From Merwedeplein to Bergen-Belsen

1. From Merwedeplein to Bergen-Belsen Following Anne Frank’s Journey from Freedom to Her Death

2. Introduction: • We will be taking a field trip to Europe to visit many sites associated with Anne Frank. Our tour will begin at the family’s home in Amsterdam in the Netherlands where Mr. Frank moved his family to get away from the tension in Germany. • Please make sure you click on all the links so that you can get the full effect of the tour and complete your assignment correctly.

3. Before we leave the country… • Since we are planning a trip to a foreign country we need to visit the U.S. Department of State website so that we can research what shots and medicines we will need for our trip, download an application for a passport, and find out if there are any travel warnings. Make notes on what you find out, and complete the application for a passport. This is your first assignment. • U.S. Department of State http://travel.state.gov/

4. At the Airport… We will be flying out of the airport in Huntsville. To get there, we need the address where the airport is located. • Huntsville International Airport http://www.hsvairport.org/hia/index.html • Check your passports one last time to make sure everything is in order. U.S. Department of State http://travel.state.gov/ With our bags checked and our passport in hand, we head to the terminal to catch our flight to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

5. In Amsterdam… Our first stop after leaving the airport in Amsterdam will be the home where Anne lived as a child. The Frank family lived here until they were forced into hiding. Read the information on the next slide and watch the video During this video you will need to find the answer to two questions. • What was the name of Anne’s cousin with whom she played? • Who would be allowed to live in the home after it was restored? Why were they chosen?

6. 37 Merwedplein Amsterdam, Holland The window on the second floor (the one that juts out) is Merwedeplein 37, the home where Anne and her family lived before going into hiding. The following link will take you on a tour of the building. The participants speak Dutch; however, there are subtitles.

7. Statue of Anne Frank Anne Frank arrived in Amsterdam on the 5th of December 1933; she was just four years old. Anne would have some fairly carefree years at the Merwedeplein. The fact that she grew up here made her a famous Amsterdammer. The flowers at the foot of the statue are refreshed on a regular basis by the people who live at the square. Click on the link below to find the date and time the Frank family left their home. http://www.flickr.com/photos/poederbach/45284256/

8. The Secret Annex Click on the title “The Secret Annex” to take a tour of the place where Anne and her family hid for over two years.

9. Meet the Frank family. Mrs. Edith Frank Mr. Otto Frank Margot Frank Anne Frank

10. The others in the Secret Annex… Augusta Van Pels Hermman Van Pels In November 1942, an eighth person joins the people in hiding: Fritz Pfeffer. He was a dentist. Peter Van Pels

11. The helpers… Victor Kugler is responsible for the company, and he always brings the people in hiding newspapers and magazines to read. MiepGiessees to the food and all sorts of other necessities. Her husband Jan is also involved in helping the people in hiding. He arranges for ration coupons. BepVoskuijl sees to the food supplies, too. Under her own name, she requests correspondence courses for the people in hiding. Johannes Kleiman keeps the company going and is concerned with the safety of the people in hiding

12. Betrayed… • A little over two years after the Frank and Van Pels’ families went into hiding, someone disclosed their hiding place to the Gestapo. • After the arrest, the people in hiding and the helpers are brought to the German Security Police's jail on Euterpestraat in Amsterdam. • The helpers were released, and the other eight prepared for deportation.

13. First stop: Westerbork Westerbork is a transit camp: from here Jews, gypsies, and members of the Resistance in the Netherlands are deported to the concentration and extermination camps. • On August 8, 1944, the eight people in hiding are taken to Westerbork by passenger train. Because they did not report voluntarily, but have been arrested instead, they are assigned to barracks in the punishment block. They have to work all day breaking up old batteries. Even though it is grimy and unhealthy work, the prisoners can still talk to each other. Deportations • Freight trains filled with prisoners leave regularly for unspecified destinations in the East. A long list of prisoners names is read aloud on September 2, 1944. These people must depart the next day. The names of the eight people in hiding are also on this list. • What happened to the helpers when the families were betrayed? • What work were the families assigned and why?

14. The front gate of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On the morning of September 3, 1944, a very long train comprised of freight cars leaves Westerbork. There are more than 70 prisoners packed into each wagon. Among the 1,019 Jewish prisoners are the eight who were arrested in the Annex. On the platform at Auschwitz Birkenau, the men and women are separated. Nazi doctors divide the prisoners into two groups: prisoners who they consider fit enough to work and prisoners who will be killed immediately in the gas chamber. The eight people in hiding are spared. They are expected to perform heavy labor. After a short while, Hermann van Pels can no longer do this kind of work. He is murdered in the gas chamber.

15. Auschwitz-Birkenau • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrkEAFCUMOM

16. More of the eight die… • At the end of October 1944, Anne and Margot are transported from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen. Their mother remains behind in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Edith falls ill and dies of exhaustion in January 1945. Auguste van Pels arrives at Bergen-Belsen with another transport of prisoners in November 1944. There she meets Anne and Margot again. Auguste van Pels is only at Bergen-Belsen for a short while and probably dies during a transport of prisoners to Theresienstadt. Anne and Margot succumb to typhus in March 1945, a few weeks before the camp is liberated by the British Army.

17. Liberation of Auschwitz… • Otto Frank is liberated from Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Shortly before his release, the Nazis evacuate the camp. Prisoners, who can still walk, must go with them. Peter van Pels is among these prisoners. He arrives at the Mathausen concentration camp in Austria at the end of Janaury. The prisoners have to perform heavy labor. Peter van Pels dies of exhaustion on May 5, 1945.

18. Bergen-Belsen Prisoners of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, shortly after it is liberated by the British Army. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-RdYIhNEiw&feature=related Name the disease that finally kills Margot and Anne. Who is the last of the eight to die?

19. The Only Survivor… Who was the only member of the eight people from the Secret Annex to survive the imprisonment?

20. Return to Alabama… • Unlike Anne, her family, and millions of others in the Holocaust, we are free to return home. • In a paragraph or two, describe how this venture affected you and give three examples of something you learned from your trip.

21. What you should have completed… • Notes on traveling to a foreign country • Passport application • Passport • Scavenger hunt handout • Paragraph

22. Resources • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-RdYIhNEiw&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrkEAFCUMOM • http://www.flickr.com/photos/poederbach/45284256/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVuVPTLYRcQ&NR=1 • http://www.hsvairport.org/hia/index.html • http://travel.state.gov/ • http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?PID=449&LID=2