the

Ardennes - without success

December 20: Fritz Pfeffer

dies in the Neuengamme

concentration camp

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

1945 January 17: The Red Army

approaches the heart of

Germany. The SS demand

that all prisoners be

removed from Auschwitz

concentration camp. Some

66,000 prisoners are forced

to participate in so-called

“death marches”. Those

who cannot keep up are

murdered.

January 27: Otto Frank is

liberated by the Red Army

in Auschwitz

January 27: Auschwitz

concentration camp is

liberated. Later, this day is

declared Holocaust-

remembrance day in many

countries

February: Auguste van Pels

is brought from Bergen-

Belsen to Buchenwald and

then Theresienstadt, where

she dies in the spring of

1945

February 13/14: The Allied

Forces fire-bomb Dresden.

March: Anne and Margot

Frank die in Bergen-Belsen

April 15: Bergen-Belsen is

liberated by the British

May 5: Peter van Pels dies

in Mauthausen

concentration camp

May 5: The Netherlands is

liberated by American

troops

May 8: Germans surrender

to the Allied Forces; This is

the official end of the

Second World War in

Europe

June 3: Otto Frank returns

to Amsterdam, not knowing

the fate of his daughters

August 14: After atom

bombs are dropped on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki,

Japan accepts the

conditions for armistice set

by the Allied Forces. The

Second World War is over

Year History of the Frank

family

General history

1947 Otto Frank publishes “The

Secret Annex” (his

daughter’s diary)

Appendix Glossary

Glossary of terms

Adolf Hitler: Leader of the NSDAP (Nazi party of Germany). He was born in 1889 and committed

suicide in 1945.

Allied Forces: Military forces that were fighting Germany, Italy and Japan, consisting (among

others) of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. These four powers took

over Germany’s administration after its unconditional capitulation in May 1945.

Anti-Semitism: hostility towards Jews as a group

Aryan (Arisch): The term originated from a Sanskrit word, Arya, meaning a noble person. It took

on a different meaning in Nazi race ideology. Here it referred to the German nation, consisting of

members of the Nordic race. Jews who had lived in Germany for centuries, as well as Gypsies and

Slavs, immediately became classified as inferior races.

Aryanization: National Socialist word for a gradual program that ensured that all Jewish property

was eventually passed on to non-Jewish, “Aryan” people.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: Largest and most notorious concentration and death camp, located in

Southern Poland near Cracow. Within five years, almost two million people were killed in this

camp.

Concentration camp: Actual and suspected enemies of National Socialism were brought to

special camps starting in 1933. Later, Jews, homosexuals, “Gypsies”, Slavic people and Prisoners

of War were also sent to these camps. Conditions in these camps were extreme and many

prisoners died of exhaustion, malnutrition or execution.

Cyclone B: Another name for hydrogen cyanide, the poisonous gas that was used to kill people in

the Nazi gas chambers.

Death march: A word invented by former concentration camp prisoners. Death marches refer to

the forced marches over long distances. While marching, prisoners were mistreated and abused.

Those who failed to keep up were often murdered.

Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst): Works of art classified as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis were

those of the modern, abstract, cubist or expressionist schools; also those artistic expressions that

did not fit Nazi philosophy. World-famous artists were banned – for example Pablo Picasso, Otto

Dix, Marc Chagall, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, Max Beckmann, Paula Modersohn-Becker, George

Grosz, and Kaethe Kollwitz. Degenerate Art was also the title of an exhibition (July 1937) which

displayed works confiscated from galleries and museums. Many of these artists had to flee

Germany.

Appendix Glossary

Glossary of terms

Adolf Hitler

: Leader of the NSDAP (Nazi party of Germany). He was born in 1889 and committed suicide in 1945.

Allied Forces:

Military forces that were ghting Germany, Italy and Japan, consisting (among others) of the United States,

Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. These four powers took over Germany’s administration after its unconditional capitu-

lation in May 1945.

Anti-Semitism:

hostility towards Jews as a group.

Aryan (Arisch):

The term originated from a Sanskrit word, Arya, meaning a noble person. It took on a dierent meaning in

Nazi race ideology. Here it referred to the German nation, consisting of members of the Nordic race. Jews who had lived in Ger-

many for centuries, as well as Gypsies and Slavs, immediately became classied as inferior races.

Aryanization:

National Socialist word for a gradual program that ensured that all Jewish property was eventually passed on

to non-Jewish, “Aryan” people.

