Exhibition Anne Frank - her life in letters - the official Anne Frank House website

Anne Frank - her life in letters

Special exhibition in the Amsterdam Historical Museum

April 12 thru September 3 - 2006

Before Anne Frank began to write in her diary, she was already regularly writing cards and letters to family and friends. Some twenty of these original letters are being put on public display for the first time, and in addition a wealth of information is given on Anne Frank’s life before she went into hiding. The exhibition tells the story of a girl who – against the background of a city in wartime – developed into an internationally acclaimed author.

Exhibition visitors are first introduced to a still carefree Anne, who goes to school and plays outside with her friends.

Anne Frank with friends on the Merwedeplein square, April 1935. From left to right: Sanne Ledermann, Hanneli Goslar, unidentified, unidentified, Anne Frank, Margot Frank, unidentified, unidentified.

A letter from Anne Frank to her grandmother Alice Frank-Stern and the Elias family in Basel, Switzerland, June 1941.

Gradually, we see how Anne, her family and other Jews become increasingly isolated from Amsterdam society.

We read about the anti-Semitic measures, and the looming deportations.

Photos, documents and artefacts bring the atmosphere of the city in wartime to life.

Survivors and other witnesses tell of their experiences in that time, and of their memories of Anne Frank.

The Anne Frank – her life in letters exhibition is a co-production of the Amsterdam Historical Museum and the Anne Frank House. The exhibition can be seen in the Amsterdam Historical Museum until 3 September.