Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House, located at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, is one of the most significant museums in the world, dedicated to the memory of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who left an indelible mark through her diary, written during World War II while she was hiding from the Nazis. The story of the Anne Frank House begins with Otto Frank, Anne’s father, who in December 1940 moved the operations of his spice and pectin companies, Opekta and Pectacon, to this building. The ground floor was used for business operations, while Otto’s office was on the first floor. Behind this building, hidden from view, was the Achterhuis, or “Secret Annex.” This hideout was carefully prepared to accommodate the Frank family and four other Jews: the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer. Here, between July 1942 and August 1944, the Franks lived in hiding until they were betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo. The Achterhuis was accessible only through a narrow staircase hidden behind a revolving bookcase, a detail that testifies to the ingenuity and desperation of those times. The hideout was sparse, with limited space and few comforts, but Anne managed to transform her room into a small personal refuge, decorating it with pictures of movie stars and postcards. Anne’s diary, which she received for her thirteenth birthday on June 12, 1942, has become one of the most powerful and widely read documents of the 20th century. In this diary, Anne recounts her experiences, fears, hopes, and dreams of becoming a famous writer. After her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, her father Otto, the only surviving member of the family, published the diary in 1947, titling it “Het Achterhuis” (The Secret Annex). In the post-war period, the building was at risk of demolition, but thanks to an awareness campaign launched by the Dutch newspaper Het Vrije Volk and the formation of the Anne Frank Foundation in 1957, the site was saved and transformed into a museum in 1960. Otto Frank was instrumental in this process, wishing for the house to become a place of education and remembrance, to prevent such atrocities from happening again. Today, the Anne Frank House attracts over a million visitors a year. The museum experience is deeply moving and offers a journey through history with quotes from Anne’s diary, photographs, videos, and original objects. Among these is the diary itself, displayed along with other writings and the famous pictures that Anne had pasted on the walls of her room. The museum also includes exhibits dedicated to the Holocaust, discrimination, and human rights, emphasizing the importance of tolerance and the fight against prejudice and anti-Semitism. Otto Frank’s words still resonate today: “We cannot change what happened anymore. The only thing we can do is learn from the past.” Entrance to the museum is through a separate door at number 20 Westermarkt, a necessary change to manage the constant flow of visitors. Despite its popularity, the museum maintains an atmosphere of respect and introspection, in line with Otto Frank’s desire to use the past as a lesson for the present and future.