One of the most wide known personal accounts of the Holocaust is from a young Jewish girl’s diary; Anne Frank. Born in 1929, it was not long until young Anne’s life turned into an endless nightmare. After Hitler gained control in 1933, young Anne and her family fled their home in Frankfurt to Amsterdam. The family was at peace again, that was until, German Nazis invaded Amsterdam. The family franticly went into hiding, known as the Secret Annex, 8 people in total. The Secret Annex is where Anne began her diary, documenting the account of what life was like hiding from the Nazi regime. Her hopes were to make it out of the war and publish her diary as a war novel, unfortunately her plan was halted when they were discovered and sent to Auschwitz.
Ann’s Father, Otto, was the only one of the eight in hiding to make it out of the concentration camp alive. In order to fulfill his daughter’s legacy, Otto publishes his young and courageous daughter’s diary, exposing the unimaginable suffering the family went through.
The heart wrenching story inspires all who read, especially visual designer Michael Danckaarts. His then-and-now photography series juxtaposition black and white images of the Nazi-occupied Netherlands with colorful contemporary images of the location. The series is part of an app called Anne Frank’s Amsterdam which, like the images, combines the events told by Anne and contemporary Amsterdam.
Use the link below to view other photos from Danckaarts, Anne Frank’s Amsterdam series.