Anne Frank Remembered Page #7

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...was being transported to Germany|was bombed by American planes.

The day after the arrest of the Franks,|the van Pelses and Pfeffer...

...Miep tried one last desperate|effort to help them.

I go to the Gestapo.

And when you dare go in...

...you did not know if you come out.

I found this Austrian man...

...and he said, "Yes, come."|I went to him.

But when I came there, his office|was full of young people.

Secretaries and all the peoples.

But he was sitting in the corner.

And when I came in, I could not--|I think...

..."l cannot speak with|this man what I want."

So I go to the corner to him...

...over his desk, and I did so:

"Understand me," I said to him.

"Please come back tomorrow.

I can't do anything more|for you today."

And then I went away.

Next morning, I go to him.|He was standing in the door...

...waiting for me.|"l am sorry," he said to me.

"l can't do anything for you...

...because I am not high enough.|You understand me?"

And I said to him,|"l don't believe you."

"Go to my boss."|And I go upstairs.

I knocked on the door.|Nobody said anything.

Then I opened the door,|and what did I see?

A large table...

...sitting high German people.

Their caps on the table,|and in the middle...

...the radio, listening to England.

That was very, very--

Was not allowed for the German people.

And it was very dangerous for me...

...because I saw what they did.

And I said, "Who is he, the boss?"

One man came to me, pushed me|out of the door.

"You are a swine."

And then I went down.

And this Vienna man|was standing in the door.

I said, "What did I say to you?"

And then I went down...

...and I feel...

...the curtain of this play|was fallen for me.

Afterfour days in the cellars|of the Gestapo building...

...the prisoners were taken to|the Amsterdam railway depot.

They were loaded under guard|onto an ordinary passenger train.

Janny Brilleslijper, a member|of the Dutch Resistance...

...was amongst the prisoners.

What I saw was a family.

There were a number of people...

...a very worried father|and a nervous mother...

...and two children...

...wearing sports clothes, I believe.

Of course, it is more than|fifty years ago.

They had sports clothes on...

...and backpacks with them...

...and the four of them...

...stayed together constantly.

They spoke very softly|to one another...

...and there were other people there.

It was a beautiful day...

...the sun shone to greet you...

...the houses of the city were|bathed in gold...

...and those people all had|a sort of...

...silent melancholy about them.

Nobody said anything.

I cannot say that the people|were afraid.

We went to meet the unknown.

We didn't know what was|waiting for us.

This was the first destination for|the Franks and the other prisoners.

Westerbork Transit Camp|in northern Holland.

This film was made by|the commandant...

...to show his superiors in Berlin|how successful he was...

...in keeping his|prisoners occupied...

...before sending them on to less|benign places in Poland or Germany.

...between 1942 and 1945...

...more than 75% of the Jews|in Holland...

...before the outbreak of war.

Proudly, and without irony,|the commandant showed...

...the humiliation|of his prisoners...

...who were largely ignorant|of the fate that awaited them.

Of the 60,000 or so who were|sent to Auschwitz from here...

...only 673 were ever to return.

And of the 34,313 transported|to Sobibor death camp...

...just 19 came back.

In the meantime, Westerbork offered|ball games and calisthenics.

The Jews were encouraged to entertain|themselves with a weekly cabaret.

Three survivors of that time|in August 1944...

...returned for the first|time in 50 years.

All, like the Franks,|had been captured in hiding.

It is maybe unbelievable...

...but when we were arrested|and brought to the prison...

Sal de Liema|Westerbork Prisoner Aug/Sept 1 944

...I cannot say it was|a kind of relief. No.

But there was something|that we said:

"Now this is maybe the end of the war."

Because we knew|the invasion was going on...

...and, "The end is finally in sight.

What we have to do now|is try to survive this."

It was overwhelming.|I knew it was Westerbork.

Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder|Westerbork Prisoner June/Sept 1 944

I thought, "This is the end," because|I knew what happened in Germany.

And I knew that they were|going to kill us.

We never gave up hope|that we would survive the war.

Rose de Liema|Westerbork Prisoner Aug/Sept 1 944

There was not that much|Gestapo supervision in the camps.

The first ones I saw were the Franks.|I knew Margot rather well...

Bloeme Evers-Emden|Westerbork Prisoner Aug/Sept 1 944

...and I knew Anne.

We said to each other,|"You too, here? You too?

Were you hidden? What happened?"

But very soon you were|taken inside the camp...

...and you had to be registered...

...and you got your wooden shoes...

...because we were punished,|because we were hidden.

For me, it was|the best time of the war.

No hunger, nice boys.

Frieda Menco|Westerbork Prisoner July/Sept 1944

We worked during the daytime.|Wasn't bad.

Then we got food...

...and we were standing around|and making jokes with each other.

Like other prisoners, the eight...

...were given make-work jobs|by their captors.

The Franks had the task of breaking|up old batteries for recycling.

Otto Frank wanted something|better for his Anne.

I was cleaning a table...

...and then at once,|somebody came to me...

...with a girl--

That was Otto Frank.|Later on, I knew it.

He was with Anne, and he asked me:

"Here's Anne, my daughter.|Do you have work for her?"

Because he wanted, of course,|her to be inside with us.

Then she said to me, "l can help you.|I'm very handy. I can do everything."

This was the end, actually.

This was it.

It all started here.

My grandparents...

...all my uncles, my aunts,|my nieces, my nephews...

...all my friends.

They came here, and it was|the beginning of the end.

And I really...

...feel like this is...

...a big cemetery.

In the end, you start to believe|that it won't happen.

You know that there are transports|going each Tuesday.

But when two months have passed...

...and your own name wasn't on|the list, you start to believe:

"We can stay here until|the end of the war."

Because by then of course, we knew|that there would be an end.

Although it was incredible,|but we knew...

...that the English and the Americans|were already in Europe.

And then it came, and you|became very factual.

You took your things, everything--

You got back what belonged to you...

...because they had taken|that away from you...

...because they gave you that outfit.

It was like what happened so many|times later. It was like having--

I don't know how you call it. You|don't quite realize what's going on...

...and what will happen|with you and to you.

Eighty-three trains left Westerbork|during the second World War...

...for the Polish death camps|of Auschwitz and Sobibor.

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