Step into the Secret Annex at the Anne Frank Exhibition

What: Anne Frank The Exhibition

Where: The Center for Jewish History, New York

When: On View until October 31, 2025

Who: Presented by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Center for Jewish History in New York

Anne Frank The Exhibition is a powerful experience that masterfully weaves together the story of Anne Frank and the history of the Holocaust. The exhibition’s pièces de resistance¹ is a full-scale recreation of the Annex, where the Franks, the van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer hid from the Nazis for two years. Through more than 100 artifacts and archival documents from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, visitors get to know Anne not merely as a victim of the Nazi regime, but as a young girl who had dreams of becoming a writer. Although she would never know it, that dream came to fruition when her father, Otto, published her diary after her death. Anne quickly rose to posthumous fame, and her diary became a bestseller that has been translated into over 70 languages.

The exhibition comes to New York City at a poignant time, amidst rising antisemitism on a global scale. Anne’s story brings the Holocaust up close and personal. As visitors, we’re confronted with the horrors and injustice inflicted upon the Jewish people, which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t that long ago. Anne’s story begs us to remember and to build a better future, so this doesn’t happen again. That is the power of history.

Anne Frank The Exhibition: Early Life

The exhibition delves into Anne’s early life, giving us a sense of who she and the Franks were before historic events upended their lives. Anne was born Annelies Marie Frank on June 12, 1929, to Edith (née Holländer) and Otto Frank, both of whom were from Jewish-German families. The Holländers hailed from Aachen and the Franks from Frankfurt. Anne had an older sister, Margot Betti, born on February 16, 1926.

Otto Frank, Amsterdam, May 1936; Margot Frank, Amsterdam, May 1941; Edith Frank-Holländer, Amsterdam, May 1935 or 1936; Anne Frank, Amsterdam, May 1939, passport photographs created by Polyfoto. Photo Collection: Anne Frank Stichting, A_OFrank_III_001.001; A_AFrankIII_027.088; A_EFrank_III_002.013; A_AFrank_III_027.095. Public domain.

We learn about Otto and Edith’s younger years, as well as their early marriage and happy life in Frankfurt, through objects like toys, ceramics, and books from their household. While this was a lovely time in their lives, antisemitism was rising in Germany, particularly after World War I. Germans blamed the Jews for losing the war and creating an economic crisis. This was scapegoating 101. In 1933, Hitler rose to power and implemented restrictions on Jews, making them second-class citizens in their own country. The exhibition presents archival photographs, artifacts, and film documenting the rise of Nazi Germany and its deliberate, systematic persecution of the Jews.

Fleeing Germany

The Franks, who considered Germany their home—Otto even fought for Germany in World War I—fled to Amsterdam to start a new life. Unfortunately, the Nazis followed them, invading the Netherlands on May 9, 1940. This part of the story is told with floor-to-ceiling screens playing a montage of historical footage and archival documents. It’s harrowing to witness what being Jewish in the Netherlands was like during this period. It was so bad that the Franks tried to flee again, this time to the United States. Original letters detailing the American bureaucratic mess that contributed to their failure are on display. Since they couldn’t flee, the Franks decided to hide.

Anne Frank The Exhibition: In Hiding

Once the montage is over, visitors make their way to an open bookcase, which represents the original concealment of the Annex’s entrance. The Annex was at 263 Prinsengracht, the office-warehouse of the firm Otto worked for. He enlisted the help of 4 of his non-Jewish employees, the most well-known of whom is Miep Gies.

The Franks went into hiding on July 6, 1942, after Margot was called to report to Jewish Emigration. They shared the Annex with Hermann and Auguste van Pels and their son, Peter. Fritz Pfeffer later joined them. As visitors walk into the reconstructed Annex, we see five rooms:  the bedroom shared by Edith, Otto, and Margot, Peter’s bedroom, the bathroom, the living room/kitchen/bedroom of Hermann and Auguste, and, of course, the bedroom Anne shared with Fritz.

Writing the Diary

Anne Frank The Exhibition goes straight to your heart and emotions. As I wandered into Anne’s tiny Annex room, I saw pictures of Hollywood stars on her walls and smiled at the young girl she was. She was only 13 years old, after all. It was here, in this room, that she wrote her diary. There are bits of humor to the story, particularly her arguments with Fritz, a middle-aged man who wanted to use the shared desk to learn Spanish. I can imagine the whispered fights between them.

Walking through the Annex is surreal. There are everyday objects, like a radio, board games, and books, and yet, this was not an everyday situation. The tiny hiding place, shared by 8 people, was restricting and claustrophobic, but also protective and vital for survival. And yet, its protection ran out because on August 4, 1944, Nazis raided the Annex.

Anne Frank The Exhibition: Death & Fame

Leaving the Annex, visitors are confronted with the horrific realities of the Holocaust. The next room consists of archival photographs and interactive displays of the fate of 6 million Jews. Visitors walk on a glass floor, underneath which is a map with 3D flags marking the different types of Nazi camps. There were so many. We know the big ones—Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Treblinka, Buchenwald—but there were so many more. We learn the fate of those who hid in the Annex—out of 8, Otto was the only survivor. Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen in Germany. She was only 15 years old.

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz. Otto was a free man. The exhibition recounts his long, arduous journey home to Amsterdam. During that time, he didn’t even know if his family was still alive. Otto finally arrived home in June 1945.

In a video interview, Miep Gies tells us how Otto learned of Anne’s death, and how she gave him Anne’s diary, which had been saved from the Annex. He went on to publish his daughter’s diary, posthumously fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer. The final display contains row after row of Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, translated into over 70 languages.

Recommendation

Go see this exhibition. It is powerful and haunting. It will make you want to cry out of grief, disgust, and horror. But it’s also vital to remember Anne’s story and create a world of compassion, instead of one fueled by hatred.

Logistics

Anne Frank The Exhibition is at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16^th Street, New York. You must purchase your tickets in advance! For dates, times, ticket prices, and directions, visit the website.

Finally, I highly recommend picking up an audio guide. It contains excellent information and is free of charge.

If you can’t attend the exhibition in New York, visit the Anne Frank House website, which has a digital library of original collection objects.

Footnotes

1. This term is French for “the most notable or important thing.” It’s a cool phrase, leave me alone. ↩︎

Bibliography & Further Reading

*One of the links below is an Amazon affiliate link, which means I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no cost to you.

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Edited by Otto M. Frank and Mirjam Pressler. Translated by Susan Massotty. Bantam, 1997.

Metselaar, Menno. Anne Frank The Exhibition. The Anne Frank House, 2025.