Annelies M. Frank

Do you have a hero? Somebody who inspires you to do something, or someone who you can look up to. Heroes can be found in the smallest of places, like your community or even your own home, to places across the ocean or on a complete opposite side of the country. You could find a hero anywhere throughout time. My hero comes from before I was born; way back when there were so many people’s lives that were threatened by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. When I think of the people who were included in those terrible times, I tend to think of my hero, Anne Frank.

Imagine having to leave your own home, and only being able to bring what was on their backs. Anne Frank was only the few of many who was faced with this situation. She, along with her mother, father, and her sister, Margot, went into hiding above Mr. Frank’s office. The only thing that separated them from Mr. Frank’s office was a bookcase, which was the door to their Secret Annex. The Franks weren't the only ones who hid in the Secret Annex. The Annex also housed the Hermann, Auguste, and Peter van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer. People in the annex tended to argue, whether over food or space. For sometime, Anne and Peter had a romance, but it had fallen apart because Anne wasn't sure whether her feelings for him were true, or if her feelings just came from their close quarters. While they were in hiding they had to rely on Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler and Bep Voskuijl to bring them food, clothes, other necessary items, and news as to what is happening in Amsterdam. Since, those people helped them, they were also at risk of being killed as much as the Franks, van Pels, and Mr Pfeffer.

Optimistic was one of the things Anne Frank was. She tried to keep everyone's hopes up. Anne was much more outspoken than her sister, Margot. She was sometimes criticized on how she wasn't like her sister, who kept quiet and was gentle. As Anne grew older, it was apparent that she was growing more mature. She had stopped fighting with her sister, and had instead taken to confiding in her. Her sister wasn't the only thing she confided in. Anne had a diary, and in her diary, she would talk about the fights that occurred, God, and her feelings. Her diary was her way of writing about what she felt about what was going on in the world around her.

The people in the annex were betrayed, because on August 4th of 1944, the German Security Police came to take them away. Anne, along with everybody else in the annex, was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp. When all the people got to Auschwitz, the children under fifteen were sent directly to the gas chambers. Luckily for Anne, she had just turned fifteen a couple months before. The woman at the camp were forced to do slave labor, and sleep in overcrowded barracks. On October 28, some of the women at the camp were transported to Bergen-Belsen, Anne and Margot included. Unfortunately, their mother was left behind at Auschwitz, and later died of starvation. Auguste van Pels was reported to have been taking care of a sick Margot, by Hanneli Golsar, a friend of Anne's. In March of 1945, a typhus epidemic was spread across the camp. Margot was seen falling out of her bed in her weakened state and dying of the shock. A few of days later, Anne died at the mere age of fifteen.

Anne Frank wanted to be an author, and so do I. She inspires me to try to become an author even though I am still young. I also have her as my hero because one of the last lines in her diary was, "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." That quote shows me that even though she had lost so much, she was still able to forgive those who had caused her loses. Anne Frank encourages me to forgive and try to achieve what you want, by not giving up and giving into pressures and obstacles. She also encourages me to believe that even though there may be darkness and cruelty around me, I still need to look through the darkness to the light, where there is peace.