A Quick Biography of the Life of Anne Frank.
Exploring Amsterdam
The Frank Family's House
The Frank family lived in a small cramped space that Anne called the Secret Annex, located inside a multi-leveled warehouse/office to evade being killed by German Nazis. The warehouse was located along the Prinsengracht Canal, next to Westerkerk Church
Prinsengracht Canal
Prinsengracht is the third and outermost of the three main canals of Amsterdam. With three other canals that took 50 years to build, they form the fourth overlay of the city. The Secret Annex was located along this canal, which Anne would comment on infrequently in her diary.
Nuremberg Laws
- Marriage between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood are forbidden. Marriages nevertheless concluded are invalid, even if concluded abroad to circumvent the law. Annulment proceedings can be initiated only by the State Prosecutor.
- Extramarital intercourse between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood is forbidden.
- Jews may not employ in their household female subjects of the state of German or related blood who are under 45 years old.
- Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich or National flag or to display the Reich colors. They are, on the other hand, permitted to display the Jewish colors. The exercise of this right is protected by the State.
- Any person who violates the prohibition under I will be punished by a prison sentence with hard labor. A male who violates the prohibition under I will be punished with a prison sentence with or without hard labor. Any person violating the provisions under III or IV will be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine, or with one or the other of these penalties. The Reich Minister of the Interior, in coordination with the Deputy of the Führer and the Reich Minister of Justice, will issue the Legal and Administrative regulations required to implement and complete the Law. The Law takes effect on the day following promulgations except for III, which goes into force on January 1, 1936. Nuremberg, September 15, 1935 at the Reich Party Congress of Freedom.
The Nuremberg Law was an act passed by German Nazi's the excluded Jews from many aspects of German life. On top of this, it took away most of their natural rights. One example of this law was that Jews could not marry Germans. Another is that Jews could not represent the Reich, and they were not considered German citizens. Basically the reason that the Nuremberg Laws were made, was to isolate the Jews so that when the tie of the holocaust drew near, killing them wouldn't seem like genocide.
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of exagerration used to promote everyday ideals and causes through manipulative messages. These messages can be conveyed through any everyday thing, such as television, computers, press, billboards, street names, posters, etc. Propaganda exists in almost everything we see or do. For example, in the recent presidential election between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump both candidate's Pr Teams spewed out an almost never-ending amount of propaganda promoting each president through their strengths, and never their weaknesses. This plays on the reciever of the propagandas perception of the electorate, making them believe false truths. In the same election, in every debate both HIlary and Trump targeted each other with threats and insults. One of the most prominent of these was when Trump said to Hilary that if he became president, he'd put her in jail. This was just a form of propaganda to rile up the crowds.
Characters
Otto Frank
Otto Frank was born in Frankfurt Germany on May 12 1889. He had three siblings, an older brother, Roberts, a younger brother Herbert, and a sister Helene. As a boy he was drafted into the military and was promoted to rank of army lieutenant after two years. During his stay in the Secret Annex, he was their leader and the glue that held the people together. He was also the only sole survivor of all the people in hiding after the war. After the war was over, he came back to the Annex and found Anne's diary which was published in the Netherlands. He died in Basel, Switzerland peacefully on August 19, 1980.
Fritz Pfeffer
Fritz Pfeffer was a Jewish boy born on April 30 1889 in Giessen, Germany. He had a relatively normal childhood, and studied to be a dentist in Berlin after graduating high school. After achieving his degree, he married Vera Bytiner, who divorced him 4 years later, leaving him with his only son, Werner Pfeffer. A few years later, he met Charlotte Kalletta. However because of the newly instated Nuremberg Laws, they are prohibited to marry. Before going into hiding into the Secret Annex, Pfeffer sends his son Werner to England on a children's transport. After the people residing in the Secret Annex aren't prepared for another person, he has to share a room with Anne, due to the fact that it wouldn't be "proper" if he did the same with Margot. Anne quickly comes to despise Pfeffer, especially when he hogs the Annex's only bathroom for much longer than is allowed. In the publishing of Anne's diary, Pfeffer, name was changed to Dussel to protect the rights of his descendants. After, the people in hiding are found out, Pfeffer died in the Nazi death camp of Neuengamme on December 20, 1944.
Peter Van Pels
Not as much is known about Petrer Van Pels as there is about Fritz Pfeffer, Otto Frank, or Anne Frank. There are only a few photos of him and information about what he did before the Holocaust is limited. However, what I do know is that he was born on November 8 1962 near the Dutch border, he had a very shy personality, (as is evident from Anne's diary entries, and had no siblings. When Peter when into hiding with the Franks, similar to Fritz Pfeffer, he was called Peter Van Daan instead of his true name of Peter Van Pels. According to the play and to Anne's diary (but to a lesser extent) Peter fell in love with Anne a year and a half after they went into hiding and gave Anne her first kiss. After the residents of the Secret Annex were caught, Peter was sent tonumerous concentration camps. He died in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria on May 10 1945.
Anne Frank
Anne Frank was the daughter of Otto and Edith Frank. She was born in Frankfurt Germany She had one sister, Margot who was three and a half years older. Her family moved to Amsterdam when she was a young child. She was given her diary as a present on her thirteenth birthday. Later that same year she went into hiding in the secret annex, and had just turned fifteen when the residents of the Secret Annex were caught. According to her diary, she greatly matured in that time period. Also according to her diary, she also had much deeper feelings and thoughts on the inside than she showed on the outside. When the people in the Secret Annex were exposed and caught. Anne was taken to the Bergen Belsen concentration camp along with Margot. She and Margot both died of they disease typhus on February 1945.
