For decades, historians listed the date of her death as occurring on March 31, — a mere two weeks before the Bergen-Belsen camp was liberated by the American forces. The Dutch Red Cross interviewed many survivors and estimated the date of her death as occurring between March 1 and 31, Later, the Dutch authorities chose the official date of March 27 for Margot, who also perished from the disease, and March 31 for Anne.
But research conducted in by historians at the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam determined that the two Frank sisters probably died weeks earlier — in February of Typhus fever is caused by the microbe Rickettsia prowazekii. Long associated with filth, starvation and physical hardship, typhus has been known by many names across time. Rickettsia are transferred to human beings via body lice. Lice live in the seams of clothing worn by their human hosts. Cotton underwear is an especially favored site of louse settlement.
Indeed, an old-fashioned means of preventing lice infestations was to wear silk underwear because the lice were thought to have a more difficult time latching onto that fabric. Soon after taking up residence, these annoying creatures devote their existence to two pursuits — nourishing and reproducing themselves.
It is not long before the mother louse begins to lay five or more eggs a day, which hatch in a week or so. Four to six times a day, the body louse ventures out from the stitched seams they call home to bite their host and consume their favorite meal, human blood. The human host experiences the louse bites as annoyingly itchy and, with each stroke of a fingernail, microscopic fragments of the Rickettsia-laden feces find their way into his or her bloodstream.
Within days of infection, the typhus victim experiences intense muscle pains, headaches, nausea, thirst and raging fevers from to degrees Fahrenheit. A mulberry-colored rash develops all over the body, which are actually the result of tiny skin hemorrhages or bruises under the skin. The typhus victim soon becomes delirious and dizzy from the intense fever. The violent battle between life and death usually takes two to three weeks.
Before the advent of antibiotics, 20 percent or more died of typhus. In the Nazi concentration camps, without so much as adequate food or water, let alone medical care, it was far more fatal.
It has been long thought that the authorities acted after being tipped off by an anonymous Dutch caller. But a more recent theory is that the Germans discovered the hiding place by chance, while investigating reports that illegal work and fraud with ration coupons were occurring at the house.
The Gestapo sent the family to Westerbork transit camp on August 8. One month later, on September 3, , SS and police authorities placed the Franks and the four others hiding with them on a train transport to Auschwitz-Birkenau in German-occupied Poland.
This was the last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz. The transport arrived in Auschwitz two days later with 1, Jews on board. Men and women were separated. All of the Secret Annex residents were selected for forced labor. Like other Jews selected for labor, the women chosen from this transport, including Anne, Edith, and Margot, were tattooed with prisoner numbers. Records indicating their exact numbers have not been preserved. Although Anne Frank's death certificate documents her movement between camps, it does not include her tattoo ID number either.
Anne and her sister, Margot were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany in early November Anne Frank died at the age of Margot Frank died at the age of 19, also in February or March Both Margot and Anne died of typhus. SS officials also selected Anne's parents for labor. Anne's mother, Edith died in Auschwitz in early January Only Anne's father, Otto, survived the war. He was liberated from Auschwitz by Soviet forces on January 27, The diary of Anne Frank is the first, and sometimes only, exposure many people have to the history of the Holocaust.
Anne Frank's writings also included short stories, fairy tales, and essays. Otto Frank founded a food ingredient wholesale company in Amsterdam. In May , the Nazis invaded Amsterdam and the Franks were put on edge again.
Jews had to wear the yellow Star of David and observe a strict curfew. They were forbidden from owning businesses. Otto Frank transferred ownership of his company to Christian associates but ran it behind the scenes. Anne and Margot had to transfer to a segregated Jewish school, according to Muller.
Anne wrote, "After May , the good times were few and far between; first there was the war, then the capitulation and then the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble started for the Jews. On June 12, , Anne's 13th birthday, Otto gave her a red-and-white-checked notebook that she had previously picked out at a local shop.
Anne decided to use it as a diary. Her first entry reads, "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support. In July , Germans began sending Dutch Jews to concentration camps.
The family began making plans to go into hiding. Otto set up a hiding place in the rear annex of his firm, with the help of his Jewish business partner, Hermann van Pels, and his associates Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler, according to the Anne Frank House. The hiding place was at Prinsengracht, an area with many small companies and warehouses. On July 5, , Margot received a summons to report to a concentration camp.
The Frank family went into hiding the next day, a few weeks earlier than planned. For two years, eight people lived in the Secret Annex, according to Muller. In November , Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist and friend of the Frank family, moved in. Pfeffer is referred to as Albert Dussel in many editions of Anne's diary because she sometimes used pseudonyms. These individuals helped manage the business, which continued running in the front of the building, and brought food, other necessities and news of the outside world to the Jews in hiding.
The manager of the company warehouse, Johann Voskuijl, built a moveable bookcase that concealed the entrance to the Secret Annex. Anne wrote, "Now our Secret Annex has truly become secret.
Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrance to our hiding place. It swings out on its hinges and opens like a door. Voskuijl did the carpentry work. Voskuijl has been told that the seven of us are in hiding, and he's been most helpful. In her diary, Anne described the Secret Annex, saying it had several small rooms and narrow halls. Peter had his own small room, and Hermann and Auguste van Pels slept in the communal living room and kitchen area.
There was also a bathroom, a small attic and a front office. The front office and attic had windows that Anne peered from during the evenings. From the attic, she could see a chestnut tree, which inspired her to reflect on nature in her diary. The residents of the Secret Annex did a great deal of reading and studying to pass the time, including learning English and taking correspondence courses under the helpers' names, according to the Anne Frank House.
The residents followed a strict schedule that required them to be silent at certain times so the workers in the office wouldn't hear them. During the day, they flushed the toilet as little as possible, worried that the workers would hear. One of Anne's primary pastimes was writing in her diary.
She also composed short stories and a book of her favorite quotes. Anne wanted to be a professional journalist when she grew up.
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