A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE: VISITING THE ATTIC OF ANNE FRANK

Amsterdam was a place that I was artistically excited to get to know. Still, I also knew from an American's point of view it was home to a lot of historical tragedy, one being the last place Anne Frank hid before being forcefully taken by the Nazis into a concentration camp. My friend Josie and I were given the opportunity to get a private tour of the Anne Frank Museum from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (aka VU) the university we were studying at while in Amsterdam.

For those of you who don't know, or want to know a bit more, Anne Frank was a German-born Jewish girl who was born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany. She and her family had moved to the city of Amsterdam in February of 1934, almost a year after the Nazis had come to power in Germany. Her father, Otto Frank had decided the Netherlands was a safer country to live in, and they were safe until the Nazi's power started to spread throughout Europe, eventually reaching Amsterdam. In July of 1942, Anne and her family decided to go into hiding, to avoid their home being broken into, and taken as slaves to concentration camps. They hid in the attic of a concealed bookcase in Otto's place of work, along with the Van Pelz family, Herman being the man of the family who also worked for Otto, and Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist and family friend. 

The group stayed in the "secret annex" for over 2 years before being caught. In 1944, the annex was found and everyone was sent to concentration camps. Margot and Anne were separated from their family and sent to Bergen-Belsen where she died a year later, in 1945 at 15. Only a few weeks later was the camp liberated by British soldiers, and unfortunately, Otto was the only one in the family to survive.

Knowing and having read Anne's diary while learning the history throughout middle school, it was a day I never thought would have come: Seeing her attic and original diary in person. 

We first walked into a private room and went over Nazi territory and how WWII was from Europe's point of view. It was so interesting to hear how Anne Frank is this iconic person in the United States, but she was not focused on school nearly as much here in Holland. Many Dutch students who were in the room with us hadn't even read Anne's diary, which shocked me! I remember being in 6th grade reading her diary, in 7th grade having a final project on Anne and her family, and in 8th grade having a lecture with a Holocaust survivor. The historical impact is a bit different in Europe, seeing as much of this history happens in their soul. I find that the best way to explain it is the Holocaust is an event that is viewed the same way we view the Civil War as our own history, remembered in unshamed. 

After we had a bit of a review session, we were given audio headphones that interact with the museum that we would use to guide us through the building. It was really cool and chilling to have audio guides because the voices were made to sound like Anne, Otto her father, Margot her sister, and Edith her mother. The whole museum is silent as it is a much more serious process, and many around including myself were very focused as we walked past each wall with belongings and quotes of Anne herself. 

          

As we are walking, we see young Anne and Margot in Frankfurt, where they were born. It was so nice to see her in a different light because I don't think we focus on the early years of Anne's life at all here in the States. As we keep moving we notice the stories we have learned, the star of Jude, the riots, and finally when they first move into the attic. When we got to the bookshelf and I saw the stairs for the first time, I froze for a second. It was a feeling I hadn't felt before, to be standing where she was standing, it didn't feel real. I remember stepping on the stairs and thinking, "They must have barely moved! These stairs are creaking at a simple touch". I was quiet the whole time, and so was the rest of the room.

Obviously, photos aren't allowed while in the museum, so I have included some images from the Anne Frank Museum website to help you imagine how small and compact this attic was.

          

After you exit the attic, you are led to the end of the museum, which is the gift shop. While it was an interesting feeling looking at a room full of Anne Frank merch, capitalizing off her story, it was awesome to see her Diary translated into every language you can think of. Allowing her story to be shared with anyone who steps into this museum.

I still am and forever will be grateful to have this experience in such a special way. It is something that I will never forget, and something I will always think back on. Thanks for reading and I will see you in my next blog!

Bibliography

1. https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/