Family
Edith Frank-Holländer

Life in Frankfurt became increasingly difficult for the young family. The bank of the Frank family ran into problems due to the dire economic situation after the First World War. In 1932, the bank declared bankruptcy and was dissolved in early 1934. The already bleak situation for the family became oppressive with the rise of the Nazis, which impedes any professional prospects in Germany.
The threats against and persecution of Jews extended to the classroom. In spring 1933, access to schools was limited for Jewish children and they were allocated segregated school benches. Margot – who is now in the second class – is directly affected by these measures.

Edith and Otto decided to leave Germany with their children. While Otto established a branch of the German company Opekta in Amsterdam, Edith and her daughters temporarily moved to Aachen to Edith’s parents’ house. In December 1933, she and Margot joined Otto in Amsterdam, and in February, the parents sent for four-year-old Anne.

Edith found emigration to the Netherlands difficult. The family lived in confined conditions and she struggled with the new language. She remained in contact with her family and friends in Germany through regular letters. In March 1939, her mother, Rosa Holländer, managed to emigrate. Until her death on 29 January 1942, she lived with Edith and her family in Amsterdam.

Edith was an open-minded woman who educated her daughters in a modern way. She found a school in Amsterdam that was based on the methods of Maria Montessori for her lively and freedom-loving daughter Anne.
 

On 10 May 1940, the German army occupied the Netherlands. This marked the start first of the persecution and then of the deportation of Jews. On 5 July 1942, Margot received the compulsory summons for so-called labour duty in Germany, and one day later, the family goes into hiding in the secret annex in Otto Frank’s company building.

The Frank family lived in the secret annex - together with the three members of the Van Pels family (Hermann, Auguste and their son Peter) and the dentist Fritz Pfeffer - from 6 July 1942 until the hiding place was discovered by the Gestapo on 4 August 1944.
 

In her diary, the adolescent Anne frequently writes about the disagreements, conflicts, mutual lack of understanding, and the pessimism of her mother, which she wants to disassociate herself from. However, she repeatedly also describes her mother as an understanding and loyal woman who stands up for her daughters and protects them against verbal attacks from the other inhabitants.
 

One-and-a-half years after moving into the secret annex, Anne reflects on her disagreements with her mother:

On 4 August 1944, the eight inhabitants of the secret annex are arrested and taken to the Westerbork transit camp. There, Edith, Margot and Anne have to dismantle batteries during the day. One month later, on 3 September 1944, together with the other inhabitants of the secret annex, they are deported to Auschwitz on the last transport out of Westerbork. The train with the 1019 Jews being deported in cattle wagons takes three days and three nights to reach the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The women are separated from the men and taken to the women’s camp, where Edith looks for ways of keeping her children alive. Survivors later describe them as an inseparable trio. In late October 1944, Anne and Margot are deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
 

Edith, who remains in the Auschwitz-Birkenau women’s camp, dies in January 1945 of weakness and disease. Otto only learns of his wife’s death on his way back to the Netherlands after the end of the Second World War.