ANNE FRANK HOUSE
This deeply moving museum tells a tragic story. When, in 1942, the Nazis began to round up Jews in Amsterdam, the Frank and van Pels families went into hiding. For 25 months, they hid in a secret annex in the Anne Frank House. In August 1944, they were arrested and deported. Only Otto survived. The diary of his daughter Anne, who died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945 at the age of 15, has made her one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century. The ever-popular museum attracts more than a million visitors each year.
NEED TO KNOW
Westermarkt 20 • 020 556 7105 • www.annefrank.org • Open Nov–Mar: 9am–7pm daily; Apr–Oct: 9am–10pm daily; closed Yom Kippur (Check website for other exceptions) • Adm $11; children 10–17 $6; under 10 free
A 360-degree virtual reality tour is available for the disabled.
- There is a pleasant, airy café with a great view of the Westerkerk.
- Note that tickets must be booked in advance online for a specific date and time. Tickets cannot be bought at the door.
- Take care around the house, as the stairs are steep and narrow.
- The visit is a moving experience, so plan something contemplative afterward: climb the Westerkerk spire or walk to the Western Islands.
Museum Floor Plan
1. The Warehouse
Otto Frank’s business made pectin for jam and spice and herb mixtures. The annex was over his warehouse; the families had to keep quiet for fear that the workers would hear them.
The Warehouse
2. The Offices
Upstairs are the offices of Otto Frank and the staff who helped to hide him and his family, along with Otto’s business partner, Hermann van Pels, and his wife and son. In Anne’s diary, the van Pels became the van Daans.
3. The Moveable Bookcase
To hide the entrance to the annex, one of the helpers made a swinging bookcase. As Anne wrote, “no one could ever suspect that there could be so many rooms hidden behind …”
The Moveable Bookcase
4. Anne’s Room
Movie-star pin-ups still adorn the wall of Anne’s room. After her sister Margot moved in with her parents, Anne had to share this space with a new member of the group, a dentist called Fritz Pfeffer—in Anne’s first estimation, “a very nice man.”
Anne’s Room
5. The Secret Annex
The claustrophobic rooms in which the eight lived have been left unfurnished, as they were when cleared of possessions by the Germans after their arrest. On one wall, pencil marks record the growth of Anne and Margot.
6. Peter’s Room
The small refuge of Peter van Pels was the room behind the attic. Anne often spent time here talking with Peter.
Peter’s Room
7. The Front Attic
In a moving display in the front attic, visitors learn the fate of each member of the group after they were betrayed to the Nazis. Tragically, Anne and Margot Frank died shortly before Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated.
8. The Diary Room
As well as the now famous diary, Anne wrote short stories and ideas for novels. As time went on, she began to edit her original diary with a book called The Secret Annex in mind.
The Diary Room
9. Otto Frank Exhibit
An interview with Otto Frank from 1967 and documents from his personal collection are on show. A notebook of entries made after Otto’s return from Auschwitz is very poignant.
10. The Exhibition Room
The multimedia exhibition space screens Reflections on Anne Frank, a film in which 22 writers, actors, museum visitors, and those who knew her talk about what she meant to them.
ANNE FRANK’S DIARY
On the day the family were taken away, Miep Gies, who had helped conceal them, found Anne’s diary. With the words “Here is your daughter Anne’s legacy to you,” she handed it to Otto Frank on his return from Auschwitz. He prepared a transcript, and the diary was published to great acclaim in the Netherlands in 1947 and in Britain and the United States in 1952. It has since been published in more than 70 languages.
