Anne Frank: A Life From Beginning to End (World War 2 Biographies Book 6) by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Life in Hiding

“Although I’m only fourteen, I know quite well what I want. I know who is right and who is wrong. I have my opinions, my own ideas and principles, and although it may sound pretty mad from an adolescent, I feel more of a person than a child. I feel quite independent of anyone.”

—Anne Frank

The hidden abode that the Franks called home was beginning to become crowded. Not only were the Frank family and the van Pels family fulfilling room and board in the hidden annex, but in November of 1942 they received a new arrival in the form of a German dentist named Fritz Pfeffer. That made eight residents, and with such a full house, their secrecy depended on every single one of them living as discreetly as they could.

They had to make sure that they did nothing to tip off anyone—other than Otto’s personal associates—of their presence. As long as they kept it up, there shouldn’t have been any reason for anyone to notice their hidden living space. Seeming like something out of a movie, the main door to this secret home had been hidden behind a bookcase, which was attached to a special set of hinges that allowed it to be pushed back.

As for the few windows in the annex, these were all covered with blackout boards, which as the name might imply completely blacked out the windows so no one could see inside. This in itself would not have been unusual for the time. For a passer-by on the street to look up and see a few blacked-out windows on a building would have been a rather common occurrence since many building owners had already been directed to do so in order to thwart bombing raids from above. Everything in this sealed off residence had to be highly regulated in order to keep their location concealed.

This meant that during much of the daylight hours there had to be absolute silence from all residents. Even using the bathroom was off limits during the daytime lest someone was alerted to their presence by the sound of flushing coming through the pipes. Besides keeping quiet, the other hardship to handle was just how to divvy up the limited supply of food that had been previously stocked.

Otto’s secretary Miep was helpful in breaking up the monotony of canned goods by occasionally bringing fresh vegetables from the market, while other helpers brought milk and even on occasion a bit of meat. But as much as the residents appreciated these additions, every trip their benefactors made to the marketplace put them all at risk. If someone ever questioned why for example Miep—a young woman in her 20s—routinely purchased enough food for eight people, it may have been enough to launch an investigation. Everyone living under the oppression of the Nazi police state had to tread very carefully. Anything anyone did could have been seized upon as coercive or suspicious behavior and result in the Gestapo at their door.

Even so,

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