Auschwitz-Birkenau:

Largest and most notorious concentration and death camp, located in Southern Poland near Cra-

cow. Within ve years, almost two million people were killed in this camp.

Concentration camp:

Actual and suspected enemies of National Socialism were brought to special camps starting in

1933. Later, Jews, homosexuals, “Gypsies”, Slavic people and Prisoners of War were also sent to these camps. Conditions in these

camps were extreme and many prisoners died of exhaustion, malnutrition or execution.

Death march:

A word invented by former concentration camp prisoners. Death marches refer to the forced marches over

long distances. While marching, prisoners were mistreated and abused. Those who failed to keep up were often murdered.

Degenerated Art (Entartete Kunst):

Works of art classied as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis were those of the modern,

abstract, cubist or expressionist schools; also those artistic expressions that did not t Nazi philosophy. World-famous artists were

banned – for example Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix, Marc Chagall, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, Max Beckmann, Paula Modersohn-Becker,

George Grosz, and Kaethe Kollwitz. Degenerate Art was also the title of an exhibition (July 1937) which displayed works consca-

ted from galleries and museums. Many of these artists had to ee Germany.

Death camp:

Camps that were built for the purpose of killing people. The two largest camps were Auschwitz-Birkenau

and Lublin-Majdanek. Both also contained a concentration camp. Other examples of death camps were Treblinka, Sobibor and

Chelmno.

Death squads (Einsatzgruppen):

Mobile units associated with the German Security Police. Their task was to carry out

‘special duties’ in the service of the Fuehrer. They terrorized, persecuted and murdered political opponents or those considered

racially inferior, such as Jews, Poles and Gypsies throughout Europe.

Enabling act (Ermächtigungsgesetz):

A law passed on March 24, 1933 which enabled the National Socialists to

by-pass the Reichstag (the German Parliament) and thus assume ever-greater powers. To get this law through Parliament they

needed a two-thirds majority, which they did not have. Other parties were also needed to support passage. The nal count was

441 votes for the new law, 94 against, while 81 Communists were unable to vote because they had been imprisoned.

Equalisation Programme (Gleichschaltung):

Before the Nazis came to power Germany had been a democrati-

cally-run country. After 1933, they inltrated every aspect of society and placed members of the NSDAP in all leadership positions

and gained total control.

Euthanasia Ordinance (Euthanasie Befehl) :

Term given to a secret document signed by Hitler and dated Sep-

tember 1, 1939. This document gave authority to specialist doctors to provide the ‘incurably ill’ with a merciful death. The dubious

concept of ‘a merciful death’ masks the fact that it was the Nazis intention to murder the mentally and physically disabled in

society. More than 120,000 people were killed in this way.

Fascism:

Initially, a political movement that started in 1917 in Italy. It was developed as a response to Italian communism. Fas-

cism is totalitarian, anti-liberal, anti-democratic and anti-parliamentary. It is characterized by extreme nationalism, expansionism,

authoritarian structures and it demands complete obedience and submission. National Socialism is one type of Fascism.

Final Solution (Endlösung):

Known as ‘The Final Solution of the Jewish Question’, it meant the expulsion and ultimate

murder of all Jews in Europe.

Genocide:

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, national, religious or cultural group

Gestapo:

Abbreviation of GEheime STAatsPOlizei (Secret State Police). The Gestapo had unlimited powers between 1933 and

1945; they searched houses and arrested the occupants, sent them to concentrations camps, persecuted and tortured them. The

Gestapo was the brainchild of Hermann Göring.

Ghetto:

Originally, an Italian word for a district where Jews were forced to live by law. Such districts already existed in the

MIddle Ages, but the word “ghetto” was “reactivated” by the Nazis. Ghettos were set up In many Eastern European cities in order to

separate, isolate and control the Jews. These Jewish districts, with their inhumane living conditions, were part of a more lengthy

process of sending European Jews to Nazi concentration and death camps.

Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend):

Abbreviated as HJ. The collective name given to Nazi youth groups and all their subdivi-

sions; founded in 1926 by the NSDAP, it became the ocial State youth organization after 1933. The Law Relating to the Hitler

Youth Movement (from December 1, 1936) decreed that all young people in the Third Reich should join the Hitler Youth.

Holocaust:

This term comes from the Greek “holokauston” (“complete burning”). It describes the systematic murder of Jews

during the Second World War. Since the original meaning of the word was religious, many Jews prefer to use the word “Shoa”,

which is Hebrew for “extermination” or “harm”. Both words mean the same thing.

Ideology

: A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.

