The Final, Tragic Days in Bergen-Belsen
The final chapter of Anne and Margot Frank’s lives took place in the horrific conditions of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in the early weeks of 1945. While the exact dates of their deaths are unknown, a new analysis of survivor accounts suggests they perished around February 7, 1945.
Their final days were a harrowing ordeal marked by disease and profound despair. Both girls had contracted typhus, an epidemic that ravaged the overcrowded, unsanitary camp. Typhus caused devastating symptoms including skin rashes, fever, headache, joint pain, and, ultimately, delirium as the disease reached the central nervous system.
A Heartbreaking Farewell
In February 1945, Anne had a heartbreaking, final meeting with her childhood friend, Hannah Goslar, across a barbed-wire fence. Hannah found Anne distraught. Anne cried, believing she was entirely alone: “I don’t have parents anymore. I have nobody. Margot is very sick, too.”
The sisters were already desperately ill. Lientje Brilleslijper, one of the sisters who later told Otto Frank about their daughters’ fate, recalled visiting them when Margot’s condition was critical:
“Margot had fallen from the bunk and was half-unconscious. Anne was already feverish.”
Lientje remembered a moment of feverish happiness in Anne, who was wrapped in a blanket, saying, “Oh, I’m so nice and warm,” and seemed “quite happy.” This small comfort was a tragically brief respite from their suffering. Margot didn’t survive that period.
Anne’s Last Stand
The younger Brilleslijper sister, Janny, noted Anne’s astonishing resilience and devotion to her sister. She observed that Anne “stayed on her feet until Margot died; only then did she gave in to her illness.” Janny remembered seeing Anne after Margot had passed:
“Anne stood in front of me, wrapped in a blanket. She didn’t have any more tears.”
Anne Frank died, alone, just a few days after her sister. Her strength failed only after her beloved “big sister” was gone, a final testament to the fierce bond between the two girls. Their lives, filled with hope and potential, were extinguished just weeks before the camp was liberated.
