Anne Frank Remembered Page #9

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...your brain is gonna go."

And we said, "We understand|that physically...

...we maybe will not survive this."

We should try to...

...survive mentally...

...and talk about things that had|nothing to do with the camp, like:

"Do you remember the melody from|the 9th Symphony from Beethoven?"

And then we start singing|to each other...

...just to get away from this fear.|Just to get our brain...

...thinking about other things.|We talked about van Gogh, Rembrandt.

"Ever go to the Van Gogh Museum?|Ever go to the Rijk Museum?"

And all those things, just not to--

To get out of our minds.|To get out of this here.

And it really helped, I think.

He was older, much older than I was.

He said, "You know, why don't|you call me Papa Frank...

...because I have to have|something in my life...

...that I can be a papa to."

I didn't know|what he was talking about.

I said, "What do you mean?|I have a father...

...and he is hidden in|the Netherlands, in Holland.

If you do it for me, you don't have|to, because I have already a father...

...and he's alive.|I know he's hidden."

"No," he said, "you do it for me.|I'm the type of a man, I need this.

I need somebody to be a papa for."

So I told him, "lf it will|help you, I'll do that."

He said, "Call me Papa Frank." Until|he died, when he wrote his letters...

...he always signed his letters,|"Papa Frank."

I was standing one time|in the snow...

...naked...

...after we came back from our work.

We stand appell here,|outside here...

...and a German soldier came...

...and he had his fur coat on|and he looked at me and said:

"Cold, huh? It is cold?"

I didn't even answer.|I just looked at him.

And he said, "You know you|will not survive this, you know that.

But in case you will survive--

But I'll take care of it|that it's not gonna happen.

Nobody, but nobody will believe you...

...what we did to you people. Nobody."

Otto Frank|interviewed in 1 979

One day in Auschwitz,|I was very depressed.

I had been beaten the day before...

...and that had really affected me...

...also in terms of my morale.

It was a Sunday morning...

...and I said, "l can't get up."

And then my comrades...

...all Dutchmen of course...

...because I was the only German...

...among Dutchmen...

...but I was totally accepted|by the others...

...they said to me,|"That's not possible...

...you must get up, otherwise|you are lost."

And then they went to|a Dutch doctor...

...who worked with a German doctor...

...and this Dutch doctor...

...came to me in my barracks.

He said, "Get up and come...

...tomorrow morning|to the sick barracks...

...and I'll speak to|the German doctor...

...so that you will be accepted."

And that is what happened...

...and through that I was saved.

While Otto languished|in a sick barracks...

...his daughters were transported away.

On October 28, 1944, they were|separated from their mother...

...and together with 1308|other women, they were sent here...

...to Bergen-Belsen concentration|camp in Germany.

Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder|was with them.

You see with your own eyes how|beautiful it is. It is beautiful.

And there were birds here.|And I wanted to be a bird.

Freedom, freedom, freedom.

I thought, "Oh, how nice to be a bird.|You can fly wherever you go."

I was simply jealous of birds.

When Anne, Margot, Rachel and|the others arrived at Bergen-Belsen...

...the camp was overflowing...

...with new inmates|brought from throughout Europe.

The barracks being built to|accommodate them were not ready...

...and they were crammed into|the makeshift shelter of tents.

On November 7, a violent storm|raged through the camp...

...destroying many of these.

Seeking shelter from the rain...

...Anne and Margot encountered|Lientje and Janny Brilleslijper...

...the two Dutch sisters whom they|knew from Auschwitz and Westerbork.

It stormed, it hailed.

We had walked four kilometers...

...and we sat together...

...the two of us...

...with only our two little faces...

...sticking out of two blankets.

Those dark horse blankets...

...with our heads together...

...and only our two little faces...

...Iike two heaps on a little hill...

...up against a tree...

...to stay as dry as possible.

And four legs came walking up...

...also with blankets around them...

...and over their heads.

And at the same time|as we saw them...

...we all threw off our blankets|with a shout...

"Oh, how wonderful|that you are here."

How can you find|something wonderful...

...in the middle|of a concentration camp?

Deliberately starved, frozen|and racked with disease...

...Bergen-Belsen was no place to be|in those last months of World War II.

A wooden barracks was found for|the unfortunate women from Auschwitz.

But Anne and Margot Frank came to be|in the worst position of all:

In the lower bunk next to the door.|Incapable of protecting themselves...

...from the vicious wind that swept|through Bergen-Belsen's barren acres.

They shouted, "Close the door!|Close the door!

It is cold! It is cold!|It is cold!"

And it was terrible for them, of course.

What did the Frank girls look like|when you saw them in the barracks?

Very terrible. Terrible. Sick.

Thin. No hair.

Their eyes, very big. Very big eyes|because they were so thin.

Almost impossible to imagine...

...but there was a time when|the name Bergen-Belsen...

...brought hope to the eyes of Jews|due to be transported here.

In the early years, the Nazis|planned it as a camp for Jews...

...who might be used for exchange|for German prisoners of war.

In those long ago days, Anne's friend|Lies Goslar had been sent here...

...with her sister and father, the former|German government minister.

In 1945, Lies discovered|she was in the compound...

...next to the Dutch women|from Auschwitz.

One day, a friend of mine tells me:

"You know, between all these women,|there is your friend, Anne Frank."

I don't know, I felt very crazy...

...because I was thinking|the whole time:

"Anne is safe in Switzerland."

I was sure of this. This was what|the tenant said to me.

And so I had no choice to go|also near this barbed wire.

This was not allowed, and the German|in the watchtower was watching us.

And you know he would have shot|if he would have caught us.

So we couldn't see. I told you|there were barbed wire with straw...

...and we couldn't see the other side.|So I just went near at dark...

...and I start to call,|"Hello? Hello?" Something like this.

And who answered me|was Mrs. van Pels.

Maybe the Dutch women went|near the barbed wire...

...because the others didn't|know anybody. I don't know.

I didn't even ask her, "How are you?"|I knew her, but not very good.

But immediately she said to me,|"You want Anne?" And I said, "Yes."

And she says, "You know,|I will call her for you.

Margot I can't call for you.|She's very sick already.

But Anne I will call for you."

And so I was standing there|in the cold, and I was waiting.

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