A new start
In the Netherlands, after those experiences in Germany, it was as if our life was restored to us. In those days it was possible for us to start over and to feel free.'
Otto Frank
Anne writes:
“Because we're Jewish, my father immigrated to Holland in 1933, where he became the Managing Director of the Dutch Opekta Company, which manufactures products used in making jam.”
Opekta
On September 15, 1933, he registers Opekta with the Chamber of Commerce. He finds temporary housing for himself at 24 Stadionkade and a space for his business at 120 Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, in the center of Amsterdam.
Edith looks for a house
While Otto is busy setting up his company, Edith, Margot and Anne stay behind in Germany with Grandmother Holländer who lives in Aachen. In the autumn, Edith commutes between Aachen and Amsterdam to look for living quarters for the family. She finds the family their new home on Merwedeplein in November.
The Merwedeplein in Amsterdam.
Margot comes to the new house
In December, Julius and Walter Holländer, Edith’s two brothers, bring Margot to Amsterdam. Anne wants to come too, but has to stay with her grandmother a bit longer. “Rosa [Grandmother] will have a hard time to keep her there for another couple of weeks," writes Edith in a letter to Gertrud Naumann, their former neighbourhood babysitter in Frankfurt am Main.
In the Netherlands, after those experiences in Germany, it was as if our life was restored to us. In those days it was possible for us to start over and to feel free.
Otto Frank
Anne as a Birthday Present
On 4 January, Margot starts attending the Jeker School, near the Merwedeplein. A few weeks later the family is reunited: Anne is brought to Amsterdam as a birthday present for Margot.
Anne Frank and Sanne Ledermann
Photo of Anne Frank and her friend Sanne (left) on the Merwedeplein. Amsterdam, 1935.