Killing Squads (Einsatzgruppen):

Mobile divisions of the Security Police. Their task was to carry out special duties.

They terrorized, persecuted and murdered political opponents or those deemed ‘racially inferior’, such as Jews, Poles and Roma

and Sinti (Gypsies) throughout Europe.

Kristallnacht = (also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass):

An anti-Jewish pogrom, organized by the

SA, Nazis and others, on the night of November 9, 1938. More than 20,000 Jews were arrested and deported to concentration

camps on orders given by propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, and sanctioned by Adolf Hitler. Throughout Germany synago-

gues (Jewish places of worship) were set on re and innumerable Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked and destroyed.

Labour Camp (Arbeitslager):

Primitive accommodation in barracks to house slave laborers. First used at the beginning

of the Second World War in Germany and other Nazi-occupied territories. It was under the control of Heinrich Himmler, head of

the German police. The labor camps resembled concentration camps but had a dierent name for administrative reasons. There

were 20 concentration camps and 165 aliated labor camps in April 1944.

League of German Girls

(BDM - Bund Deutscher Mädel): Organization for girls aged 14 to 18, which was a part of the

Hitler Youth. The organization aimed to turn girls into strong and courageous, yet very traditional, young women. According to

Nazi ideology, girls were to be raised to become a mother and raise a family.

Living Space (Lebensraum):

The Nazi policy of creating more geographical space for German citizens. This meant

annexing land from other countries and forcing non-Germans to be displaced.

Machtübernahme:

January 30, 1933 Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. Tthe Nazis called this day the ‘Machtüber-

nahme’ or ‘The Day of Transfer of Power to the NSDAP’. In later years, the term came to include the measures that the Nazis took

during the period 1932-1934 to ensure total control of all aspects of German society.

Mein Kampf:

The title of Hitler’s book, meaning ‘My Struggle’, in two volumes. In this book, he discusses his ideology and

political views. Adolf Hitler became the leader of the NSDAP in 1921. When he became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933

he insisted on being known only as the Führer (Leader).

National Socialism:

Totalitarian political movement in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler. National socialists wanted one, powerful

leader and were opposed to democracy. National Socialism is based on extreme nationalist pride and a sense of racial superiority.

Nazi:

Abbreviation of the word “National Socialist”.

Neo-nazis:

people in today’s society who support the ideas and/or methods of the Nazi party in World War II.

NSDAP

: The National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP), also referred to as the Nazis, was the only political party per-

mitted in Germany from July 1933 until the unconditional surrender by the Nazis in May 1945. Adolf Hitler was its leader. The Law

Relating to the Unity of Party and State (December 31 1933) decreed that the NSDAP was the conscience of the State and that it

was inextricably linked to the State, to ensure the racial well-being of the German people. Party members had to swear an oath of

unquestioning loyalty and obedience to their leader (the ‘Fuehrer’).

Nuremberg Trials (Neurenberger Prozess):

These trials lasted from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. The

International Military Tribunal (IMT) consisted of the victorious powers from the Second World War - Great Britain, France, USA and

the Soviet Union. Twenty-four leading Nazis were put on trial. The charges against them were:

1. Conspiracy

2. Crimes against peace

3. War Crimes

4. Crimes against humanity

(Of the 24 accused, 12 were condemned to death, 7 were imprisoned, 3 were acquitted and 2 were absent owing to illness and

suicide)

Nuremberg Laws:

Two laws that were passed on September 15 1935 in Nuremberg. The rst, was meant to ‘Protect German

Blood and German Honor’. It prohibited marriage or sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews. The laws classied people as

German if all four of their grandparents were of «German blood», while people were classied as Jews if they descended from three

or four Jewish grandparents. A person with one or two Jewish grandparents was a Mischling, of «mixed blood». The second law The

second law, The Reich Citizenship Law, stripped persons not considered of German blood of their German citizenship.

Partisan/s:

Resistance ghters who used violence and sabotage to ght the occupying forces. Partisans were mostly civilians

without any military equipment or training. During the Second World War, partisans were mainly ghting against the Germans

occupying forces in Eastern Europe and the Balkans

People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof):

Established on April 24, 1934 to hear cases of High Treason. High Treason is ge-

nerally considered an attempt to overthrow the State or to spy for a foreign power. In this case, however, as the lawyer Parisius

remarked: “That is not the purpose of our People’s Court. Its function is to murder the opponents of National Socialism”.

Pogrom:

A series of violent attacks against religious, national or racial minorities.

