In what way did mr. kauphvies, miep,elli and menk help the in mater of the secret annex
Answers
It was not long after Otto Frank had asked four of his closest colleagues at the office whether they would be willing to assist his family and Hermann, Auguste and Peter van Pels if they were to go into hiding in the rear annex of the office building at Prinsengracht, that Margot Frank was summoned to report for the Arbeidseinsatz (work duty), in early June 1942. Immediately the Franks decided that now was the time to go into hiding. Miep and Jan went to the Frank family to help them prepare for their disappearance. ‘When we arrived at the Frank apartment, few words were exchanged. I could feel their urgency, an undercurrent of nearpanic. But I could feel their urgency, an undercurrent of nearpanic. But I could see that much needed to be organized and prepared. It was all too terrible.' Jan and Miep took as many clothes and shoes as possible to their own home, so that these could be brought to the Secret Annex at a later date.
The next morning, on Monday July 6, 1942, Miep went by bicycle to meet Margot at Merwedeplein, as planned. It was pouring rain. Margot mounted her own bicycle and together they rode off in the direction of the city center, like two colleagues on their way to work. They did not speak a word as they went, but steadily cycled along. They both realized that they had transformed from ordinary citizens into criminals. Miep was accompanying a Jewish girl, cycling on an illegal bicycle without a Star of David on her sleeve, on her way to go into hiding. Margot seemed as calm as ever, her face betrayed nothing. They had become accomplices, opposing the German occupiers.
Miep and Jan Gies in the Secret Annex, next to the bookcase that hid the entrance to the Secret Annex, around 1988
Miep and Jan Gies in the Secret Annex, next to the bookcase that hid the entrance to the Secret Annex, around 1988As soon as they arrived at the office, Margot disappeared through the door leading to the Secret Annex, and Miep sat down at her desk. One after the other her colleagues arrived, just like any other day at the office. Later that morning Otto, Edith and Anne came in, drenched by the rain. Miep received them and took them to the hiding place. In the afternoon Miep joined them there. ‘The situation was very upsetting. I wanted tot leave the family alone together. I couldn’t begin to imagine what they must be feeling to have walked away from everything they owned in the world – their home; a lifetime of gathered possessions; Anne’s little cat, Moortje. Keepsakes from the past. And friends. They had simply closed the door of their lives and had vanished from Amsterdam. Mrs. Frank’s face said it all. Quickly, I left them.' Click here for a video excerpt in which Miep Gies recounts the first day in hiding.