She loved writing and dreamed of becoming a famous writer one day. She named her diary, Kitty. Anne would write about everyday events in her diary; things that probably didn’t seem that important at the time, but that have helped us form a picture of what life was like during this incredibly difficult time in history.

In her final entry, Frank wrote of how others perceive her, describing herself as “a bundle of contradictions.” She wrote: “As I’ve told you many times, I’m split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things.

On Aug. 4, 1944, they went to investigate 263 Prinsengracht—the same building where Anne and her family were hiding—after receiving tips of fraudulent food-ration cards and illegal employment happening there. When they came to raid the building, they unexpectedly discovered Anne and the others.

761 days

Miep Gies

Anne Frank’s Family Goes into Hiding Margot Frank received a letter ordering her to report to a work camp in Germany in July 1942. Anne Frank’s family went into hiding in an attic apartment behind Otto Frank’s business, located at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam, on July 6, 1942.

about 450 square feet

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Germany

15 years (1929–1945)

Otto Frank

Miep Gies was one of the helpers of the people hiding in the Secret Annex. After the arrest, she kept Anne’s writings in a drawer of her desk. In 2010 she died, one hundred years old.

Deceased (1900–1981)

Otto Frank died of lung cancer on 19 August 1980 in Birsfelden and his ashes were buried in the town’s cemetery, where Elfriede would also be buried, in the same tomb, 18 years later. He was survived by his stepdaughter Eva Schloss, his sister Helene Frank and her two children.

In Anne Frank’s posthumously published diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, he was referred to under the name Mr….

Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl (15 January 1892 – 27 November 1945) was one of the people who helped to hide Anne Frank and the other people of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam. He was the father of helper Bep Voskuijl, who is known as “Elli Vossen” in the earliest editions of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Johannes Kleiman

Anne has to go into hiding in the Secret Annex When Margot received a call-up to report for a so-called ‘labour camp’ in Nazi Germany on 5 July 1942, her parents were suspicious. They did not believe the call-up was about work and decided to go into hiding the next day in order to escape persecution.

Kitty was the fictional character Anne eventually addressed all her diary letters to. The name Kitty came from a series of books Anne had read, by Dutch author Cissy van Marxveldt. These books were about Joop, a girl who had all kinds of adventures with her group of friends.

Bep was lucky to have the support of her father, who worked as a warehouse manager in the company, and who was soon informed of the Secret Annex. It helped her to share the burden of the secret. Bep applies for a correspondence course in Latin under her own name for Margot.

Petronella van Daan In her diary, Anne gave the Van Pels family the pseudonym Van Daan and called Auguste (Gusti) by the name Petronella. Auguste was born on 29 September 1900 in Buer near Osnabrück, Germany.

• CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS – DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.
• ANNE FRANK.
• MARGOT FRANK.
• OTTO FRANK.
• EDITH FRANK.
• MRS. VAN DAAN.
• MR VAN DAAN.