where Otto Frank continued his career as a businessman (Anne).
After the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940, life for AnneÆs family and other Jews became grim and frightening (Metzger 21). They were forbidden to go to cafes, parks, zoos, swimming pools and other public places. They werenÆt allowed to go to theaters, which was difficult for Anne because she loved the movies. Anne and her sister had to transfer to schools that had only Jewish children and teachers. Jews were not allowed to ride bicycles or to ride on the streetcars: they had to walk everywhere they went. In 1938, AnneÆs two uncles escaped to the United States (Anne). When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands, anti-Jewish decrees followed and AnneÆs sister was ordered to report to the Nazis. The FrankÆs could not escape because the borders were closed (Metzger 21).
The family went into hiding with four other friends in a sealed-off office flat in Amsterdam on July 9, 1942 (McCabe 18). Otto left behind a note with an address in Maastricht, a city in the south, hoping people would think the family was heading there en route to Switzerland, where people knew he had family (Metzger 21). The family had to leave most of their possessions behind, and Anne wrote in her diary, ôThe four of us were wrapped in so many layers of clothes, it looked as if we were going off to spend the night in a refrigeratorö (McCabe 19). The ôSecret Annexeö was a series of rooms on the top of an old office building, and the Frank family hid there for 25 months. Otto Frank has started a food supply business in the building which was in a crowded area of Amsterdam. Two non-Jewish partners ran the business and they and a few office workers risked their lives to help keep the family safely hidden. They brought the families groceries, books and news of the outside world whenever possible. OttoÆs business partner, Hermann Van Pels, his wife Auguste, and 15-year-old so...