Miep Gies
Last night I watched Anne Frank Remembered on BBC4, a widely acclaimed and recognised, harrowing account of Anne Frank's years in hiding with her family from 1942-1944, in her own words. Betrayed on August 4th, 1944 the hunkered down family was picked up by German thugs in police uniforms during a raid on their hideout, leaving behind a diary that depicts the moving descriptions of an ever worsening situation through the eyes of a free-spirited girl entrapped by vicious circumstances imposed by the German machinery of death in Europe.
The broadcast - by sheer coincidence - was aired at the same hour as the person responsible for the discovery and safe-keeping of the diary died, just 3 weeks ahead of her 101st birthday.
Condolences go out to the family and friends of Miep Gies who died on 11 January 2010. She was the last surviving helper of the eight inhabitants of the Secret Annexe and the person who found Anne's diary after their arrest in August 1944. For two years Miep Gies helped the Frank family through the ordeal of hiding in confined space, providing food, clothes, books and learning material for the two Frank sisters as well as information on developments in the war - always under the threat of being herself uncovered and facing death for assisting Jewish in hiding.
Miep Gies was born in Vienna on 15th February 1909. She came to the Netherlands when she was 11 years old and in 1933 began work at Otto Frank's company Opekta. Following the invasion of Holland by the Nazis, and along with other helpers, Miep brought spiritual support and friendship to her Jewish friends in hiding.
"The helpers, who have managed to pull us through so far...never...uttered a single word about the burden we must be."
Anne Frank, 28 January 1944 (aged 15)
No comments:
Post a Comment