Product Description

Everyone knows the story of Anne Frank - the extraordinary diary that she wrote during her two years in hiding in the Secret Annexe. But few have even the sketchiest knowledge of how that story ended. Here, six women whose lives touched Anne Frank's in her final months tell their story - of the terrible journey east to Auschwitz, the daily privations and terror of the death camps, and of the friendships and courage that transcended even the most vile conditions. Anne Frank's story did not end with her last words in the Diary; it ended alone on a filthy floor at Bergen-Belsen. These women were the fortunate ones to survive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217243 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

A moving account of six women's struggle to survive.
I found this book to be a moving account of how six individual women, who all met Anne Frank either before the death camps or whilst they were there, survived the horrific conditions around them. At some points the recollections of these extraordinary women moved me to tears. Although the title of the book leads you to expect detailed information about Anne Frank whilst she was in Westerbork, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen it concentrates on the individual women's stories and only touches on that of Anne Frank. Even so this account is likely to provide the most accurate information available about Anne Frank whilst she was in the death camps.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about life in the Nazi death camps or who wants a clearer picture of the life of Anne Frank after she was arrested.

THIS WAS AN EYE OPENER
"How can I find tranquility
Years later, the tumult of the men resounds,
The swishing of their whips,
Above the people being pushed along,
And stamping of boots,
Cries of anguish.
I have seen so many go to a desperate death,
Across a dirt path, on which their weakened feet
Dragged them to the gate
Smoke cannot speak,
From the chimneys they slip out, formless above my head,
And are taken by the wind,
Robbed of their bones.
Since then, despite my clothes, I am naked.
And remain exposed to synonyms.
Therefore it is not tranquil within,
The whips are still lashing,
And at the most unexpected times,
The packing paper pictures come forth,
Chilly, yellowed, gray from smoke,
And stiff with death at night when I want to sleep."
Ronnie Goldstein- van Cleef,

This novel was an eye opener for me of the Holocaust and all that the Jewish people were made to bear. Death looked them all in the eye, and from day to day, no one knew if they would see another day. They were humiliated and dragged down, stripped of their self-esteem and their strength as never before in their lives. Husbands were separated from wives, and some children from their parents. Many got sick and died before reaching the gas chambers. Many looked already dead in skeletal form breathing their last breaths.
I applaud the six women who gave interviews from this book. These women saw Anne Frank and her family and sought to help them any way they could. These were brave women, who endured the suffering of the death camps and came out alive. Hannah Elisabeth Pick-Gosslar, Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper, Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder, Bloeme Evers-Emden, Lenie de Jong-van-Naarden, Ronnie Goldstein-van Cleef, we thank you for sharing this horrible time of your life. It must have been very hard to relive, so thank you. Thank you so much for your courageousness.
Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 07/03/07)

Please read this.
This book is ghastly and wonderful at the same time. You read what these women went through and you can't believe how they coped and are coping still. What is amazing is the support that they gave and received from each other whilst in the concentration camps. This is a book that will open your eyes to the atrosities of the World War 2 concentration camps and it will show you how the smallest acts of kindness save lives.