Holocaust History Archived Page

The Birth of Anne Frank
June 12, 1929

Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on June 12, 1929 to Otto and Edith Frank.

She and her family moved to Amsterdam in 1933 after the Nazi’s gained power in Germany.

Anne was posthumously brought to fame by her journal The Diary of Anne Frank. In this journal she documented the temporary shelter in hidden rooms in her father’s Amsterdam office building.

In 1944, the hiding place of the Franks was revealed. They were arrested, and the women were moved to Auschwitz in September of this year. She was later transferred with her sister to Bergen-Belson. Her mother Edith was not transferred, and died of starvation at Auschwitz.

In March of 1945, a wave of typhus swept through Bergen-Belson. An estimated 17,000 prisoners died from typhus; Anne was among these victims. Sadly, had she survived several more weeks, she would have been liberated by British soldiers. Her father survived, and returned to Amsterdam. He found Anne’s journal had survived, and kept her journal. In 1947 he had the journal published knowing that her future dream was to be an author.

Her journal has since been translated into many languages, and has brought awareness of the Holocaust to millions of readers.

Photograph: Anne Frank - b. 6/12/1929