Surely the Time Will Come When We Are People Again and Not Just Jews
Miep Gies, the woman who risked her life daily to help
hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, visited the Scholastic Web site in May 1997. During this project, students had the opportunity to ask Miep questions virtually Anne Frank, her family, and the other people in hiding. Below are Miep'south answers to questions from students.
Click the post-obit categories to see specific questions and answers from the interview:
Hiding the Franks | The Capture | Later the War — Otto Frank | Almost WW Two | Anne Frank | The Diary | About Miep Gies | The Annex | Thank-y'all Notes to Miep Gies
Hiding the Franks
How did y'all react when you lot heard that you were going to be taking in Anne Frank? Did yous agree right away or did it have time to convince you lot to practice this?
What were your feelings about the Franks going into hiding?
I was glad that Otto Frank decided to become into hiding, because I was extremely concerned about him and his family unit, seeing what was happening to the Jews in Amsterdam. Every mean solar day you saw trucks with Jews heading for the railway station, from where the trains left for the camps. Nobody always heard from them again, so I thought Otto did wise to go into hiding.
What was information technology like to scout Anne and her family in hiding? What was Anne's personality like?
I constitute it extremely painful to run into people who would love to go out and live in freedom at present sitting in a pocket-size place and worrying all the time what the future would bring. Information technology is truly awful to watch people living in fright. Otto had been my boss for many years. Now, all of sudden, he was dependent on me.
How was it determined who would hibernate in the Addendum?
Otto Frank decided who would stay in the hiding identify.
Did you know about the secret room earlier the Franks hid there?
The hiding place was initially just part of the business concern. It was the laboratory, used for product development. During the state of war in that location was no development of new products, then Otto Frank decided to transform this space into a hiding infinite.
Why did you take on the responsibleness of hiding the Franks?
My determination to help Otto was because I saw no alternative. I could foresee many sleepless nights and an unhappy life if I refused. And that was not the kind of failure I wanted for myself. Permanent remorse virtually declining to do your man duty, in my stance, tin be worse than losing your life.
Did your husband agree with y'all near hiding the Franks, or did you have to convince him?
My married man was in full agreement with my efforts to help the Franks. Really, he was just equally active in assisting them and often visited with the families.
What was it similar knowing that the fate of eight people rested in your hands and that you were one of their most valuable resource?
I certainly felt responsible. Peculiarly to discover them plenty food so they would stay good for you, that was always on my listen.
Was it difficult to keep the people in hiding a secret?
It was not easy to continue the people in hiding a secret. They were asking questions all the time, but yous did not want to upset them with what happened to the Jews in Amsterdam. Anne specially kept asking and it was her that I told more nearly the trucks with Jewish families heading for the railway station.
Nosotros both read Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary and idea it was slap-up. We also think y'all are very brave to help the Franks and the Van Pels. We would like to know how old you were. Who were yous closest to in the Hush-hush Annex?
I was a young woman in my thirties. I was closest with Anne and with her father, Otto. Anne, because she was the one asking me questions all the time; particularly about what was going on in the world outside the hiding place. As a matter of fact, I liked talking with her. I was 20 years older than she was, but it was similar talking to a much older person than a teenager. With Otto I had a shut contact because together we were actually managing the logistics of their stay in the hiding place.
Did anyone e'er doubtable that you were hiding people?
Nobody, non even my ain foster parents knew almost the people in hiding. Therefore, I had no reason to believe that anyone would suspect this. By visiting several dissimilar suppliers a day and not buying everything at the same place, I avoided suspicion with the grocery shops.
How did y'all keep the workers at the factory from becoming suspicious?
Nosotros kept the workers at the mill from becoming suspicious by avoiding as much as possible to enter the hiding place during office hours. Further, the people in hiding would not affluent the toilet during the mean solar day and avoid making any other noises.
How did you lot manage to alive when you lot were giving virtually of your nutrient away?
I had to purchase nutrient in the "black" market. My husband Jan also helped by providing me with so-called ration cards he had obtained illegally. I likewise knew suppliers, like for instance the greengrocer, who understood what I was doing and would help as much as he could.
When you were going dorsum and forth transporting food and goods to the Franks, did you accept to clothing a disguise or accept some type of plan so the Nazis wouldn't encounter you?
