Anne Frank Pt 1 (Women Who Changed the World Series)

Join Amy and Cece in this powerful episode of Check This Out! As part of their ongoing series on inspiring women, they delve into the remarkable life of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who made a lasting impact through her diary written during World War II. 

Discover the incredible stories of women like Rosa Parks, Bessie Coleman, Ruby Bridges, and Wangari Maathai, setting the stage for Anne's legacy amidst the backdrop of the Holocaust and global conflict. 

Through engaging discussion and fun true-or-false questions, Amy and Cece explore the history and events that shaped Anne’s life, the power of her words, and what her story teaches us about compassion and activism today. 

Part 1 of Anne Frank's story provides listeners with context on the world that led to Anne and her family hiding from the Nazis.  Part 2 will feature a special guest helping read excerpts from the diary.   March is Women's History Month and Anne Frank helps us kick off the celebration.  

Transcript

Welcome to Check this out, podcast for kids 

And their grownups where we explore people, places, ponderings and past moments from history that shape the world around us.  My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today is March 3rd and we are continuing our series on 

Cece: Women Who Changed the World 

The first few women we talked about in our Women Who Changed the World Series were Rosa Parks, Bessie Coleman, Ruby Bridges, and Wangari Maathi.  If you haven’t listened to their inspiring stories I encourage you to do so.  Before we get into today’s episode on Anne Frank I want to tell you a little more about some of the women we’ve discussed thus far in our series just in case you haven’t had the chance to listen to their episodes yet! .  

Cece: Lets recap some of their achievements 

Our first Episode in Women who changed the world featured Rosa Parks. She is sometimes called the Mother of the Civil Rights movement.  She bravely refused to give up her seat on a bus back in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.  This action launched a boycott that created laws that changed the rules of segregation and initiated the work of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights activists in the south.  

Bessie Coleman was the first black/female aviator.  She got her pilot's license in 1921, and was a fierce advocate of women and minority groups in flight.  She was a speaker and barnstormer (listen to the episode to learn about what that is) who inspired future generations of aviators with her bravery.  

Ruby Bridges, who is still alive today, was the first black child to attend a white school in the segregated south.  At 6 years old she bravely desegregated an elementary school in the south facing angry mobs, threats, and prejudice.  As an adult her fight for civil rights and equality lives on.  

Wangari Maathi was an african environmentalist, professor, and humanitarian.  She created an organization called the Green Belt Movement which still exists and has planted over 51 million trees in Africa.  She was an educational trailblazer, she was the first woman from East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and was the first female professor in Kenya.  This nobel peace prize winner fought for the environment and democracy for her whole life.  

Cece: They did so much 

They did!  

We have more amazing women coming in our series like Malala Youfsafsai, Sacagawea, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Susan B Anthony, and Eva Peron.  

Cece: I’m excited to learn more! 

You should be, because today’s episode is about an amazing girl named Anne Frank, and she is a woman who changed the world.  Have you learned about Anne Frank in school yet? 

Cece: Not yet 

That's ok, I bet some of our listeners have.  Anne Frank, although we're talking about her as a woman who changed the world, was just a kid when she died.  But in her short life of 15 years, she made an incredible impact and I’m so honored to tell you part of her story today.  

Cece: Tell me everything

Before we introduce our listeners to Anne Frank, who she was, and why she's a woman who changed the world, I’d like to set the stage a little bit about the world into which Anne Frank was born.  

Cece: That would be helpful 

Anne Frank was born in 1929 in Frankfurt Germany.  Her father Otto Frank moved his family out of Germany to the Netherlands during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.  Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany in 1933, and the Frank Family moved to Amsterdam in 1934.  

Cece: Why mama? 

Well, Anne Frank and her family were Jewish and the Nazi party didn’t like Jewish people.  They created laws to make the lives of Jewish people hard, it was dangerous to be jewish in Nazi controlled areas.  The Nazi party used their position of power to make the lives of Jewish people in countries under their control really tough.    

Cece: That is not ok

Yea, the period of time around when Anne Frank was born is the time leading up to and during World War 2.  We have  talked about World War 1 in other episodes, but World War 2 took place after world war 1.  World War 2 dominated almost the entire world from 1939-1945.   

Cece: What happened? 

I’ll give you a quick overview 

Check this out 

World War 2 is the biggest war in history. Some estimates say up to 50 million people died in WW2.  In the future we will do a couple of episodes on World War 2 and some of its key events, but its important to understand what World War 2 is, why it happened, and who was involved to understand Anne Frank’s life and how she changed the world.  

Cece: I’m ready 

Here is a very very very high level overview.  In 1939 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany invaded another country called Poland.  Because Poland had a treaty (or a deal) with Britain and France they came to help out Poland when it was attacked by Germany.  Britain and France  declared war on Germany on September 3rd of 1939.  

