The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank

Otto Frank decided to hide his family after his daughter Margot received a summons to report for transport to a Nazi labor camp in July 1942. With anti-Jewish laws tightening and the threat of deportation looming, Otto chose to move his family into the hidden attic above his office, known as The Annexe, trusting his office assistant Miep Gies and a small group of colleagues to help keep them concealed.

Earlier scenes show Otto's growing worry as Nazi occupation intensifies and anti-Jewish measures spread throughout Amsterdam.

Miep Gies was spared because she was born in Austria and held Gentile status, which protected her from arrest. The Gestapo officer who conducted the raid, Karl Silberbauer, was also Austrian, and this shared background influenced his decision to let her go rather than detain her along with the other helpers.

The film establishes Miep's Austrian heritage early as part of her background working in the office.

After the Gestapo arrested the hidden families on August 4, 1944, Miep and her husband Jan returned to The Annexe to salvage belongings. There they found Anne's diary scattered on the floor. Miep carefully collected it and kept it safe, refusing to read it, and later returned it to Otto Frank after the war ended.

Anne's diary is shown throughout the film as a private outlet for her thoughts during the months of hiding.

Miep attempted to bribe Gestapo officer Karl Silberbauer in an desperate effort to secure the safety of the arrested hiders. Despite the danger to herself, she went to the Gestapo office hoping to use money to influence the officer and potentially free Otto Frank and the others. The bribe was refused, and the families were taken to concentration camps.

Earlier scenes show Miep's courageous commitment to protecting the hidden families at any personal cost.

The film does not specify exactly who betrayed the location of The Annexe, leaving this question historically uncertain. What is known is that on August 4, 1944, the Gestapo arrived at the building and arrested everyone in hiding, including the Frank and Van Daan families, along with Mr. Kraler and Mr. Koophuis. The betrayer's identity remains one of the enduring mysteries of the Anne Frank story.

Throughout the hiding period, the film shows constant tension about keeping the secret, with every sound and visitor posing potential danger.

Edith Frank, Anne and Margot's mother, was arrested along with the other hiders and deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was murdered. Unlike her husband Otto, who survived the war, Edith did not survive the Holocaust.

The film shows Edith in The Annexe, struggling with the confined conditions and living apart from her husband.

Anne and Margot Frank, along with Mrs. Van Daan, were transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Both sisters, along with Mrs. Van Daan, perished there, though the specific causes of their deaths are not detailed in the film. Otto Frank clung to hope for his daughters until receiving confirmation of their deaths in 1945.

The film shows Anne writing hopefully about the future in her diary, unaware of the fate awaiting her and her sister.

Miep Gies, her husband Jan, and their colleagues Mr. Kraler, Mr. Koophuis, and Elli chose to hide the Frank family out of moral courage and friendship. Otto Frank was their employer and friend, and they could not stand by while his family faced deportation and almost certain death. Their daily acts of resistance, bringing food, supplies, and news, sustained the hidden families for over two years despite the constant danger to themselves.

Early scenes establish the growing danger of the Nazi occupation and show Miep's deepening concern for her employer's family.

When Otto Frank received the letter confirming that Anne and Margot had died at Bergen-Belsen, it shattered the hope he had clung to since the raid. In his grief, he turned to Anne's diary as a bridge to the daughters he lost, reading their words to reconnect with them. Miep, who had helped preserve the diary, read Anne's words aloud in memory of the family she had tried to protect.

Throughout the film, Otto maintains hope for his daughters' survival even as the war drags on and news grows bleaker.

The Van Daans, a family that had previously done business with Otto Frank, joined the Franks in The Annexe a few days after the Frank family went into hiding. Facing the same threat of deportation under Nazi anti-Jewish laws, they sought the safety of the hidden attic. Later, Albert Dussel, a Jewish dentist, also joined the group, adding to the crowded conditions but sharing the risk together.

The film establishes that Otto had business relationships with the Van Daans before the war, creating a basis for trust.

Jan Gies, Miep's husband, was a crucial part of the hiding operation. He worked alongside Miep to bring food, supplies, and news to the hidden families in The Annexe. After the Gestapo raid, Jan accompanied Miep back to the empty hideout, where they discovered Anne's diary. Jan also helped shelter Otto Frank after his return from captivity following the war's end.

Jan is shown as a quiet but steady presence throughout the film, supporting Miep's dangerous work.

After discovering Anne's diary in the abandoned Annexe, Miep chose not to read it because she believed Otto Frank would one day return and would want to read his daughter's words himself. Miep kept the diary safe, understanding its immense value to Otto as the only remaining connection to his daughters. She preserved it without reading a single word until handing it to Otto after the war.

Throughout the film, Anne is shown writing in her diary as a private journal of her experiences and hopes.

Mr. Van Daan was arrested during the Gestapo raid on August 4, 1944, and deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was gassed. His wife later died at Bergen-Belsen along with Anne and Margot Frank, making the Van Daan family another tragic loss in the Holocaust.

The Van Daans are shown sharing the cramped space of The Annexe with the Franks, adding to the tension and resource strain.