It was difficult to bring food to the edifice where the Franks were hiding. I could non bring everything at once because information technology would heighten suspicion. I never carried more than than what one shopping pocketbook could concur or what I could hide under my glaze. So, I had to make several trips every day.
I understand that you got nutrient for the people in hiding. But, how exactly did y'all get enough nutrient for anybody in hiding and yourself?
I felt permanent business concern regarding the nutrient situation. Past visiting several grocery shops and markets a solar day, I adult a good feeling for the supply situation.
I would like to know what it was like to spend a night in the hiding identify.
Spending that nighttime in the hiding place, together with my husband, opened my optics for the awful position of my friends. To live with eight people in such a pocket-size place, never being immune to go out, never being able to talk to friends and e'er fearing the coming of the police.
Why didn't the Franks sleep during the day when they were in hiding in the attic?
Why did the Frank'southward not sleep during the twenty-four hour period and exist up during the dark? A good question. I think our biological rhythm makes information technology hard to do that. Farther, during the dark, the neighbors would have more easily noticed noises.
What did the people in hiding do with their trash?
The trash (which is very piffling in times of scarcity) was burned at night in the stove.
What was life similar for Margot, Anne, and Peter in the cranium?
Life for Peter, Margot, and Anne, being then young, was particularly difficult. They could never go out to play and meet with friends. They could not practice any sports, go to the beach, walk through the forests, or do any shopping.
What happened to Mushi, Peter's cat?
After they were arrested, the cat was still in that location. It did non run away. But the cat did not feel at dwelling house anymore. It missed Peter. Merely one 24-hour interval the office cleaner asked if she could take the true cat. She took Mushi and gave the true cat a new home.
Who was the most difficult in hiding?
I can't signal at anyone who was difficult to hide. After the state of war Otto told me (half jokingly) that simply Anne's somewhat provocative attitude caused bug.
Was it hard on the people in the Secret Addendum to stay quiet for such a long menstruum of time?
I think information technology must take been very hard for the people in the attic to be quiet for such a long flow. I ever feel that they were the true heroes during those years.
How did the people get along beingness locked up for and then long?
From Anne'south diary we know that information technology was not e'er piece of cake for the people in hiding to go forth pleasantly. I myself never noticed tensions when I visited with them. After the state of war, I learned that Otto sternly warned them not to bother the helpers with their conflicts.
How did it feel knowing that y'all could be raided at any moment, and if the Franks were plant, even killed?
I tin can't remember that I was really afraid while I was hiding the families; I was also busy finding food and other supplies to find time to worry. When I saw my bed in the evening, I would just fall asleep.
Did you always consider telling on those in hiding in order to save your own life?
I never considered betraying the Franks, whatever do good this might accept meant for me.
Was there a fourth dimension when you almost got caught?
Earlier the abort, I believe, nosotros never had a narrow escape.
Did you e'er feel like the suspicion was mounting and felt that yous did non want to be responsible for the Franks and wanted them to leave (and all the other residents)?
I concur that Anne'south diary reflects her growing concern nigh the future. I myself was more optimistic, considering the war was gradually coming to an stop and during the two years no serious threats became axiomatic. I certainly never considered to stop helping or have them go out. I never wanted to skip responsibility for my friends.
The Capture
Tell us well-nigh the day the Germans arrived to take the Franks away. Did y'all try to warn the Franks that 24-hour interval? Or did you come abode to visit them, and they were gone? Did you attempt to find them that day?
I would take tried, of class, merely it was impossible. One morning, sitting at my desk-bound, I looked up and saw a man pointing a gun at me and saying, "Don't move, go along silent!" The next day I went to the German police force office to effort to find them. I offered coin to buy them free, but I did not succeed. I was very scared when they came that twenty-four hour period!
Could you describe for me the terminal time that you saw Anne?
The last time I saw Anne was at 9:00 on the forenoon of the arrest. Nearly 11 o'clock the law came. I can't remember what Anne said that terminal time. I recollect it was her usual "Hello Miep, and what is the news?"
How did the Nazis find the attic? Who do you recall turned the Franks in to the Green Police force?
