Anne Frank Guardian Dies

Grange · 12-01-2010, 16:03

Miep Gies, the last surviving member of the group who helped protect Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, has died in the Netherlands aged 100.
I had the privilege to meet this wonderful lady some years ago and I hope the Dutch people will now erect a monument so that the world will remember her courage in the face of so much danger when the nazis overcame Holland during World War Two.

garinda · 12-01-2010, 17:06

That's sad.

She was on the programme Anne Frank Remembered, that I watched on BBC4 only last night.

One of the most moving scenes was when the film maker revealed some recently uncovered letters, written by Otto Frank, Anne's father, praising Miep Gies and her husband Jan, who put themselves in grave peril, in order to help the Franks.

Seeing the personal testimonies first hand, of people who survived the death camps, was utterly heartbreaking, and made you angry that there are still Holocaust deniers peddling their filth.

People like Miep Gies helped restore one's faith in humanity, that there are happily more good, selfless people in the world, than there are bad.

cashman · 12-01-2010, 17:22

Really sad, many dutch people risked their lives to help troops also, which is often forgotten, me dad was one who was aided through em.

Mancie · 13-01-2010, 01:01

Such a brave lady.. I've always thought that the bravest are they who don't really have to expose themselves to danger but still do.. these people should be held in esteem and I have the greatest respect for them.. we all owe them a debt.

steeljack · 13-01-2010, 01:33

seem to remember reading that parts of the 'book' are written in "ball point" pen

Mancie · 13-01-2010, 01:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

seem to remember reading that parts of the 'book' are written in "ball point" pen

I suppose for those in denial it should have been written in blood.

garinda · 13-01-2010, 01:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

seem to remember reading that parts of the 'book' are written in "ball point" pen

The first person to doubt the diary's authenticity was Harald Nielsen in 1957, writing in a Swedish Nazi magazine, even claiming that Anne Franks had never existed at all.

So those morons who deny the living testimony of those lucky enough to survive the holocaust are nothing new, and perhaps they should watch the film Remembering Anne Franks, for there are her friends interviewed in the film, who knew her before, and whilst being in the camp she died in.

Having watched the film only last night, in which Miep Gies talked about keeping the diary safe, after the Franks were taken east to the concentration camps, and only giving it to Otto Franks when it was discovered that his wife and daughters were dead...I know which side of the debate most people with half a brain would choose, as to the existence of Anne Franks, and the authenticity of her diary.

garinda · 13-01-2010, 02:00

'Deniers have repeatedly attacked the authenticity of the famous Diary of Anne Frank, which tells of the young Jewish author's experiences as she and her family hid from Nazi persecution in Holland. It seems they believe that by creating doubts about this popular book, which is often a young person's first encounter with the literature of the Holocaust, they can generate broader doubts about the Holocaust itself. Their attacks on the diary became so widespread, that eventually the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation, the archives to which Anne's father left the work, subjected the glue, paper and ink of the diary to extensive forensic tests. They found them all to be from the 1940s.'

'The investigators compared Anne's handwriting in the diary to other samples of her writing, including letters she wrote before going into hiding, and traditional student autograph books she signed before the war. The tests found the handwriting to be that of the same person. In fact, every test to which the diary was subjected proved that this was a genuine World War Two era work by a teenager.'
BBC - History - World Wars: Denying the Holocaust

Eric · 13-01-2010, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mancie

I suppose for those in denial it should have been written in blood.

It was written in the blood of millions.

cashman · 13-01-2010, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mancie

I suppose for those in denial it should have been written in blood.

those who deny these atrocites are just as misguided as some germans who thought "Hitler" was a good chap! either that or just plain stupid.

Neil · 13-01-2010, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

seem to remember reading that parts of the 'book' are written in "ball point" pen

The RAF used ball point pens towards the end of WW2

Neil · 13-01-2010, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

those who deny these atrocites are just as misguided as some germans who thought "Hitler" was a good chap! either that or just plain stupid.

Unfortunately we still have some people today who think Hitler was a good chap and only slighty extreme.

accyman · 13-01-2010, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Unfortunately we still have some people today who think Hitler was a good chap and only slighty extreme.

aww his heart was in the right place...

burned to ash in a bunker with teh rest of him

although for a man with 3 testicles he was extreemly grumpy

hitler has only got one ball

the others at the albert hall

his mother has the other on teh kitchen wall ?

Gayle · 13-01-2010, 15:54

I played Miep Gies in a production once. It was an emotional play to be in.

cashman · 13-01-2010, 17:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

I played Miep Gies in a production once. It was an emotional play to be in.

in fairness i don't think ya look that old.