What Happened to Miep Gies? Did She Betray the Franks?
by Aishwarya R
Updated May 04, 2023
Who was Miep Gies?
Hermine "Miep" Gies was an Austrian-born woman who became famous for her role in hiding Anne Frank, her family, and four other Jews from the Nazis during World War II. When she was 11 years old, she was taken in as a foster child by a Dutch family in Leiden. Although her initial stay was only supposed to last for six months, it was extended to one year due to her poor health, and she decided to remain with the family for the rest of her life.
In 1933, Gies began working for Otto Frank, a Jewish businessman who had moved his family from Germany to the Netherlands to escape Nazi persecution. Gies became a close friend of the Frank family and played a significant role in supporting them during the 25 months they spent in hiding. After the family was arrested, Gies and her colleague Bep Voskuijl retrieved Anne Frank's diary and kept it safe until Otto Frank returned from Auschwitz in 1945. Gies had hoped to return the papers to Anne, but gave them to Otto Frank, who compiled them into a diary that was published in 1947. In 1987, Gies wrote a book with Alison Leslie Gold titled "Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family."
Gies was born in Vienna and transported to Leiden in 1920 to escape food shortages in Austria. She lived with a working-class family who already had five children and became known as "Miep." She was an honor student and worked as an accountant and later as a secretary with the Dutch branch of a German spice firm. She became a close friend of the Frank family and was married to her fiancé, Jan Gies, in 1941 to obtain Dutch citizenship and avoid deportation. Gies and her husband became regular guests at the Franks' home and helped them assimilate into Dutch society.
What Happened to Miep Gies?
Miep Gies, the last surviving member of a small group that provided refuge to Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family during World War II, passed away on January 11, 2010, at the age of 100 in the Netherlands. In 1944, after the Franks were discovered and sent to concentration camps, Gies rescued Anne Frank's notebooks, which documented her two years in hiding. These notebooks were later published as "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl," a widely read account of the Holocaust.
She moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11 due to food shortages in her homeland following World War I. In 1933, she began working as a secretary for Otto Frank, who owned a small Amsterdam company that produced a substance used in making jam. The following year, Frank's wife and two daughters, Margot and Anne, left Germany and joined him in Amsterdam.
In August 1944, the Gestapo discovered the Secret Annex, and the eight people hiding inside were sent to concentration camps, with only Otto Frank surviving. Gies, who was working in the building at the time, avoided arrest because the officer in charge was from her hometown of Vienna and felt sympathetic toward her. After the war, Gies gave Otto Frank a collection of notebooks and loose papers containing Anne Frank's writings, which she had recovered from the Secret Annex after the Franks' arrest.
Otto Frank compiled his daughter's writings into a manuscript that was published in the Netherlands in 1947 under the title "Het Achterhuis" ("Rear Annex"). Later, the book was published worldwide as "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" and sold millions of copies. Gies published a memoir in 1987 titled "Anne Frank Remembered," in which she acknowledged that she was not a hero and credited the many good Dutch people who risked their lives during those dark times.
Miep Gies passed away in 2010 at the age of 100. She wrote in her memoir, "Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then." Her bravery and selflessness in providing aid to those in need during the Holocaust will always be remembered.
Who was Anne Frank?
Born in 1929 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Anne Frank had an elder sister named Margot. During this time, Germany was facing severe poverty and unemployment, and the rise of Adolf Hitler's party was gaining momentum. Hitler held a deep hatred for Jews and used the prevalent antisemitic sentiments in Germany to blame them for the country's problems. Faced with this difficult situation, Anne's parents, Otto and Edith Frank, made the decision to move to Amsterdam where Otto established a company that dealt with pectin, a substance used as a gelling agent in making jam.
In May 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands and subjected the country's Jewish population to increasing restrictions and danger. In July 1942, the Frank family went into hiding in an attic apartment behind Otto Frank's business. Later, Otto Frank's business associate and his wife and son, as well as Miep Gies' Jewish dentist, joined them. Gies, along with her Dutch social worker husband, Jan, and several other employees of Otto Frank, smuggled food, supplies, and news of the outside world into the Secret Annex at great personal risk.