Someone must take betrayed them to the Nazis. We never found out. Don't forget that many people lived in that neighborhood and maybe noticed something by day or heard something at night. Information technology could accept been one of the burglars that came to that identify. It could accept likewise been one of the people working in the building. We will never know. The Austrian policeman was interviewed after, but he did not know who had chosen the police with the data. The Nazi who took the phone call died. So they could not ask him who had called. No one knows. Twice, after the war, the Dutch police fabricated an extensive effort to find the person who turned my friends in. Without success! In that location were suspicions. Some people were pointing at the man working in the warehouse, but the Court decided there was no evidence. Also, in my opinion, I don't call up this human being has washed it. And then, we don't know!
How did you find out virtually the Franks' capture?
If you read my book Anne Frank Remembered (Simon & Schuster), you lot will meet that I was in the office at the moment the police came. I regret to notice that the play — and from other publications — requite a wrong perception regarding the arrest. There was no telephone ringing prior to the arrest. This is just dramatization by the playwright.
How did yous experience when the Franks got caught?
When the police plant the hiding place I mainly felt a tremendous disappointment that and so close to the cease of the war my friends were defenseless. Nosotros honestly thought that we had made it. Paris was already captured past the Allies. Their troops were less than 250 miles from Amsterdam. Germany had actually lost the war. And then this happened.
What happened to the Franks' firm and the possessions in it?
Everything in the Franks' home was taken away past the Germans and sent to Federal republic of germany. Otto Frank never institute his article of furniture again.
Did you arrive trouble when the Nazis found out that you were hiding them?
Of course I was in problem, but my luck was that the constabulary officer in charge came from Vienna, the same town where I was built-in. I noticed this from his emphasis. So, when he came to interrogate me, I jumped up and said, every bit cheerfully as I could, "Y'all are from Vienna? I am from Vienna too." And, although he got very aroused initially, information technology made him obviously decide not to abort me. Apart from the stupor, the fear and my heart-breaking business organization regarding the fate of my friends, nothing happened to me.
What helped yous to carry on after the Franks were captured?
The hope that they would render safely. The war had about come up to an end and the Franks were healthy at the fourth dimension of their arrest.
Did you ever feel like you lot could have washed something more to assist the Franks when they were captured?
I honestly believe we could not have done anything more to help the Franks.
While the Frank family was in a concentration campsite, were you able to get whatsoever information about them?
After the arrest, I never heard from my friends over again, they were not allowed to write.
If you plant out who was the one who told on the Franks, what would you say to them?
If I ever found out the person who betrayed my friends, I would non exchange one discussion with that criminal.
Which camp did Anne and Margot go to when they were caught?
Anne and Margot went first to a transit-camp chosen Westerbork in the Netherlands. From there they went to Auschwitz and finally to Bergen-Belsen, where they both died.
Did Anne know anyone in the concentration camp besides her sister?
Much to her surprise she discovered that in another part of the camp (Bergen-Belsen), her friend "Lies" was sitting, the 1 she writes well-nigh a lot in her diary. Her true proper noun is Hanneli Choice-Goslar, who now lives in State of israel.
What were some of the horrible things the Nazi party did to other people? Did you ever witness any?
The most horrible thing in my opinion was that they were discriminating against people for a reason those people could not help or modify. Just for existence Jewish. It made those people feel defenseless. What could they perhaps practice? Just sit in that location and wait in fear. This was terrorizing the poor Jews, even at the time that they could nevertheless alive in their own homes. What I never forget myself was the twenty-four hours that the Franks were arrested. I even so hear their steps in the stairway when they were brought outside.
Later on the War — Otto Frank
How did you meet Mr. Frank?
Do you know how Otto Frank escaped expiry when the residual of his family and the other families in hiding didn't?
Otto's escape from death is a miracle. When the Russians finally liberated him in Auschwitz, he was ill, very weak, and extremely skinny.
When Otto Frank returned, was he bruised, really skinny, pale? What was his concrete condition? What was his mental status?
Otto Frank was very skinny when he returned from the camp. Withal, he was mentally in good condition.
What happened to Mr. Frank after the state of war?
Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam. He picked up his business again, but later on the publication of the diary, he was very busy answering the thousands of messages he received from children well-nigh the diary. He moved to Switzerland afterward the state of war. He was the but survivor from the Secret Addendum.
Later the war, was it hard to come across Mr. Frank once more and non see the others?
