About the Holocaust

The infamous entrance to the Auschwitz death camp that reads, "Arbeit Macht Frei" translating to "Work makes one free."

"The word ‘Holocaust’ gets its origins from the Greek, meaning “sacrifice by fire.” The Holocaust is now defined as the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

The Holocaust was part of the result of “The Final Solution,” which was Dictator Adolf Hitler’s plan to eliminate Jews, as well as other minorities such as the disabled, beggars, gypsies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses among many others from the country so Germany could create a perfect race. In order to eliminate these groups of people, Nazis would capture them and send them to concentration camps where they would be worked and starved to death, or be gassed upon arrival if they were not considered fit to work.About six million people died during the Holocaust.

Who is Anne Frank?

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The Power of Anne's Language

During the time of the Holocaust, not many outsiders knew much, if anything at all about the extreme prejudices and torturous treatments of the Jewish, gypsies, beggars, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, opponents of Nazism, and other various minorities from the Germans. Anne Frank had a gift of writing, which in turn, helped educate the public by giving an inside view of what it was like being a Jew during the time of the war. She was surprisingly intelligent for a young girl, and you can see this throughout quotes of her writing. The fact that Anne’s diary consisted of the worries and struggles that the Jewish faced, as well as problems teenagers typically face as well, makes her diary not only a historical document, but also an emotional and heartbreaking true story that readers can identify with. In her diary, Anne Frank wrote, “I want to go on living, even after my death.” Her diary was translated into more than 60 languages and has sold over 31 million copies.

Inside the Secret Annex

In Anne's room that she had to share with Fritz Pfeffer, she pasted postcards and photos on the walls to make the living space more cheerful. Anne and Fritz also argued over the desk in their room. Both loved using it to write, read, study, and have quiet peace, but even though the room was originally Anne's, Fritz seemed to dominate the "desk time."
























Shaded in blue is the where the secret annex is located in Amsterdam. The annex was above Otto Frank's business.

The Holocaust Ends