Historically informative as well as brooding and solemn, my tour experience was fed by diary excerpts, personal belongings, letters, historical documents, and video presentations. At the risk of losing credits on ratings, I do not find photos appropriate for this tour. I was that affected. It is located at 263 Prinsengracht and accessed by walking through number 265, the adjacent building.
Anne Frank and her family spent a tad over two years hiding from the Nazi occupiers of Amsterdam at this address. Anne kept a diary of this experience while living in an upstairs secret annex of this house. I could feel the fear of deportation to the death camps still lingering in the walls.
Fleeing Germany and the rising tide of anti-Semitism in 1933, her father Otto moved the family to Amsterdam, where they were safe until Holland was invaded in 1940. In 1942, her mother, father, and sister, as well as several others, went into hiding in the top floors above the warehouse, accessible only by a hidden passage behind a bookcase.
Winding my way up through the warehouse and into their secret lair, I notice display cases with family items, photographs, and notes that bring home the reality of what happened here six decades ago.
The workers in the warehouse below had no idea of the family living secretly above. The office staff did, helping with food and other survival essentials. In August 1944, they were betrayed and shipped to Auschwitz. More than one-half of the 1,000 people transported on the train died in the gas chambers on arrival. Out of the eight people deported, only Anne’s father Otto survived. To this day, the identity of their betrayer remains unknown.
The tragic and fearful story is branded on the visitor at every turn. Feelings of terror are brought alive by many of Anne's diary excerpts. The senses are overwhelmed by documents, official papers, and other genuine artifacts from the years in hiding. Reflections of persecution and man's inhumanity to man remain omnipresent. A mix of emotions, from anger to disbelief, are pervasive.
Anne kept the diary on over 300 loose pages.
I quote: "You've known... I'd like to publish a book called the Secret Annex."
Otto fulfilled his daughter’s wish by publishing the diary in 1947 under the title The Secret Annex. Made into a movie starring Shelly Winters, the Hollywood icon promised that if she won the Academy Award, she would place it in what is now the Anne Frank House. It is available for viewing at the tours end in a display case.
The melancholy which may settle over the rest of day should be considered when taking the tour. I would suggest an exciting and fun follow-up activity to lift the spirits, especially when taking children with you. The connection to human rights and freedom for all people is quite inspirational. It should not be missed.