1933Otto Frank manages to set up a business in Amsterdam.
Edith, Margot and Anne follow him to the Netherlands. They find a place to live on the Merwedeplein..
The Franks feel safe and free again. The children go to school, Otto works hard on his business and Edith takes care of the household. But then World War 2 breaks out. On 10 May 1940, Germany invades the Netherlands. The Frank family is in danger once more.
In April 1934 Anne starts attending the Montessori kindergarten. Otto Frank later says: ‘It was good for Anne to attend a Montessori school, where every pupil is treated as an individual.'
During the early years, Edith Frank does not really feel at home in the Netherlands. Miep Gies recalls: “Mrs. Frank missed Germany very much, more so than Mr. Frank. In conversations we had, she would often refer with melancholy to their life in Frankfurt.”
__________
'Margot is doing well in school and will go on to the third grade. She can now speak good Dutch.', wrote Edith Frank to Gertrud Naumann. Anne likes going to the Montessori kindergarten and, later on, enjoys first grade at this same school just as much.
Montessori School
In April 1934, Anne starts attending a Montessori kindergarten. Otto Frank later says about choosing a school: “Anne was a demanding character. She continually asked questions... When we had visitors, it was difficult to free yourself from her, because everyone and everything interested her... It was good that Anne went to a Montessori School, where each pupil gets a lot of individual attention."
Class photo of Anne from 1936
From the Sixth Montessori School in Amsterdam. Anne Frank is roughly in the middle. Her teacher is Mr. Van Gelder.
Friends
Margot and Anne often play on Merwedeplein in front of their house. They quickly make lots of new friends who are either Dutch or German. Many Jewish children from Germany live in the neighborhood. Hanneli Goslar is Anne's girlfriend in kindergarten. Later, Hanneli talks about it:
"My mother brought me to kindergarten. I only knew Anne, and I did not speak a word of Dutch. I still remember that time very well. We came inside and I saw Anne on the other side of the classroom. She stood with her back next to mine and played with these bells. Then she turned around. I saw her, she saw me, and then we ran into each other's arms. I didn't realize that my mother was gone. From that moment we were with each other, to the end... It was a nice childhood, until the German army invaded the Netherlands in 1940".
Anne and Hanneli had already seen each once before while their mothers were shopping.
Anne's tenth birthday
Anne is the second from the left, Hanneli Goslar is the fourth girl from the left.
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Story from: http://www.annefrank.org
3 comments:
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I just read Hannah Pick -Goslar's amazing book. She wrote that her teacher at the Montessori School was a Mr.Van Gelder. My Dutch grandparents, Bernard Van Gelder and Betsy Lierens, emigrated to the US before WWI. The rest of their very large families, who remained in Amsterdam, were deported by the nazis and perished in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. The only other surviving family members were Bertie Van Gelder and her sister , Robinette, who were hidden by families in the South. Bertie died a couple years ago in Amsterdam at the age of 88. I was wondering if there is any way to find out something more about the teacher, Mr. Van Gelder, his first name or the names of relatives? I am very curious to know whether or not he was part of my family and if he survived.
If you have any ideas about how I can further research this, please let me know. Thank you!
Elizabeth Van Gelder
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