On 3 September 1944, the people from the Secret Annex were transported by train from the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands to Auschwitz-Birkenau in occupied Poland. With 1,011 other Jews, they were packed tightly in closed goods carriages. Two and a half days later, they arrived in the night.
They had to get off the train and leave their luggage behind. Men and women were separated. Auguste van Pels was separated from Hermann and Peter. It was the last time Otto Frank saw his wife and daughters.
Next, the Germans assessed which of the prisoners were fit for work. The people from the Secret Annex were deemed fit, but 371 of their fellow prisoners were not. They were sent to the gas chambers. The people from the Secret Annex were sent to the so-called Sauna, where a number was tattooed on their arm, and where they showered and dressed again in camp clothes or whatever else was available.
Edith, Margot, Anne, and Auguste stayed in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp and ended up in a barracks for forced labourers. Otto, Hermann, Peter and Fritz had to walk to camp Auschwitz I, three kilometres away. They were made to do heavy labour.