The Anne Frank house:

When I was thirteen, I read the Diary of Anne Frank and I was fascinated by her thoughts and the way how she wrote them down. I often tried to imagine how the “house” looks like and that it was possible for eight people to live there for more than two years.

Now on our trip (1st of April, Amsterdam), I could finally see it in reality!

The house is now under the Anne Frank Foundation. You can go through all the rooms and get a lot of information about the life of the hidden people and in general about the time (Second World War).

Through the halls of her fathers company you come to the offices of the employers and helpers. Then you go upstairs on a very narrow staircase up to the small room with the famous bookshelf. When I was standing in front of that bookshelf I felt exited. What will be behind? “Now I am right to enter Anne Frank’s world”.

And I was shocked in some way...I haven’t thought that the rooms are so small, especially the so called “big” living room which was used as a kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom forHermann and Auguste van Pels.

I also can’t imagine how Anne, “survived” to live in such a small room with Fritz Pfeffer, a 53 year old man! It was a strange feeling to stand in her room and to think that 60 years ago she was sitting there writing her diary!

Unfortunately there were no furniture any more in the rooms, but they showed pictures and books etc.

After you went through the rooms there is an exhibition about their life after they have been betrayed. They were sent to different Concentration Camps, where all of them, exempt the father, died. Anne Frank died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945 only a view month before the liberation.

In another room you get information about the publication of the diary. Unfortunately we could not see the original diary because of reconstruction works at he exhibition room.

In the end is, as usually, a shop, where you can buy the diary and other books in many different languages (It is translated into 55 languages).

I am happy that I had the opportunity to see the house and I think everybody should read her diary!

The next activity we made on that day, was a beautiful Canal tour through the “rivers” (the so called Grachten) of Amsterdam...but that’s an other story ;-)

Andrea