A day in the Secret Annex
The people in hiding are on a tight schedule.
The morning ritual
Usually, Hermann van Pels gets up around 6:45 AM, followed by the others. Between 8:30 and 9:00 AM the people in hiding must not make a single sound, because then the warehousemen start arriving. The office employess, the helpers, are still not in at this hour. Their workday begins at 9:00 AM. That is when the people in hiding go upstairs to eat breakfast in Hermann and Auguste van Pels room. Miep Gies takes a peek in the Secret Annex to see how things are going and immediately picks up the shopping list. Throughout the rest of the day, the helpers also sometimes drop in for a moment, to discuss a business matter or to deliver supplies.
The dining table in the shared living area.
The afternoon
Around 12:30 PM the warehousemen go home and the people in hiding can breathe a momentary sigh of relief. The midday meal is prepared and at 1:00 PM the people in hiding listen to the BBC news from London. At 1:15 lunch is ready. Bep Voskuijl often eats with them, Jan Gies is there most of the time, and either Victor Kugler or Johannes Kleiman also come upstairs. Once in a while, Miep Gies also drops by during lunch. Everybody returns to work at 1:45 PM. The dishes are washed and then it is time for an afternoon nap. Anne seldom sleeps, instead she uses this time to write in her diary.
'Nightly Freedom'
At 5:30 PM, Bep bestows the “nightly freedom” - as Anne calls this in her diary – on the people in hiding. The other employees of Opekta have gone home by then. Bep asks if there are any other groceries needed and then heads home herself at 5:45. The people in hiding spread out into the office space downstairs, until Auguste van Pels and Edith Frank announce that dinner is served. Exactly when dinner is eaten depends on what time the news is broadcast on the radio.
Sleeping
At around 9:00 PM, the beds are all readied for that night. After 10:00 PM, it is peaceful in the Secret Annex, but the people in hiding often have trouble falling asleep. Especially when there are shots being fired at Allied airplanes.
Margot sleeps on a fold-out bed.