The Pen Pal Who Knew a Secret
In the quiet classrooms of Iowa, a ten-year-old girl named Juanita Wagner was given a simple assignment: choose a name from a list of European pen pals. Her teacher, Miss Birdie Matthews, a lover of travel and international connection, had brought the list back from her summer in Holland. Juanita picked a name she liked. A girl who lived in Amsterdam. Her name was Anne Frank.
What followed was an ordinary friendship that history would deem extraordinary. Juanita wrote a letter to Anne, crossing an ocean and a continent, waiting for a reply. The letter that arrived on April 29, 1940, was a testament to the effort and care of both families. It’s believed that Anne wrote the first draft in Dutch, and her father, Otto, lovingly translated it for her to rewrite in English, ensuring her words could reach her new friend.
The letter was a window into Anne’s world, a world filled with school, family, and friendships, not yet touched by the horrors to come. Anne also enclosed a letter from her sister, Margot, addressed to Juanita’s older sister, Betty Ann. Both girls sent pictures of themselves and a postcard, sharing glimpses of their lives across the miles.
This small collection of letters and photos stands as a powerful reminder of what was lost. This friendship, born of a simple school project, was a fragile thread connecting two girls from different worlds. Juanita would never receive another letter from Anne.
The story of Juanita and Anne’s pen pal friendship is not a grand historical narrative. It is a small, tender one that shows how, even on the brink of immense tragedy, life was still filled with the hopeful, simple acts of childhood. It reminds us that before Anne Frank became a symbol, she was just a girl who loved writing to a new friend, sharing her life, and hoping for a reply.
