DZ CHARLIE

Footsteps of WWII · The Netherlands

Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

Museum · 6 Jul 1942 – 4 Aug 1944

GuideFootsteps of WWII
AreaThe Netherlands
CountryNetherlands
TypeMuseum
Time to allow1 h 30 min
LocationExact spot known
GPS52.37525, 4.88432
Open the free field guideDirections (Google Maps)

The story

On 6 July 1942 Otto Frank's family went into hiding in the Secret Annex behind his business at Prinsengracht 263. The van Pels family followed a week later and Fritz Pfeffer in November: eight people in all, supplied by helpers including Miep Gies, Bep Voskuijl, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler. On 4 August 1944 police raided the annex and arrested them. They were sent via Westerbork to Auschwitz; Anne and Margot died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen in February 1945. Only Otto survived. Anne's diary, saved by Miep Gies, was published as 'Het Achterhuis' on 25 June 1947. The house opened as a museum on 3 May 1960.

Where sources disagree: Who betrayed the hiding place is unknown; several theories, including a 2022 'cold case' book naming Arnold van den Bergh, have been strongly contested.

What to look for

A narrow canal-side house. Behind the moveable bookcase are the empty rooms of the Secret Annex, left unfurnished at Otto Frank's wish, with Anne's film-star pictures still on her wall and the pencil marks of the children's heights. The original diary is displayed.

Plan your visit

Open daily 09:00–22:00 (shorter hours on some holidays; closed 21 Sep 2026 for Yom Kippur). Tickets only online, for a set time slot, released each Tuesday six weeks ahead; adults €16.50. Card payment only. Book early.

Official website: annefrank.org

Things change, so check opening times before you travel.

Nearby sites

All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →

Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945

A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.

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