Propaganda:

the organised promotion of certain ideas, facts or allegations that are meant to deliberately further a cause or

damage an opposing cause.

Protective Custody (Schutzhaft):

The most commonly used method by the Nazis to remove political opponents and

other unwanted citizens from public life. The people were then imprisoned in concentration camps. After the Nazis came to power

in 1933, ‘unwanted’ citizens were incarcerated without due process of law, not knowing when they would be released.

Racism:

An action that discriminates against people based on a person’s ethnicity or presumed race.

Reichssicherheitshauptamt, RSHA:

Under the control of the SS, all public as well as secret Police and Security mea-

sures emanated from the RSHA. It had innumerable departments, oces, sub-sections, branches and was virtually incompre-

hensible to outsiders. The RSHA had the power to imprison people or deport them to a concentration camp without recourse to

law - the victims had no right of appeal.

Revisionism (of the history of the Holocaust):

Politically motivated interpretation of National Socialist history,

often in pseudo-natural scientic form. Its goal is to present the crimes of Nazis as less severe than they actually were and to claim

that the numbers of murdered Jews is a gross exaggeration. People who say that Anne Frank’s diary is ction can also be called

revisionist.

Round up (also called a razzia) :

Raids to nd and arrest Jews

SA or Stormtroopers (Sturmabteilung):

Formed in 1921, they were members of the NSDAP who volunteered to

organize into military units. They played a major role in gaining power for the NSDAP.

SS or Protection Squads (Schutzstaeln):

The SS was the most powerful organization within the Nazi regime,

and also the most feared. It was responsible for the concentration camps and for the killing squads that murdered political oppo-

nents and ‘racial’ minorities. Members of the SS tortured and murdered men, women and children throughout Europe. They were

responsible for the systematic murder of millions of people in the death camps. The SS was declared a criminal organization at

the Nuremberg Trials

Swastika (Hakenkreuz):

The NSDAP (The National Socialist German Workers Party) started using the swastika as its

symbol in 1920. It became the symbol of the Nazi party and of Nazi hegemony in Germany from 1933 to 1945. The swastika

dates from around 4000 B.C. and is thought to symbolize the holy and benevolent powers of the sun. It was known in Northern

and Central Europe, the Middle East, India, China and Japan and amongst Semitic peoples (especially Arabs). It began to be used

politically in about 1900 and many political groupings turned it into an anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) symbol.

Third Reich

(Empire) (Drittes Reich) The period 1933-1945 in Germany. The term has no legal meaning but was coined by the

Nazi propaganda department to denote that ‘by the grace and power of Adolf Hitler, all that was best in the great German people

would ourish for the next thousand years of the German Reich’. According to the Nazi version of history, the First Reich existed

during the Holy Roman Empire from 962 to 1806 and the Second Reich was in existence under the Hohenzollern Empire from

1871 to 1918. The Weimar Republic was classed as an interim period and the Third Reich was destined to last a thousand years.

Wannsee Conference (Wannsee-Konferenz):

This conference was held on January 20, 1942 at the instigation of

Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Security Police. Its aim was to clarify the position concerning the so-called ‘Final Solution of the

Jewish question’, meaning the murder of all Jews in Europe. In July 1941, Heydrich had been ocially asked by Reich Marshall

Hermann Goering to come up with a comprehensive blueprint for the ‘Final Solution’ - its organization, logistics and material

requirements.

Wehrmacht:

The ocial title of the German army. Hitler re-introduced the draft in March 1935 saying:” the Wehrmacht will

bear arms to protect the German people; it will be the military school for our ghting forces; it consists of the army, the navy and

the air force.”

The White Rose (Weisse Rose):

The name of a resistance group in Munich. They were mostly students, led by a bro-

ther and sister, Sophie and Hans Scholl. The White Rose began distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets in the spring of 1942, assisted

by their professor of philosophy, Kurt Huber. The Scholls were arrested at the University on February 18, 1943 while distributing

their literature. Their trial lasted two days and they were condemned to death. They were executed on February 22, 1943. They

were 22 and 25 years old.

Working camp:

Mostly primitive camps consisting of barracks, that functioned as sleeping places for the forced laborers.

Such camps started to be set up in 1939 in Germany and in all occupied regions. The man responsible for them was the head of

the > SS and at the same time head of the German police, Heinrich Himmler. The camps were observed by troops of the SS. ( >

Concentration camps).

Zyklon B:

Another name for hydrogen cyanide, the poisonous gas that was used to kill people in the Nazi gas chambers.