Now you might be asking. Amy, why is it called World War 2 if it was only Germany, Poland, Britain, and France?  That is because soon a LOT MORE COUNTRIES got involved.  Eventually, around 70 countries got involved in the war.  Germany kept invading countries and many of the countries that got involved in the war had treaties with other countries, so more and more got involved.  A treaty is like a deal that says if you have my back, Ill have yours.  So if someone messes with me, they also mess with you.  Another word that sometimes gets used when talking about wars is a country having an Ally, or like a friendly country who you know will come help you out if you ned it.  

Cece: Wow 

Yea, it truly was a world war.  Ultimately World War 2 can be boiled down to it being  a battle between the countries that were called the Allied Powers, which were primarily Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States and the Axis powers which were primarily Germany, Italy, and Japan.  

I could talk about World War 2 for weeks so keeping this short is tough.  But During WW2 the Nazi party in Germany started the Holocaust.  The Holocaust was the government-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and other minority groups by Nazi Germany and its partners (or allies) during World War II.

As I mentioned, being Jewish in Nazi controlled areas was dangerous, this persecution of Jewish people is why we know about Anne Frank and talk about her as a woman who changed the world.  

Cece: What does that mean mama? 

Persecution can mean harassment or being badly treated by others.  

Cece: Ohhh

Anne Frank became famous because of her diary, which she kept while she and her family, along with other jewish people, were hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam.  

World War 2, the Nazis, and the Holocaust all played a role in the story of Anne Frank and her family.  

Cece: I want to learn more about that 

You will, we will talk more about all of those things in the future.  But for right now, we are going to dive in and talk about Anne Frank.   

Cece: I’m ready! 

I know a lot of kids learn about Anne Frank in school, so let’s do a little true or false lightning round!  

Cece: True or False 

Anne Frank is famous because her diary about her time in hiding from the nazis became a worldwide best seller 

Cece: The answer is True! 

Her father Otto Frank survived the Holocaust and published her journal after her death.  

Cece: True or False 

You can visit where Anne Frank and her family lived while they were hiding from the Nazis

Cece: The answer is True! 

The place where Anne Frank and the others hid is now called the Anne Frank house.  It is a museum in Amsterdam and is open to the public and available for visitors.  

Cece: True or False 

Anne Frank’s family stored years of food in the secret annex where they hid from the Nazis so they had plenty to survive.  

Cece: The answer is false 

The Franks and other Jewish people in hiding relied on a team of 6 helpers who brought them food, news, and supplies during their 2 years in hiding from the nazis.  

Cece: True or False 

Anne Frank died while in hiding from the Nazis from illness.  

Cece: The answer is False! 

Anne Frank and her sister were taken to a place called a concentration camp after their family was discovered. The treatment of people in these concentration camps was terrible, they had little food and water, unhealthy conditions, and were forced into hard labor.  She died from the horrible conditions in the camp and contracted a sickness called typhus, which led to her death.  

One more question! 

Cece: True or False 

The Frank family was betrayed which is how german authorities discovered their hiding place 

Cece: The answer is False! 

Well, kinda.  There are a lot of assumptions that the Frank family was betrayed but there is no evidence as to who may have betrayed them, there has been lots of research about this and there are still big questions about how they were discovered by German/Nazi authorities.  

I do love a good lightning round, but for people who don’t know anything about Anne Frank yet, it's time we explain all these questions as well as her story.  

Cece: Hit me with it 

Anne Frank was born in 1929 in Frankfurt Germany.  She was born to her parents Otto and Edith Frank and had an older sister named Margot.  As a child Anne loved writing and hoped to be a journalist when she was older.  Anne’s family moved to Amsterdam, a city in the Netherlands, when she was 4 years old.  

As a child, Anne had many friends and loved performing in plays she wrote along with her pals.  She didn’t like math but enjoyed writing and history.  She was outgoing and enjoyed being the center of attention.  

Cece: That sounds nice

It was, even with the growing tensions in the world around her because of the Nazis Anne had a happy childhood.  Anne Frank’s family left Germany when she was young because of the growing restrictions that were being placed on jewish people by the nazi regime.  

Cece: What does that mean mama? 

Regime is a big word for government, but it is usually used to describe authoritarian governments, which is a type of government that doesn’t allow a lot of freedom but forces obeying people in power.  

Cece: Got it 

In Amsterdam, Anne’s father, Otto, created a successful business selling herbs, spices, and other items.   She attended school and made friends.  Her older sister Margot also was happy and had lots of friends. .  

Cece: How was life there? 

Good, for a while.  But in 1940 the German Army invaded the Netherlands, after invading Poland, Denmark, and Norway.  After 1940 the Netherlands became occupied by the Nazis so the Franks weren’t able to leave the country again.  After the Nazis took power in the Netherlands they created a rule that Jews couldn’t own their own business.  This was just one of many laws against jewish people that restricted their freedoms and rights.  Luckily Otto Frank had loyal non-Jewish employees and he was able to keep his company out of Nazi hands by using them to keep control of his business.  

