Anne Frank Home, Amsterdam, Netherlands
(first two photographs by J. Gerencher)

Prior to the start of World War II, the Frank family fled to Holland for safety, but subsequently the German army invaded and occupied Holland.  The Frank family went into hiding in July of 1942 and were maintained there for more than two years by friends.  After the D-Day invasion, as the allies were advancing westward toward Holland, the Germans discovered the Frank family in hiding and, a month later, deported them to Auschwitz.  In 1944, Anne and her sister, Margot, were transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where they both died, apparently of typhus.

Amsterdam with its canals, boats, and tall houses.

The Frank house, as viewed from across the canal.

Entrance to secret Frank family quarters,
covered (left) and uncovered (right) by bookshelf.