By Tjarco Schuurman

The Anne Frank House is one of the “must go” placed when visiting Amsterdam. You won’t be alone; hundreds of thousands of people come there every year. Located at the Westermarkt 20 in Amsterdam you will find the modern looking museum. Years ago, the old canal houses next to Otto Frank’s company were torn down to make place for the museum. Don’t let the modern look fool you. The original company building is still like it was then. Just around the corner, on Prinsengracht 263, you will find it like Anne, her sister and her parents saw it for the last time. 

Anne Frank’s story is a both beautiful and sad one. A young girl, full of life had to hide from the Nazi’s with her family and others on the secret annex behind her father’s company. And now, more than 80 years later we walk in the same rooms as they did, seeing the walls they saw, hearing the squeaking of the floors like they heard it. 

There is a lot to say about the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Enough to write a blog about, but not for us. We just want to give you a tip; go there when you can. Experience it and remember this brave family, the other people that were hiding there and the ones who helped them. And give Anne just one more thought. About how lucky we are with what she gave our world. Her dream came true in becoming a famous writer and we are the lucky ones that can learn from her. 

Like the title of this blog says, we are writing about the Anne Frank House and about Anne Frank's house. What many people don’t realize is that there is so much more to see and experience. The secret annex was just their hiding place. It was a building behind Otto’s company. Before that the family actually lived somewhere else in Amsterdam. Not in the city center but in what is called the ‘ Rivierenbuurt’. 

Anne was 4 years old when the family moved from Frankfurt am Main in Germany to the Merwedeplein 37-2 in Amsterdam.  They lived there from December 1933 until July 1942. The Merwedeplein, which is a triangular square, was home to Anne and her friends. Jacqueline van Maarsen, one of her best friends, said ‘It was her square’ when a statue of Anne was unveiled in 2005. Many pictures were taken there with Anne and her family and friends on it. We added some to this blog but there are more to find online.

The beauty about history is that it's always there. Only time passed but a lot of things are still the same. So, being able to walk there, to see the buildings and the neighborhood brings you close to what Anne actually saw. The area changed over the years. Trees grew and the streets are filled with cars now but the buildings are still there. The small stairs where she walked on is still there. The house she actually lived in is still there. 

Not far from their home was her school. Anne went to the ‘6^th Montessori School’ which is on walking distance and easy to find. This 10-minute walk leads you on the sidewalks Anne walked. Again, you are seeing what she saw. 

The school itself is not accessible to the public. It still is in use as a primary school. After the war, the Sixth Montessori School was given the name of Anne Frank. One classroom at the Anne Frank School still looks the same as it did in Anne's time, and photos in the school commemorate her. In 1983 an artist painted texts from Anne’s diaries on the facade of the school. This way she will be remembered on a daily basis. 

If we can give you some advice; take a tram and go to the Merwedeplein. And when you want to know some more, please let us know. We might be able to help.