Always Remember

Saturday was the day out with my eldest son. We had a Jesse-Mom day as we like to call it. And this day we planned to go to our Capital City Amsterdam.
We made a special visit to 'Het Achterhuis' were Anne Frank lived during World War II. I think many of you (if not everybody) knows Anne Frank and the diary she kept during the time she spend hiding and being a victim of the persicution of the Jews.

It was Jesse's first visit to Anne's hiding place during the horrible years of the war. I've been there several times now and still it gets to me. The stillness of the house crawles underneeth my skin and will stay there for days.

This is a story about the holocaust of World War II. I'm so sorry but I simply can't find a way to bring this soft and easy. It is not my intention to hurt or grieve you in any way. If you have any hesitation to read further or look at the photo's below I understand if you stop here. It's only my believe some stories need to be told over and over again. So we will remember not to make mistakes like these anymore.

Anne lived in Germany when, in 1939 Hitler came to power and installed an inti-Jewish regime there. For there own safety, the Jewish Frank familiy fled to the Netherlands. However, in May 1940, the German army occupied the Netherlands and repressive measures against Jews followed here as well. The Frank family hoped to escape these by going into hiding.
The house was split into two parts. The front house (annex store and company) and the Achterhuis - Back House behind the bookcase. A section of this ware house was also a milling room where the spices were kept. The warehousemen did not know about the people hiding in the annex upstairs. The office personnel helped the people in hiding by bringing them daily food supplies, books and newspapers.

Below: Anne Frank 13 years old ~ 'Het Achterhuis' seen from the back 1944 ~ Landing with the Movable Bookcase ~ The Jew Star (Jewish people must wear this yellow star).
Click on the photo's to enlarge.

Anne kept a diary the entire time she lived in hiding. She mostly worte about her personal thoughts and feelings, the isolation, and the constant fear of being discovered. Anne's diary was first published in the Netherlands in 1947. It has been translated into more than 65 languages since then.

We have to whisper and tread lightly during the day, otherwise the people in the warehouse might hear us.
Anne Frank, July 11 1942

Countless friends have been taken off to a dreadful fate. Night after night, green and gray military vehicles cruise the streets. It's impossible to escape their clutches unless you go into hiding.
Anne Frank, November 19 1942

Below: 'Het Achterhuis' at the front ~ the Movible Bookcase ~ Anne & Margot's Room ~ Anne's red plaid Diary and sheets of paper and notebooks she continued writing in.
Click on the photo's to enlarge.

As of tomorrow, we won't have a scrap of fat, butter or margarine. Lunch today consist of mashed potatoes and pickled kale. You wouldn't believe how much kale can stink when it's a few years old!
Anne Frank, March 14 1994

'This is the Day' came the announcement over the English news at twelve o'clock. The invasion has begun! English parachute troops have landed on the French coast. Great commotion in the Annex! Would the long awaited liberation ever come true?
Anne Frank, June 6 1944

Below first row: Auschwitz exterminatoin camp ~ second row: Bergen-Belsen extermination camp.
Click on the photo's to enlarge.


On August 4, 1944, the German SS received an anonymous phone call: "There are Jews hiding at 263 Prinsengracht." The hiding place was betrayed. Extensive investigations after the war have still not revealed who was responsible for the betrayal.

The eight people in hiding were arrested and imprisoned. They were sent to Camp Westerbork in the east of the Netherlands. They were transported from there to the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen extermination camps.

Anne Frank contracted typhus and died just a few days after her sister Margot in March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen. This was just one month before the Netherlands were set free. She only was 13 years old.

Only Anne's father Otto Frank survived the Auschwitz extermination camp. He died in 1980 at the age of 91.

Below: Bombing Dresden ~ Statue for all those who've rescued our country's ~ Paratroopers abouve the Netherlands 1945 ~ May 5th 1945 Liberation Day.
Click on the photo's to enlarge.

You've known for a long time that my greatest wish is to be a journalist, and later on, a famous writer. In any case, after the war I'd like to publish a book called 'The Secret Annex'.
Anne Frank, May 11 1944

I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.
Anne Frank, June 12 1942

When I write I can shake off all my cares.
My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived!
Anne Frank, April 15 1944

I know this was much to read through. But by sharing this story, I want to thank all of your forefathers to set our land free. Because of them I am able to live in a free country and bring up my boys with stories like these to prevent it from happening again.
We still listen to the stories of parents and grandparents who've experienced World War II.
We never forget those brave men who gave there lives to help us. We never forget the families they left behind.
May God Bless Them All.

You all are still remembered.

If you wanna have more information go to http://www.annefrank.org/
All these photo's I've found on the internet (since I'd forgotten my camera....duh). Many thanks to all of you for letting borrowing them too me.

Anne thank you for borrowing some of the lines out of your diary. You still touch every heart that's reaching out for your story.

You are a famous writer after all. And I know You know.