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Who Is Otto Frank?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOtto Heinrich Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 12, 1889. He was the second of four children born to Michael and Alice Frank. He was raised as a liberal Jew in an upper-middle-class family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Otto studied at the Heidelberg University and traveled to the United States to work. One of his work experiences was in the famous Macy\u2019s Department Store, thanks to Heidelberg University classmate Nathan Straus Jr., who later became a journalist and politician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t the only time Otto would be calling Straus for help getting to the U.S.\u00a0Otto left the U.S. in 1909 because of his father\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOtto was drafted for military service in August 1915 to serve in the First World War<\/a>. Otto\u2019s two brothers also served in the Imperial German Army. Otto ended his service as a lieutenant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nAfter the war, he worked at a bank that the Frank family managed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On May 12, 1925, Otto married scrap metal business heiress Edith Hollander. The couple had two children: Margot, who was born on February 16, 1926, and Anne<\/a>, who was born on June 12, 1929.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/otto-frank-and-family.jpg\")
Otto Frank and his family. From the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel, Switzerland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWorld War II<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAdolf Hitler established an absolute dictatorship<\/a> in Germany in 1933. Without rhyme or reason, Jews were stripped of their wealth and dignity. Many were killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThat year, Otto took his immediate family to Amsterdam, hoping they would be away from Nazism. He worked as the Amsterdam agent for Opekta, a pectin and spice company. In 1938, Otto opened his own spice business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands<\/a>. Because he was a Jew, Otto was no longer allowed to own a business in occupied Amsterdam. He transferred control of the company to his employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEven before this invasion, Otto tried to get UK visas for his family but failed. He also wrote to his old college friend, Straus, to ask for help getting visas to the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letters Otto and Straus exchanged were published in a book titled For the Sake of the Children: The Letters Between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus Jr.<\/a> <\/em>At the time, Straus was the administrator of the United States Housing Authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nOne of the letters read<\/a>: \u201cI am forced to look out for emigration and as far as I can see the U.S.A. is the only country we could go to. Perhaps you remember that we have two girls. It is for the sake of the children mainly that we have to care for. Our own fate is of less importance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nStraus tried to help Otto, but when Germany invaded the Netherlands, no embassies could process the family\u2019s documents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One nation granted Otto a visa: Cuba. Unfortunately, it was for him alone, and he would have been forced to leave his family behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anne Frank\u2019s Diary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe family was left without any other option but to hide. Margot had already received a summons for labor duty in Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Otto brought his family to the attic of the building where his former spice company operated. They lived behind a concealed bookcase along with the van Pels, known as van Daans in Anne\u2019s diary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of everything that happened next was told in Anne\u2019s diary<\/a>. She wrote for two years, until the hiding place was discovered by German officials in August 1944.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nOtto was separated from his family\u2014he was sent to a men\u2019s concentration camp in Poland, while his wife and daughters ended up in a concentration camp in northern Germany. Edith died from sickness on January 6, 1945, just three weeks before the camp was liberated. Margot and Anne<\/a> died a month later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nOtto was liberated on January 27, 1945. He returned to Amsterdam to look for his family but soon learned he was the sole survivor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of Otto\u2019s friends saved some of the things the family left at their hiding place<\/a>, including photographs and Anne\u2019s diary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anne_Frank_passport_photo_May_1942.jpg\")
The last known photograph of Anne from May 1942<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOtto read Anne\u2019s diary. Soon, he began transcribing and sharing it with family and friends, who persuaded him to publish it. They agreed that Anne\u2019s musings were too important not to share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Otto typed out the contents of Anne\u2019s diary and turned it into a manuscript. He edited out parts he thought should stay within the family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first edition of the diary was published in Dutch as Het Acheterhuis (The House Behind). It was translated into English and many other languages as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl or simply The Diary of Anne Frank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Otto was drafted for military service in August 1915 to serve in the First World War<\/a>. Otto\u2019s two brothers also served in the Imperial German Army. Otto ended his service as a lieutenant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the war, he worked at a bank that the Frank family managed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 12, 1925, Otto married scrap metal business heiress Edith Hollander. The couple had two children: Margot, who was born on February 16, 1926, and Anne<\/a>, who was born on June 12, 1929.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adolf Hitler established an absolute dictatorship<\/a> in Germany in 1933. Without rhyme or reason, Jews were stripped of their wealth and dignity. Many were killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That year, Otto took his immediate family to Amsterdam, hoping they would be away from Nazism. He worked as the Amsterdam agent for Opekta, a pectin and spice company. In 1938, Otto opened his own spice business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands<\/a>. Because he was a Jew, Otto was no longer allowed to own a business in occupied Amsterdam. He transferred control of the company to his employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even before this invasion, Otto tried to get UK visas for his family but failed. He also wrote to his old college friend, Straus, to ask for help getting visas to the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letters Otto and Straus exchanged were published in a book titled For the Sake of the Children: The Letters Between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus Jr.<\/a> <\/em>At the time, Straus was the administrator of the United States Housing Authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the letters read<\/a>: \u201cI am forced to look out for emigration and as far as I can see the U.S.A. is the only country we could go to. Perhaps you remember that we have two girls. It is for the sake of the children mainly that we have to care for. Our own fate is of less importance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Straus tried to help Otto, but when Germany invaded the Netherlands, no embassies could process the family\u2019s documents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One nation granted Otto a visa: Cuba. Unfortunately, it was for him alone, and he would have been forced to leave his family behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The family was left without any other option but to hide. Margot had already received a summons for labor duty in Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto brought his family to the attic of the building where his former spice company operated. They lived behind a concealed bookcase along with the van Pels, known as van Daans in Anne\u2019s diary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of everything that happened next was told in Anne\u2019s diary<\/a>. She wrote for two years, until the hiding place was discovered by German officials in August 1944.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto was separated from his family\u2014he was sent to a men\u2019s concentration camp in Poland, while his wife and daughters ended up in a concentration camp in northern Germany. Edith died from sickness on January 6, 1945, just three weeks before the camp was liberated. Margot and Anne<\/a> died a month later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto was liberated on January 27, 1945. He returned to Amsterdam to look for his family but soon learned he was the sole survivor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of Otto\u2019s friends saved some of the things the family left at their hiding place<\/a>, including photographs and Anne\u2019s diary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto read Anne\u2019s diary. Soon, he began transcribing and sharing it with family and friends, who persuaded him to publish it. They agreed that Anne\u2019s musings were too important not to share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto typed out the contents of Anne\u2019s diary and turned it into a manuscript. He edited out parts he thought should stay within the family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first edition of the diary was published in Dutch as Het Acheterhuis (The House Behind). It was translated into English and many other languages as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl or simply The Diary of Anne Frank. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWorld War II<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anne Frank\u2019s Diary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n