Subscribe Subscribe Login Home History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Games & Quizzes Videos On This Day One Good Fact Dictionary New Articles History & Society Lifestyles & Social Issues Philosophy & Religion Politics, Law & Government World History Science & Tech Health & Medicine Science Technology Biographies Browse Biographies Animals & Nature Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates Environment Fossils & Geologic Time Mammals Plants Geography & Travel Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Entertainment & Pop Culture Literature Sports & Recreation Visual Arts Companions Demystified Image Galleries Infographics Lists Podcasts Spotlight Summaries The Forum Top Questions #WTFact 100 Women Britannica Kids Saving Earth Space Next 50 Student Center Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos Anne Frank House Table of Contents Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Images & Videos Related Questions When was Amsterdam liberated in World War II? Read Next 6 Buildings You'll Want to Visit in the Netherlands Is "Holland" the Same Place as "the Netherlands"? 10 Paintings You Should See at the Met in New York City 11 Amazing Paintings in the Netherlands Art Restoration: Beyond Canvas Discover 9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders Was Martin Luther King, Jr., a Republican or a Democrat? Rediscovered Artists: 6 Big Names That Time Almost Forgot 9 Noteworthy Bog Bodies (And What They Tell Us) 9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler Why Are U.S. Elections Held on Tuesdays? The Perils of an Early Spring Contents Lifestyles & Social Issues Education Museums Anne Frank House Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It preserves the premises where diarist Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazis for two years during World War II. (more)

Anne Frank House

museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Actions Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anne-Frank-House Give Feedback Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Print Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anne-Frank-House Feedback Written by Ann Kay Ann Kay is a writer and editor with a degree in the history of art and literature at Kent University and a postgraduate qualification in graphic design from London University. Ann Kay Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Article History Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot a Question Ask the Chatbot a Question

Anne Frank House , museum dedicated to German Jewish diarist Anne Frank located in the canal house in Amsterdam , Netherlands , where Frank and her family and four other Jewish people hid from Nazis from 1942 until they were betrayed and discovered by the Gestapo in 1944. The museum, which opened in 1960, also includes two adjacent buildings.

Frank’s father, German businessman Otto Frank , had taken his family—his wife and two daughters—from Germany to Amsterdam before the outbreak of World War II , to escape Nazi persecution. In 1940 he moved his food products business to 263 Prinsengracht, a canal house that was originally built in 1635. The building had a back house, which is now known as the Secret Annex, that was hidden from view by the surrounding buildings, and it was there that the group of eight people secluded themselves, never going out and relying on provisions brought by friends and some of Otto’s workers. Though the house was emptied by German troops after the raid, an employee, Miep Gies, was able to salvage the vivid diary that the lively teenage Anne had kept. Gies later gave it to Otto, the only one of the group to survive the extermination camps to which they had been sent.

Otto devoted himself to editing and getting the diary published; it was first published in Dutch in 1947. The Anne Frank Foundation was founded, with Otto’s cooperation, in 1957, with the aim of preserving the canal house as a museum. The number of visitors was initially overwhelming, and the museum was renovated and expanded in 1999.

The museum recreates the atmosphere and period of the Franks’ experience. Documents and possessions belonging to the eight people who hid here are displayed in the annex , and the front of the house has been restored to its 1940s state. Anne’s original diary is displayed in the renovated 265 Prinsengracht, next door to the original hideaway.

Ann Kay

---