Cee: That must have been hard.  

It was, and it got harder over time.  Just a year later, in 1941 Jewish men started getting arrested and were sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp.  Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, knew some of these people, many of whom died at the concentration camp.  

In early 1942 Anne Frank’s dad decided to use a portion of his business space to create a hiding place for his family.  They started working on creating a living space and Otto Frank asked 4 of his employees to help hide his family if needed.  

In July of 1942 Anne’s older sister Margot got a letter telling her she had to go to a labor camp in Nazi Germany. Her family didn’t trust the summons and were afraid of what it would mean for Margot. The next morning Anne Frank’s family moved into the secret hiding place at her father’s place of business.  

Do you know what the place where Anne Frank and her family hid was called?  Today it is a museum known as Anne Frank House, but the hiding place goes by another name.  Was it 

1. The moving wall 
2. The Secret Annex 
3. The Hideout 

Cece: If you guessed B you’re correct!  

One week after the Frank Family moved into the Secret Annex another Jewish family, the Van Pels, moved in with their 17 year old son Peter.  Later in 1942 one additional Jewish man, Fritz Pfeffer joined them, bringing the number of people in hiding to 8. There were 5 adults, and 3 teenagers.  

From 1942 to 1944, these eight people all lived in the Secret Annex to hide from the Nazis. In order to survive, they counted on six helpers; employees and friends of Anne's father. These helpers provided food and clothing, as well as books, magazines and newspapers. The helpers risked their own lives to help the 8 people hiding in the secret annex successfully hide from the nazis for 2 years! 

1942 was an important year for Anne Frank, because that was the year her family moved into the secret annex and went into hiding but it was also the year she turned 13.  For her 13th birthday she received an important present.  Was it 

1. A pair of binoculars 
2. A stopwatch 
3. A diary 

Cece: If you said C you’re correct! 

On 12 June 1942, Anne received a red and white checkered diary for her thirteenth birthday.  This diary would become her lifeline and legacy while living in the secret annex.  

Cece: Why does that matter? 

Anne Frank’s diary is how we know about her time and experiences in the secret annex.  

Cece: Got it 

Anne Frank didn’t just keep a diary. She also wrote stories and hoped to publish a book about her time in the Secret Annex after the war was over.  Anne Frank’s diary and story have been converted into books, plays, and movies.  Do you want to guess how many languages the diary of Anne Frank has been translated into?  

Do you think it's more than 10? 

Cece: Yes

More than 30? 

Cece: Yes

More than 60? 

Cece: Yes

You’re right! The Diary of Anne Frank has been translated into over 75 languages.  

During the time her family lived in the secret annex Anne Frank wrote a lot in her diary.  Keep in mind she had no phone, tablet, nintendo switch, and even had limited books and space to keep her entertained!  She regularly wrote in her diary to just pass the time!  

Her diary gives an honest picture of the experience of a young, jewish girl surviving the incredibly hard time of living through world war 2, the nazi regime, and the holocaust.  But she also wrote about everyday things like her thoughts and feelings, getting her period, arguments she had with her mother, her first love, and her hopes about life after the war.  

Cece: Tell us, Tell us! 

I am going to! Anne Frank’s diary is one of my favorite things I ever got to read in school.  And in part 2 of our episode on Anne Frank we have some friends who will be joining us to talk more about Anne Frank and her diary.  Tune back in for part 2 of Anne Frank when our friends Andrea and Mika come to help us read some parts of her diary.  Mika is the great granddaughter of 2 holocaust survivors and having her help us read from Anne Frank’s diary was so special.  

Part 2 of this episode on anne frank will be dropping in just a couple of days.  Make sure you’re following along and subscribing so you get an alert when the next episode drops.  

In the meantime, let’s recap a few facts you can continue to research on your own until the next episode!  

1. Anne Frank lived during World War 2 and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  She was 13 years old when her family went into hiding.  There is a lot you can learn about World War 2, but I think it's interesting to research what countries were involved and learn about the role they played in the war. Remember about 70 countries were involved in WW2.  
2. This episode talked a lot about hard things Jewish people experienced as a result of the Nazi party.  This can be confusing and overwhelming.  The time in history that Anne Frank lived was complicated, and it can be hard to just give a simple answer about why it happened.  Throughout history small groups have been picked on by others who don’t understand them or have different beliefs.  This absolutely does not excuse the treatment of jewish people by the nazis. Talking about Anne Franks experience and the experience of the jewish community in WW2 shows us that we always have an obligation to stand up and protect smaller groups when bad things are happening.  Like protecting our friends from a bully at school.  
3. Anne Frank’s diary is a snapshot of her life during the 2 years she lived in hiding.  If you like quotes, she has some great ones, if you want to read her diary you can probably check it out from your local library!  

We’ll see you in a couple of days for part 2 on Anne Frank!