Anne quickly adapted to life in the Netherlands, becoming fluent in the language and making friends at the Dutch school near her home. Although her father struggled to establish his business, he eventually found success by expanding into the sale of herbs and spices. However, their newfound stability was disrupted when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, sparking the start of World War II. The invasion of the Netherlands followed on May 10, 1940, and within days the Dutch army surrendered. As the Nazis implemented increasingly restrictive laws and regulations, life for Jews became more and more difficult. Anne was prohibited from visiting parks, cinemas, or non-Jewish shops, and her father's business was forced to close as Jews were no longer allowed to run their own companies. All Jewish children, including Anne, were required to attend separate schools.
Anne Frank Mysterious Hiding
Just before going into hiding, on her thirteenth birthday, Anne received a diary as a gift. During the two years she spent in the Secret Annex, Anne recorded not only the events but also her innermost thoughts and emotions. In addition, she wrote short stories, started working on a novel, and even copied down beautiful sentences from the books she read in her Book of Beautiful Sentences. Writing became a way for her to pass the time.
When the Dutch Minister of Education in England made a call on Radio Orange to keep war diaries and documents, Anne was inspired to turn her individual diary entries into a cohesive story. She began rewriting her diary, but before she could complete it, the police discovered the hiding place on August 4th, 1944. Anne, along with the other people in hiding and two of their helpers, was arrested. To this day, the reason for the police raid remains unknown. Despite the arrest, some of Anne’s writing was saved as two other helpers had taken the documents before the Secret Annex was emptied on orders from the Nazis.
Anne Frank Death and Fame
In November 1944, Anne and Margot were deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp while their parents remained in Auschwitz. The conditions in Bergen-Belsen were horrendous, with a lack of food, contagious diseases, and harsh weather. Both sisters contracted typhus and died in February 1945, with Margot passing away first followed by Anne shortly after.
Otto Frank, the only survivor of the people from the Secret Annex, was deeply moved by Anne's writing. He discovered her aspirations to become a writer or journalist and to publish her stories about life in hiding. With the encouragement of friends, Otto decided to publish the diary. In June 1947, 3,000 copies of Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex) were printed. The book was later translated into approximately 70 languages and adapted for stage and screen. The publication of the diary introduced Anne's story to people worldwide. In 1960, the hiding place was transformed into a museum, known as the Anne Frank House. Otto remained closely involved with the museum until his death in 1980, hoping that readers of the diary would gain awareness of the dangers of discrimination, racism, and anti-Semitism.
Is Miep Gies Betray the Franks?
No, Miep Gies did not betray the Franks. In fact, she was one of the people who helped hide the Franks and other Jewish people in the Secret Annex in Amsterdam during World War II. She risked her own life to smuggle food, supplies, and news of the outside world into the secret apartment, and after the Franks were discovered and sent to concentration camps, Gies rescued the notebooks that Anne Frank left behind. These writings were later published as “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,” which became one of the most widely read accounts of the Holocaust.
What Happened to Miep Gies - FAQs
Miep Gies was a Dutch citizen who worked as a secretary for Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father, and helped hide Anne and her family during World War II.
Miep Gies helped provide food, clothing, and other necessities to the Franks and four other people who were hiding in the Secret Annex. She also risked her life to hide them from the Nazis and supplied them with reading materials.
No, Miep Gies never betrayed the Franks. She and her colleagues in the office building where the Secret Annex was located kept the secret of the family's hiding place for more than two years. Despite the danger, Gies continued to provide support to the Franks and others in hiding until their arrest by the Nazis.
After the war, Miep Gies returned to work for Otto Frank and helped him locate his daughter's diary, which she had saved after the family's arrest. She continued to advocate for tolerance and understanding and received numerous awards for her bravery and humanitarian efforts.
Miep Gies passed away on January 11, 2010, at the age of 100. Her legacy as a hero of the Holocaust continues to inspire people around the world to stand up against injustice and to work for a better future.