On June 12, 1929, at 7:30 A.M. a baby girl was born in Frankfurt, Germany. No one realized that this infant, who was Jewish, was destined to become one of the world's most famous victims of World War II. Her name was Anne Frank, and her parents were Edith Frank Hollandar and Otto Frank. She had one sister, Margot, who was three years older than she was.

Anne led a happy and normal childhood, and on her 13th birthday she received a diary from her parents. It became special to her as years went by. It is through this diary that much about World War II and Anne's life has been learned.

In 1933, her and her family left Frankfurt, a large Jewish community, and settled in Amsterdam. Her father foresaw that Hitler's power boded disaster …show more content…

Of the last transport, with 1,019 people, that left Westerbork on September 3, 1944 for Aushwitz, 45 men and 82 women survived.

Anne's father lived on for many years and made sure that Anne's diary was published. Her diary was published in 1947 and was then made into a film. This diary helps people remember what the Jews went through. By remembering, it is hoped something like this will never happen again. As Anne said in her diary, "In spite of everything, I still believe, people are truly good at heart".

The Holocaust was the almost complete destruction of European Jews by Nazi Germany. When Nazi regime came to power in Germany in 1933, it immediately began to take systematic measures against Jews. The Nazi Party, government agencies, banks, and business enterprises made concerted efforts to eliminate Jews from economic life and from German life in general. In 1938, following the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris by a young Jew, all synagogues in Germany were set on fire, windows of Jewish shops were smashed, and thousands of Jews were arrested. This signaled the Jews in Germany and Austria to leave as soon as possible. Many found refuge in other countries, but a similar number were unable to escape.

When World War II began in 1939, the German army occupied the western half of Poland, bringing almost 2 million more Jews under Germany's control. Polish Jews were forced to move in to ghettos surrounded by