It was not difficult to run into Mr. Frank when he returned from Auschwitz. I was of form very happy. Not easy was my time with Otto Frank afterwards he had learned he had lost his whole family. For me this was atrocious, too.
What exercise you think most vividly nigh your coming together with Otto Frank after the war?
My most brilliant memory of Otto is the solar day that he learned nearly the death of his two children, and my giving Anne's diary to him at that very sad moment. I cannot forget the way he looked at that fourth dimension.
Did yous and Mr. Frank remain friends?
My married man and I were shut friends with Otto until he died in 1980, at ninety-1 years erstwhile. The starting time 7 years after the war he even lived in our home in Amsterdam, until he remarried in 1952. Then he moved to Basel, Switzerland.
What twelvemonth did Otto Frank dice?
Otto Frank died in 1980 at the age of ninety-one in his home Buchenstrasse 12, Birsfelden; a minor boondocks near Basel, Switzerland.
About WW Ii
How exactly did the war showtime? Why did it accept so long to end it?
What other places did people hide in besides the Hush-hush Addendum? Did most people take someone to bring them nutrient and other supplies, or did they take to sneak out and become the supplies themselves? How many people actually lived through the state of war in hiding without being discovered?
The usual places to hide people in were the attics of homes. Others stayed in the woods or in sheds. People in hiding were always dependent on others for food; they could non do it lone. In Holland, 20,000 people went into hiding. Only 11,000 were not caught.
Students here are studying WW II and have noticed the symbol SS on the sleeves of the Nazis. What does that stand up for?
SS stands for "Schutz Staffel," which means "Protection Flying" or "Defense Squadron."
Did the Germans carry guns when they searched?
The Germans always carried guns when they searched places.
What was the pct of the people in Holland that persecuted the Jews? If you didn't know the Franks, would you have all the same helped other Jews?
About 2 or 3 percentage of the Dutch people were Nazis or in support of them. Many others were indifferent to the fate of the Jews and preferred to look abroad from it. If other Jews than the Franks had asked for help, I would, of grade, helped them besides. Actually, my husband did such in several cases.
How did the treatment of the Jews compare with the handling of the Christians who helped the Jews?
The Dutch who helped the Jews were also sent to a camp, simply with a milder government than the camps for Jews. My male office colleagues were put in such a camp and both survived.
Was Hitler liked at offset and and so later hated for his meanness?
Initially many liked Hitler. Germany was economically in very poor shape and people (like many tend to exercise as well today) were looking for somebody to blame for the misery. Hitler offered the Jews every bit scapegoats and that certainly made him popular. He also promised jobs at the cost of the "non-Aryans" (the non-Germans). Hitler promised to take their civil rights abroad, like he did soon afterward he came to ability. For instance, the Jews, who were German citizens, lost this position overnight. Today we call this indigenous cleansing. In may places, all over the world, lots of people once again support the idea of having immigrants thrown from the country.
How has Holland inverse since the finish of Earth State of war II?
I hope and believe that many Dutch people will be more helpful in the futurity than they were during the Holocaust. Only 11,000 Jews were safely brought through the war. The others, virtually 105,000, perished and that could have been a considerably lower effigy if all Dutch people understood their responsibleness to help.
Do you call back it's possible for something like this to happen again?
I certainly think that another Holocaust can happen again. It did already occur, think of Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia.
What message should the young people of today pass on about Anne's story?
The bulletin to take from Anne'south story is to terminate prejudice and bigotry right at its beginning. Prejudice starts when nosotros speak about THE Jews, THE Arabs, THE Asians, THE Mexicans, THE Blacks, THE Whites. This leads to the feeling that all members of each such group think and human action the aforementioned. That results in prejudice. Lumping entire groups of people together is RACISM, considering it denies the fact that everyone is an private. Even our own brothers and sisters or parents are non exactly like we are. So how do we dare to lump unabridged groups of people together? If any German language had e'er asked Anne to tell something about herself, I think she would be nevertheless with us today. However, nobody asked: she was just a Jew! Therefore, never base your opinion near everyone else on the color of that person'southward pare, or on the passport that a person carries, or on the family that person comes from, merely only on what the person says and does and on NOTHING ELSE.
If y'all could, would yous ever speak to the neo-Nazis that alive in Germany today? What would y'all say to them?
