Through a Father's Eyes: The Life of Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich Frank (May 12, 1889 – August 19, 1980) was a German businessman who later became a resident of the Netherlands and Switzerland. The father of Anne and Margot Frank and husband of Edith Frank, Otto was the sole member of his family to survive the Holocaust. Living in Amsterdam, he and his family went into hiding in 1942 to avoid deportation from the Netherlands, which was occupied by Germany in 1940. Their hiding place in the “Secret Annex”—a cramped space that the Franks shared with four others—was betrayed by an informant, and they were discovered. Otto and his family were sent to Auschwitz, where they were separated. Otto never saw his wife and daughters again.
After Anne Frank's death in a concentration camp in 1945, Otto inherited her manuscripts and arranged for the publication of her diary as "Het Achterhuis" in 1947 (known in English as "The Diary of a Young Girl"). The success of the diary led to an English translation in 1952, a theatrical dramatization in 1955 and eventually the Hollywood film "The Diary of Anne Frank" in 1959. Otto Frank dedicated the rest of his life to the publication of the diary and the ideals his daughter had expressed in it. He died of lung cancer on August 19, 1980 in Switzerland.
She described herself as a little bundle of contradictions, a willful, lively teenager who clashed with her mother, worried about her changing body, who dreamed of a better future. And in the decades after she died in a Nazi concentration camp, Anne Frank would also become one of the world’s most famous writers—known for the diary she kept for two years in hiding during World War II. The story of Anne Frank and her family’s efforts to hide from the Nazis during the Holocaust has been repeatedly told on TV and film since the publication of Anne's diary in 1947. This diary is famous around the world as an eyewitness account that gives an insight into the persecution faced by Jewish people under the Nazi regime. We here at Hidden History recommend that if you haven't read The Diary of a Young Girl yet, please check it out online. A link will be available on our website that will allow you to access the book. Now if you're old school like this host, you'll want to order a physical copy of the book from Amazon or pick one up at your local bookstore.
The focus of this episode, however, is not Anne Frank, since her story is widely known. Today's episode is about the man who gave Anne her diary on her 13th birthday, the man who did everything in his power to protect his family as Nazi Germany's grip over the Netherlands only got stronger. This episode is about the man who arranged for his family and four others to hide in a secret attic hidden behind a bookcase for two years until they were caught and sent to concentration camps. The man I am referring to is Otto Frank, Anne's father, who was the sole survivor of his family after the Holocaust and who was responsible for getting Anne's diary published. In the diary, Otto is referred to by Anne as "Pim" and he was a loving father and husband who lost everything during World War II and yet somehow managed to return from the depths of hell in order to preserve the memory and the personal rights of Anne and the Frank family. His work after the Holocaust would also include the support of work relating to peace, young people and dialogue, the strengthening of human rights as well as opposing any form of discrimination, racism or anti-Semitism.
Otto's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of one man's determination to save his family from annihilation & the difficult path he would ultimately have to travel alone.
For the rest of Otto's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE NINETEEN of our podcast, Hidden History: An Odyssey Through Time
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Leni, Robert, and Herbert (back), Otto (front) in the garden in Frankfurt, Germany, 1901 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Eleven-year-old Otto Frank, Frankfurt, Germany, c. 1901 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto with his mother, Alice Frank, date unknown (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto, New York, around 1910 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto and his brother Robert, around 1915 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto as an artillery soldier during the First World War (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Edith Holländer, Otto's future wife, around 1918 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto and Edith Frank-Holländer's wedding party, Aachen, May 1925 (Courtesy of Anne Frank House, Amsterdam).
Edith and Otto on their honeymoon, San Remo, 1925 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto and Edith on their honeymoon, San Remo, 1925 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Edith and Otto with Margot, Frankfurt, 1926 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Edith and Otto with newborn Margot, Aachen, Germany, June 1926 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Anne shortly after her birth, Frankfurt, Germany, 1929 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto with Margot and Anne, 1930 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto with Margot and his nephew, Buddy Elias, enjoying winter sports activities in Switzerland, 1930 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot on her first day at school, April 6, 1932 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Passport photo (with weight) of Edith with Anne (left) and Margot (right), shortly before leaving for Amsterdam, Frankfurt, 1933 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot, Anne, and Edith with Mrs Schneider at the beach, Zandvoort, the Netherlands, 1934 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto with his employees. They were the most important helpers during the time in the secret annex. Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Otto Frank, Victor Kugler, and Bep Voskuijl (from left to right). Jan Gies is missing from the picture. Amsterdam, around 1935 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot, Amsterdam 1935 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Edith with Anne (left) and Margot (right) in Sils Maria, Switzerland, 1936 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Anne Frank, Amsterdam, May 1937 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Fritz Pfeffer, around 1937. Fritz was one of the eight people who hid in the secret annex for two years with the Frank family (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot in Amsterdam, 1939 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot, Otto, Anne, and Edith in Merwedeplein, Amsterdam, 1941 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto wrote this letter to his friend, Nathan Straus Jr., to ask for assistance immigrating to the United States with his wife & daughters, April 3, 1941 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Auguste and Hermann van Pels at the wedding of Miep and Jan Gies, Amsterdam, 1941. Hermann and Auguste, along with their son Peter, were among those who hid in the secret annex for two years with the Frank family (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Peter van Pels, Amsterdam 1942. Peter was one of the eight people who hid in the secret annex for two years with the Frank family (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Margot, shortly before going into hiding, Amsterdam, May 1942 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Anne in May 1942, shortly before going into hiding (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Double page of Anne's diary, September 28, 1942 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Double page of Anne's diary, October 18, 1942 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
After the Allied landings in France on June 6, 1944, Otto kept track of their progress by sticking pins in this small map (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Carte de Rapatrié; Otto Frank needed this document to travel from Auschwitz, via France, to Amsterdam (Courtesy of Anne Frank Foundation, Amsterdam).
Otto and Elfriede (Fritzi) Geiringer-Markovits at their wedding, Amsterdam, 1953 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
Otto and Fritzi pose in Lucerne, Switzerland with actress Audrey Hepburn, they were trying to convince her to play the role of Anne in the movie being made (Courtesy of USHMM).
Otto and Fritzi Frank in Switzerland where they settled after the war, around 1960 (Courtesy of USHMM).
Otto Frank back in the attic of the Secret Annex, where he hid with his family and four others for two years during the Holocaust, May 4, 1960 (Photographer: Arnold Newman).
Otto Frank with a classroom of students in Italy, 1963 (Courtesy of the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel).
The final resting place of Otto Frank in Switzerland.
Otto Frank speaks about how he survived Auschwitz from September 1944 until January 1945:
The following video came out on May 10, 1976. BBC host Lesley Judd interviews Otto Frank - the father of Anne Frank - who has made a special visit to Britain to show Blue Peter viewers his daughter's original diaries. Valerie Singleton, meanwhile, reports from Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam on the story behind the diary:
The story of what happened to Anne Frank is among the most well-known of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. Her diary is the first encounter many people have with the history of Nazi Germany's attempt to murder all the Jews of Europe during World War II. Learn more about Anne below:
The following link will bring you to a PDF copy of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, which is available to read:
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