Edith's youth
The Holländer family during the bar mitzvah of a cousin of Edith in 1912. Abraham, Edith’s father, is at the back, second from the left.
Edith Holländer was born on 16 January 1900 in Aachen, the fourth child of a well-off religious Jewish family. Her forefathers emigrated from the Netherlands to Germany at the end of the eighteenth century, which is why they were called Holländer.
Photos of the young Edith
Recently acquired photos show a young, carefree Edith.
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Edith and Otto
On 12 May 1925 Edith marries Otto Frank, eleven years her senior.
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Edith has two older brothers, Julius and Walter, and an older sister, Bettina. Bettina dies in 1914.
After leaving the evangelical Viktoriaschule in 1916 Edith works for several years in the family firm, a successful machinery and components, scrap metal, and old clothes and paper business.
Religion is important to Edith. She reads a lot, enjoys going to parties and loves beautiful clothes. Anne writes in her diary on 8 May 1944: ‘we’ve listened open-mouthed to stories of private balls, dinners and engagement parties with 250 guests’.
A festive gathering, around 1920. Edith is at the front on the left.