I would urge them to realize that racist ideas caused the death of Anne Frank, an ordinary and innocent child, and too the death of millions of people.
Anne Frank
When was Anne's birthday?
How long did you know Anne?
I knew Anne since 1935 when Otto (my dominate since 1933) invited me to come to his home to run into his family.
What was your human relationship with Anne Frank earlier the state of war? Did you ever think that the Nazis would find out and impale you and your family?
A very superficial one. She was but a child, who I did not pay much attention to. I saw her at her dwelling, when I visited with her parents. Sometimes she would come with friends to my office and play with the house phone. I was deeply disappointed that and then close to the stop of the war the Nazis found Anne. Earlier that I was rather convinced that we would make it. Being probably killed myself by the Nazis never crossed my mind. If I was ever concerned, information technology was about the people in the hiding place.
What type of person was Anne Frank? Was she nice? Was she fun to be with?
I would describe Anne as an ordinary, normal young girl earlier she went into hiding. I saw her as a friendly, cheerful, fun-loving, and somewhat loud girl, with very curious optics. Later going into hiding her eyes grew gradually pensive as well. Although she loved to talk, she would immediately be silent, if someone else would speak, observing that person very closely.
Did Anne similar to do some of the hobbies children her age exercise, like playing sports and doing crafts?
Anne was not actually a sports daughter. As a matter of fact, she was non what you would call a potent or sturdy person. As far as I know she was not doing crafts, but enjoyed working at her diary and writing brusk stories. She also liked illustrating them. Further she took a neat involvement in movies and actors.
Where did Anne go to write her diary? How did Anne keep the others from reading her private data?
Almost times Anne wrote her diary in her bedroom. This room she had to share with the dentist, so she had to work out an organisation with him. From her diary nosotros know that this was non e'er easy, because Dussel could not imagine that a young girl really needed a workplace. During the weekends her father allowed her to go downstairs and sit in his old role. This space was not part of the hiding identify. Its piece of furniture was not taken abroad later on their arrest; therefore, the chair that Anne had been sitting and the desk at which she was writing are still there. Anne had a briefcase where she kept her diary that could be locked. The edited version contains also some very private parts, but there was some more to information technology. In the edited version, most of her unpleasant remarks about her mother were left out and too the rather graphic (but delicate) description of her developing trunk and sexuality. Furthermore, her business organisation about the position of women (entered the day after her xvth birthday) was initially not included.
Was Anne always as cheerful as she was in her diary?
I would depict Anne as an ordinary, normal immature girl before she went into hiding. I saw her equally a cheerful, fun-loving, and somewhat loud girl, with curious optics. Later on going into hiding her eyes grew gradually pensive equally well. Although she loved to talk, she would immediately be silent if someone else would speak, observing that person very closely. My funniest retention of Anne Frank is going to the cranium in the morning to option up the shopping list. All of the people would silently stand in line, waiting for me to begin, except for Anne, who would always break the silence past saying, "Hi Miep, and what is the news?" Her female parent strongly disliked that, knowing that the other people in hiding would afterwards arraign Otto for what they would telephone call "the result of a as well liberal upbringing." A sad retentiveness I have is one mean solar day when I entered the hiding place and found Anne writing in her diary. She felt her privacy driveling and probably thought that I was spying on her. She closed her diary with a blindside and gave me a hostile look. Her female parent came in and said, noticing the tense situation betwixt the ii of u.s.a., "Y'all should know, Miep, that my girl is writing a diary." I did not know that; I was the one giving her blank paper, after she had run out of space in her petty diary. Anne stood upwards, looked downwards on me and said, "And about you besides," so left the room.
How old was Anne when she went into hiding?
Anne was xiii when she went into hiding and 15 when arrested.
What memories exercise you lot accept of the relationship between Anne and Peter?
I never noticed a close relationship between Peter and Anne. One time Peter asked me to purchase flowers for Anne. That was the merely time I understood that Peter liked Anne.
Did Anne ever get very sick in the Annex? If so, what did she have?
The one time Anne needed a physician was when her eyesight became poor. She probably needed spectacles. I offered to bring her to a doctor, but Otto did not hold.
Was Anne ever scared?
Anne never told me that she was scared, simply from her diary nosotros know that she had such moments.
