The Frank Family That Survived

by Gordon F. Sander

Told by the grandson of the head of the family, this is the gripping odyssey of another Frank family from the deceptively good life of Berlin in the 1920s, through the rise of Hitler and their flight to apparently safe Holland, the nightmarish ordeal of their thousand-day-long "submersion" in a small apartment in The Hague, to the joy and pain of liberation and their final journey to America, the same route Anne Frank might have taken had she not been betrayed. Based on personal testaments, records, and family interviews, the book describes their life behind closed curtains in constant fear of discovery. In 1945, after many adventures and appalling vicissitudes, they finally emerged to face the uncertainties of postwar Holland and the promise of the New World. Both a history and a memoir, this extensively researched book gives the first account of the war in Holland, the occupation, and the resistance (including the Jewish resistance) to be published for several years. Despite that resistance, and the help of the Dutch citizens who sheltered their Jewish neighbors, most of Dutch Jewry was destroyed.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, Memoir

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

the winery; however, Myrtil didn’t want to join his father but wanted to become a stockbroker and live in the city. His younger brother Julius became an artist. And also left home. In Frankfurt, he met Flory Marburger who he later married. Myrtil and Julius both fought in World War I and survived. As soon as he got home, Myrtil married Flory and the young couple moved to Berlin. Here they set up housekeeping and had two daughters, Dorrie and Sybil. Myrtil and Flory became high society personages which kept them at a distance from their daughters, except on Sundays which was family day. In 1933, as things began to degenerate for Jews in Berlin, Frank and his family had moved to Holland hoping that its neutrality would be accepted as it was in World War II. This move was hard on the entire family; but especially on Flory. When the Germans invaded Holland and leaving was no longer a choice, Myrtil began making arrangements for his family to dive, or go underground. Of course, this was illegal; but thousands of Jews in Holland did this. They stayed in a very small apartment owned by a friend of Dorrie’s in The Hague, just down the street from Nazi headquarters. Myrtil pretended to be an Austrian doctor who lived with his “mad” wife in the apartment. Thus, he was able to go out to obtain food and other necessities as well as news. After surviving the “hungry winter” where thousands of people died of starvation, they were finally liberated.
It was after liberation when Mr. Otto Frank had his daughter’s diary published that Myrtil and his family found out about the Otto Frank family and how close their paths followed each other; yet, they never met. How closely their lives parallel each other is amazing.
This book is one which should be read while reading Holocaust nonfiction. Besides telling their story, it also tells what the Nazis were doing and how the Jews were treated in Holland.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not so enthusiastic when I started to read this book. Oh, please, another Holocaust novel, I said to myself. This is my 5th and I thought that I started to hate spending hours reading another 300-page book about the atrocities perpetuated by the Germans. However, Tata J said that I should read this book after THE HIDDEN LIFE OF OTTO FRANK by Carol Ann Lee (to which I gave 4 stars) so just like a dutiful younger brother, I obliged.

He is right. The reason is that this book is more encompassing, better researched and has more details both in micro and macro levels. Micro means what transpired inside 14 Pieter van den Zandestraat (where Myrtil Frank family hid) but also what was happening outside (even to the level of Hitler and Joseph Goebbels). The book also managed to present the parallels between Otto Frank and Myrtil Frank's families in terms of their experiences as onderduikers (hiding Jews). Gordon Sanders covered what happened to Otto Frank (Edith, Margot and Anne) while he extensively covered what happened to Myrtil (Flory, Dorritt and Sybil). The first family who hid in Amsterdam perished except Otto while the second who hid in Hague all survived. I believed that there must be a hand of God working somewhere because Anne Frank's diary became famous though she died. This Sander's book is not as successful as the diary though the Myrtil's family did not die.

However, I should not read one Holocaust book after the other. The practice is just depriving me of precious sleep. Once again, thank you, Tata J for lending me another good book! Happy Birthday today! Celebrate life as is it short and thank God that there are no gas chambers in the Philippines!

[Daiane Ferraz · Rating 5 out of 5]

É um livro muito rico em detalhes, de história e muito bem elaborado. Parabéns ao escritor por todo empenho e dedicação. Por ser um dos, ou o mais triste episódio da história da humanidade, tem passagens bem tristes, mas que mostra tamanha força e coragem em sobreviver. A minha única observação é que na tradução em português, algumas palavras não ficaram traduzidas, o que me fez muitas vezes não saber o que era e não saber seu significado.

[Valerie Conkay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic 👏. Such a sensitive and emotional book but have learnt so much about this period of time in Holland and the Jewish population through this book. I have a better understanding of the suffering and cruelty and the timeline of events. Heartbreaking and unbelievable 💔 ..... everyone should know what happened and the hell that spread far and wide.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on the Holocaust. Excellent description of events in Holland. Everyone should read it.

[Holly Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apart from the family history, or as told alongside the family history a great detailed account of the Dutch governments actions and the Dutch jews during the war. I really got a sense of the times and the climate. An unusual history lesson of what was happening in a country people think of in a more benign light as they were occupied by the Germans. Covers the time before the occupation and after. Fascinating.

[Charles]

I bought that book second hand at the Lifelife book fair. It should be interesting after having already read The Diary of Anne Frank (the complete edition), visited the house (now a museum) in Amsterdam many years ago, and recently watched a dramatisation of Anne Frank's story on DVD.

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review in Portuguese on the link below:

http://leonardofernandes.blogspot.com...