Most people know about the diary of Anne Frank and the Jewish girl in the Netherlands who wrote it.
My Friend Anne Frank will give you a new perspective about Anne and the true story of her best friend and Holocaust survivor Hannah Goslar. This is another survivor story that must be told. My Friend Anne Frank is heartbreaking. It is also an inspiring story of resilience during devastating circumstances. This book was published after Hannah's death in 2022 at age 93.
Hannah reminds us that “nothing in life is permanent. A quiet, loving, comfortable existence can be stolen away by the powerful forces of hate.”
Hannah describes her close friendship with Anne from childhood games to school, and the occasional squabble between friends. When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, life would never be the same for them. “We felt the significant shift underfoot: the process of identifying and isolating Jews within Dutch society had begun.”
By 1940, anti-Jewish restrictions took hold: Jews were no longer allowed in hotels, restaurants, other recreational facilities, and had to wear a yellow star. Nazi propaganda was everywhere, and radios were banned. Information came from illegal listening to British and American programming or underground, uncensored newspapers.
The 6th Montessori School in Amsterdam,where both Hannah Pick-Goslar and Anne Frank attended, was renamed for Anne Frank in 1957.
Hannah describes Dutch society and the devastation of war. Recounting Anne’s birthday, just before the Franks went into hiding, Hannah writes, “It was to be the last party where we were all together. One of the last happy, carefree times for us as children on the cusp of our teenage years. Or at least, it was for me.”
Hannah’s book is the book Anne could have written had she survived the war. Readers share Hannah’s experiences, from her family’s deportation to her liberation from Bergen-Belsen and her life following the war. Hannah lived the life her best friend never got to live. Hannah honors Anne while telling her own inspirational survivor story.
Katie writes for a digital marketing agency. She grew up at Faith Bible Church and serves in Aspiring Women and as a writer for Living Faith magazine.
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