Did Anne talk to yous more than near happenings in the Secret Annex or were your conversations more centered effectually the progress of the war?
My discussions with Anne were mainly well-nigh the things going on in Amsterdam. She never talked or complained nigh the other people in the hiding place. About the progress of the war, Anne talked with her father. He was pretty well-informed because he secretly listened to British radio.
I've heard different stories about Anne. One is that she almost cost the Franks and the Van Daans their lives because of noises she would make. Could yous requite me an example of one and how did you endeavor to cover for it when other people heard information technology?
I strongly deny that Anne always made noise or threatened to practise so.
When did y'all find out that Anne had died?
In August 1945 a letter came for Otto Frank from a nurse who had been with Anne in the same function of Bergen-Belsen, telling him that his two daughters had died.
What twenty-four hour period did Anne die?
The precise engagement is non known. All we know is that she died some day in March 1945. She died of a illness called typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration military camp. I still have the letter of the alphabet informing Otto, written past the lady who was in the same campsite every bit Anne, telling him that Anne had died.
What would be different if Anne never existed or if she had lived through the Holocaust?
If Anne had never existed, nosotros would not accept had her diary that touched the heart and gave inspiration to millions and millions of people. If she had lived through the Holocaust, the question is whether she would have published the diary herself. I think she would have done so, just I am not certain. In my opinion, one thing is sure: She would have combined her writing skills and her power to observe, becoming a groovy journalist.
How sometime was Anne's female parent when she died?
Anne'south mother was only xl-four when she died in Auschwitz.
How do you think Anne would react to all of this attention and fame if she were alive today?
I think that Anne would take liked the fame if she were live. Already as a young girl she liked to be in the middle of her friends' attention. Maybe this could take changed after in life, merely not very probable.
What is the about outstanding retentiveness you accept of Anne Frank and the horrors of the war?
My most outstanding retentivity of Anne is coming together with her in the forenoon, when I visited the hiding identify to pick up the shopping list. Information technology is an enduring memory of Anne continuing at the top of the stairs and hearing her cheerful vox: "Hello, Miep, what is the news today?" The horror of the war I experienced nigh deeply was the twenty-four hour period that the Nazis came to abort the Frank family and their friends. Every year I stay at home on August 4, the day of their abort. I close the curtains and don't answer the phone or doorbell.
If Anne had lived, do you think that Anne would be as positive as she was?
I tin't answer the question about whether Anne would be just equally positive as she was in hiding. Speaking for myself, I am nevertheless optimistic about our future world. Also Anne'southward begetter kept basic confidence in people, and then Anne might have kept hers.
Are you proud of Anne for never losing organized religion?
I am proud of Anne, because notwithstanding her very difficult state of affairs, she always found the free energy and the perseverance to write her diary.
Exercise y'all miss Anne Frank?
Of course I miss her very much. She was always such an attentive listener to what I told her. I liked her intelligent questions. Therefore, I am grateful for her diary. Information technology is as if I hear her vocalisation again.
What were the final words Anne said to you before she got captured?
At the time of her abort, I was not with her. That morning I had seen her for the last fourth dimension, when I came to the hiding place to pick upwards the shopping list, as I usually did. At that time, she greeted me the manner she always did: "Hello Miep, what is the news today?"
If you lot were put in Anne Frank's position, how would you react?
Till today, I am impressed by the patience and perseverance of the people in the hiding identify. I actually wonder how I would have been under such circumstances. Would I have had the subject field and backbone to continue a diary? I wonder. Would I have been always so friendly and cheerful equally Anne was? I dubiousness it. I consider Anne and the others in hiding real heroes. Further, I believe the Franks could not do anything beyond what they had done. I also would have gone into hiding. There were no other options likewise obeying the German orders.
The Diary
After not wanting to take Anne'south diary published, what suddenly caused you lot to alter your mind?
I never opposed publication of the diary. Initially, I did oppose reading it considering I feared it would cause me just more than pain. This changed completely when I finally agreed to read the diary.
Did you lot have a role in publishing Anne's diary?
I had no function whatsoever in publishing Anne'south diary.
Is everything about the characters in the published diary true?
The characters equally Anne described in her diary reflect, of course, her opinion. I myself consider some of the people more than genteel than Anne did, like her female parent and the dentist Dussel.
