Discover the harrowing journey of Anne Frank in Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen, revealing her tragic transformation during the Holocaust
Oswiecim: Imagine being just a teenager, standing there pale and shivering, forced to haul stones in the freezing cold while Nazi guards yelled at you. That was Anne Frank’s reality at Auschwitz.
She and her family were crammed into a freezing hut with barely any food. It didn’t take long for her to get sick with scabies, making it impossible for her to work.
Anne became famous after her father, Otto, published her diaries after the war. But before that, they had to hide for two years until they were betrayed.
When they arrived at Auschwitz, the family was split up. Anne, just 15, was one of the few not sent straight to the gas chambers. She stayed with her mom and sister, but her dad was taken away.
They stripped the prisoners, shaved their heads, and tattooed numbers on their arms. Anne’s lively spirit helped her get extra food for her family, but soon she fell ill and ended up in the infirmary.
Her mother, Edith, was so worried about her daughters that she stopped eating and shared her rations through a hole in the wall. Sadly, Anne’s family wasn’t sent to a labor camp with better conditions because of her illness.
Later, Anne and her sister were moved to Bergen Belsen, while their mother died at Auschwitz. Bergen Belsen was overcrowded and lacked basic sanitation, leading to many deaths.
When Anne arrived, she was put in a tent with other new prisoners. One friend recalled seeing her looking like a “walking skeleton,” wrapped in a blanket because her clothes were infested with lice.
It was heartbreaking to see how much she had changed from the cheerful girl she once was. Her friend said they had to grow up overnight just to survive.
Anne’s friend Hanneli tried to help her by throwing food over the fence, but it was snatched away, leaving Anne in tears. They promised to meet again, but sadly, that never happened.
Anne was placed under the command of a woman who, despite her harsh position, recognized that Anne was very sick. She remembered Anne saying she felt unwell but didn’t realize how dire her situation was.
As time went on, Anne’s health continued to decline. Friends recalled her standing there, wrapped in a blanket, with no tears left to cry. Just days later, Margot fell and died, followed by Anne.
Bergen Belsen became a place of horror, where thousands died from disease and starvation. The sisters likely passed away in early 1945, during a typhus outbreak that claimed many lives.
After the war, Otto Frank was the only family member to survive. He returned to Amsterdam and was given Anne’s diary, which he published in her memory. He later remarried and lived until 1980.
In total, around 52,000 prisoners died at Bergen Belsen, and their stories remind us of the horrors of that time.
