A Terrible Discovery The Westerbork transit camp was a place of temporary imprisonment, but its conditions were far from uniform. Some prisoners lived in the "free" camp, where they were…
A Heartbreaking Friendship In the dehumanizing environment of the Westerbork transit camp, small acts of human connection were a lifeline. Lenie de Jong-van Naarden recalls the moment she and her…
The Fear of a Long Face On September 16, 1943, Anne Frank wrote a diary entry that reveals the deep psychological toll of living in hiding. She confessed to a…
The Journey to Aachen For Anne and Margot Frank, a trip to Aachen, Germany, was a journey home. It was where their grandmother, Rosa Holländer-Stern, and their uncles, Walter and…
The Final Journey At dawn on September 3, 1944, a silent and somber procession began at the Westerbork transit camp in Holland. The guards roused 1,019 prisoners from their barracks,…
The Swiss Sanctuary Before the world shrank to a few hidden rooms, Anne Frank's world was one of sun-drenched holidays and carefree days. In September 1935, a six-year-old Anne spent…
A Shared Grief In 1945, in the wake of the Holocaust, Alice Frank wrote a letter to her son, Otto, that captures the profound sorrow of their family's loss. Her…
The Hell of the Scabies Block In the brutal reality of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a new nightmare began for Anne Frank. After a few weeks in the camp, her body, already weakened…
A Birthday in Hiding On September 30, 1942, the Secret Annex was filled with a rare sense of celebration. It was Auguste van Pels-Röttgen’s birthday, and despite their confinement, the…
A Goodbye Written in Secret On September 25, 1942, in the quiet of the Secret Annex, Anne Frank penned a letter to her best friend, Jacqueline van Maarsen. It was…