Miep Gies

(http://couragemoral.weebly.com/miep-gies.html ())

     "It's when you're acting selflessly that you are at your bravest," (Veronica Roth). The meaning of this quote represents that being able to take risks in your life to make a difference in someone else's constitutes a true hero. Miep Gies portrays the heroic qualities and courageous attitude that creates a hero in someone like her who was an everyday woman that was selfless enough to change other lives for the better. She is well-known for her brave decision to hide Anne Frank and her family, and others, in a secret location unseen to the Nazis at the time of World War 2, when Europe was taken over by Nazi Germany. Not only did she provide the several people she hid with necessities like food and news from outside of where they hid; she gave them hope and courage they needed at this point in their lives. Miep Gies, who provided essentials for others including a young girl named Anne Frank and her family during times of a grim situation in the 1940s, inspires many because of her selfless mindset, ability to stand up to injustice, and protective skills for people she felt shouldn't be judged for the wrong reasons but for who they truly are inside.

     Miep Gies had a selfless mindset by risking her own life to protect and save the lives of others. Miep didn't care as much for her own self but to help those who couldn't help themselves: "For two years Miep Gies and her husband, Jan, a municipal employee whom she had married in 1941, risked their lives to smuggle in food and provisions and news from outside,"("Hero helped save Anne Frank's diary"). She was determined to successfully hide them and provide them with everything they needed even under this constant fear of getting caught. Gies gave up her own time for two years finding food for everyone else to make sure they would at least be safe for the short period of time they would be in the annex. Even when asked if she was a hero, Gies always denied it because she believed  it was just something any kind human would do in a situation like hers: "...but Miep always insisted she was not a hero; she simply did what many other 'good Dutch people' did," ("Miep Gies"). Miep had a compassionate heart that sacrificed for others who were genuinely kindhearted people that didn't deserve what they were put through. She stood up to the new laws at the time and proved she disagreed with them; she was able to do that just because she knew they were all thoughtful people. Miep had an unselfish attitude which helped her to save other lives by sacrificing her time to do as much as she could for people in need.

(http://www.biography.com/people/miep-gies-21349765 ())

    Miep Gies was truly a heroic woman that used her own beliefs and determination to help others before herself to inspire many others and I. She inspires by showing others to stand up for what you believe is right and do something about what you believe is wrong and should be changed. All her actions of helping others was a result of her selfless way of thinking that made her a brave woman that wouldn't let dangers get in the way because she was dedicated enough to take those risks. Gies herself once said, "... I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not, I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary," (Miep Gies). Gies puts out the idea that anyone can be a hero, even if you don't know it yet, you can change dark days into brighter days using the most simplest, yet effective ways. Miep Gies just did what any kindhearted person would do. Gies at no point in time let her fears interfere with being able to devote time to protect the life of another. Miep Gies proved that anyone can truly be a deserving hero and stand up for what is right, and made an impression on other lives that will be remembered.