Is everyone else in Anne Frank'due south diary alive?
I am the last 1 of the helpers still alive. Anne's friends Jopie and Lies (true names Jacqueline van Maarsen and Hanneli Pick-Goslar) are still living. Both travel regularly to the U.Southward. to speak at schools.
Why did Mr. Frank change the names of the people when he wrote the book?
Information technology was Anne (and NOT Otto Frank) who inverse the names of the people. Like other authors exercise too, Anne felt she should not use the real names. This gives me the feeling that she planned publication of the diary after the war.
Did you lot ever think at the time what an impact your deportment and Anne'southward diary might have?
I never foresaw the bear on Anne's diary — as well as my saving that diary — would have. I just picked it up in order to requite it to Anne when she would return.
How did your life alter after you institute the diary?
Afterward the diary was constitute by me and published past Otto, my life gradually inverse. I did a lot of travel worldwide to tell almost Anne. Hundreds of letters came to my hands every calendar month. I take almost become a kind of public holding.
How do y'all feel about the diary having go and then memorable, truly a archetype? Do y'all still have the original diary and photos of Anne Frank?
The diary became so important because it is the but retentiveness of Anne. Later the war I gave the diary to Otto Frank, the only one of the Frank family who survived the concentration camp. Otto Frank died in 1980 and donated the original diary to the Dutch government.
When you read Anne's diary, what came to your heed when you saw your name and realized that she had mentioned you?
I was moved to read my proper name in Anne'due south diary and the nice things she said nearly me. I was surprised that she had inverse the names of all the people, except mine. Did she feel too close to me to give me another name? I will never know, but it really touches me.
About Miep Gies
How did you experience at commencement with your adopted family?
How old were you when the Holocaust started?
I was xxx-iv when Hitler came to power and forty-ane when the Holocaust started.
Every bit a girl, did y'all ever imagine something like WW Ii happening?
As a kid I could never imagine that people would be so cruel towards others. Even during the war we refused to believe the reports about the gas chambers.
How did you experience about Hitler's ideas and rules?
I despised Hitler from the first day that he opened his oral cavity. He was a racist, hating all immigrants and other non-Aryan (non-German) people, like the Jews.
What was your job at Mr. Frank'southward manufacturing plant?
I was a secretary at Mr. Frank's office.
Did you ever feel like you were part of the Frank family?
In a certain fashion I felt very shut to my friends in hiding. Still I always looked up to the Franks equally the family of my dominate.
How did it feel to help many people who needed yous to survive?
I recollect that it creates a rewarding feeling to help people. Therefore, the more the improve. This, at to the lowest degree, I feel. Think of the many doctors and nurses who accept at a very low pay an uncomfortable (frequently fifty-fifty dangerous) task in faraway countries, but to assist people.
Weren't y'all terribly frightened during the time you hid Anne Frank? Wouldn't it be easier for you just to live your life as a German without this burden? What could you tell us today about caring for others instead of just thinking of ourselves?
Of form, initially life is more than comfortable if you stay out. You might silence your concern about injustice or cruel things happening to other people past telling yourself that those people should solve their issues themselves. It is a very selfish attitude, only, as I said, safe in the beginning. Simply, I could foresee that there would come up a day that my conscience would start to bother me. This would be a kind of burden. But like many people, all over the globe, are unhappy and restless today considering they did not assist the Jews during the Holocaust. Think for example of the ships with Jews that tried to enter the U.S. and were sent back! Then, my decision is that really thinking of yourself is ofttimes better served by making some sacrifices today than having a miserable life later, feeling remorse most the help you failed to give to those who needed you. By the way, I am built-in Austrian, not German.
How did it affect your family life to help Anne Frank and her family? Did it make you lot feel good?
Both Jan, my hubby, and I felt really grateful for the opportunity to aid them. It brought a lot of sense to our lives. Information technology is always nice to feel needed by other people. This, at least, is my agreement of living a worthwhile life.
How did your parents feel near you lot helping the Jews out in their predicament, and were they confronting you or were they with you helping the Jews hide?
My (foster) parents did not know most me helping the Franks. They might have worried. You would never talk with anybody virtually Jews in hiding. People may showtime talking about it to others. This was unsafe. There was a lot of expose. Of course my husband knew. He was my big helper.
