Childhood

To the Hiding Place

“I was stunned. A call-up, everyone knows what that means. Visions of concentration camps and lonely cells raced through my head.”

Anne Frank

The rumors that Jews must go to Germany are true. Just
like thousands of other Jews living in Amsterdam, Margot Frank receives a call-up on July 5, 1942. The Nazis plan to send the people they have summoned to work camps in Germany. The entire family will be arrested if Margot does not report.

Secret Hiding Place
Her parents have expected such a call-up: the secret hiding place is almost ready. Not only for their own family, but also for the Van Pels family: Hermann and Auguste and their son Peter. Hermann van Pels is co-director of Otto Frank’s company. The next day, the Frank family immediately leaves for the hiding place. All of them carry bags filled with their things. Naturally, Anne brings her diary. Much later, she will look back and write: “My happy-go-lucky, carefree school days are gone forever.”