Were there others that you helped? Where are they now?
We kept a non-Jewish educatee who was wanted by the Germans hidden at our abode. That person went to the United States. I don't know whether he still lives there, nosotros lost contact.
I am a 9-year-old Jew. I am very interested in learning about the Holocaust. How could y'all be so heroic if you were then agape? Did the Nazis ever find yous?
Even if you lot are agape, you can still find information technology more than important to do your human duty, and that is to assistance people who need more help. I don't consider myself heroic. To tell you, I was more afraid of the many sleepless nights and the unhappy life I would have afterward had I refused to aid.
How does it feel to be a hero?
I don't want to be considered a hero. Imagine immature people would abound up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your homo duty. I am afraid nobody would e'er assist other people, considering who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary.
Have you received whatsoever recognition for helping the Franks, Van Daans, and Dussel hide from the German language troops? Did you have to leave your country because of what you did?
I received recognition from Yad Vashem, from the German language Authorities, and from the Queen of holland. I have several medallions and even an honorary Ph.D.
What is your about valued memory from your past?
My most valued memory is Anne'due south diary.
Do you lot have any nightmares about this time?
I accept no nightmares, merely I can never forget what happened to my friends.
What are your husband'south and child's names?
My husband's name was Jan (Henk in the diary). My son's name is Paul. He was born in 1950 and lives with his wife and three (wonderful) children a half-hour drive from my home.
How did your husband die?
My unforgettable husband for over l years, Jan (Henk in the diary), died of diabetes in 1994.
How old are y'all now?
I am fourscore-eight now.
Where do you alive at present?
I accept lived for almost 70 years, until at present, in Amsterdam, holland. I have a small flat that I shared for 40 years with my married man Jan till he died in 1994.
Do yous feel that you are in another earth considering when you lot were young at that place were no TVs and at present yous're on the Internet?
Yes, we live in a dissimilar world today. Children who use the Internet are much meliorate informed than when I was young. Use this to your advantage.
If you had to hide the Franks again, would you do it?
Yep, I would help again. Although, some people (rightfully) state that I could have not saved Anne'south life, I nonetheless helped her to live another two years. During these years she wrote her wonderful diary, touching the heart of millions of people and inspiring them. Because I could rescue this diary, it was not a lost effort. From this we learn that it is e'er better to try. Certain failure results from not trying. My decision to assistance Otto was because I saw no alternative. I could foresee many sleepless nights and an unhappy life if I would refuse. And that was not the kind of future I wanted to for myself. Permanent remorse about declining to do your human duty, in my opinion, can be worse than losing your life.
What are the things you are most proud of that you take done to retrieve Anne? Where take you moved since the houses you lived in with Anne have become museums?
The affair I savor most having done is that I could save Anne'due south diary. Through her diary Anne is remembered by millions of people. She said in her diary that she wanted to live after her expiry. Through her diary this really happened. I did not alive at the place where Anne was hiding. She was staying in the identify where I served equally secretary. It was the edifice in which Otto Frank, Anne's begetter, had his business before he had to go into hiding with his family.
The Annex
Is the Annex still standing?
The Annex is certainly all the same continuing.
Is the business firm exactly as it was when Anne was in information technology?
Anne and her family unit stayed on ii floors in the Annex to the chief building. Those ii floors are exactly like they were when Anne was in it. The rest of the edifice has been remodeled to serve equally a museum. None of the article of furniture is at that place. They removed the furniture.
Thank-yous Notes to Miep Gies
Thank you lot for taking the time and effort to write back to the many children who have been touched by reading Anne's diary. Yous are truly a hero who so unselfishly gave of yourself to protect those who needed you. My class has been greatly impressed by you. Please receive our almost humble gratitude. It was a great way to end an fifty-fifty greater book.
Our literature course is studying Anne Frank right now. This online outcome could not have come at a better time. I found that this was a very useful experience for my classmates and me!
Thank you very much for answering my question. My question asked why you changed your mind about publishing the diary. When you lot answered it I found out that y'all never objected to it, it simply hurt you so much to read it. That really helped me to sympathize.
Surely the Time Will Come When We Are People Again and Not Just Jews
Source: http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/tscripts/miep.htm
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