[.ca] Anne Frank Remembered (ISBN 0671662341)

a way too long novel:
do not read this book if you are a surfer and don't want to read a long book. Ya, it was touching but, it was long...

Would you?:
I think many of us would like to think that if a family that we know well is in dire need, we would go to extreme measures to help them in any way we can. But if it came down to a life-and-death decision, I wonder how many people would have made the same decision that brave Miep Gies made to help out the Franks. She details this decision, and her years of helping the Franks hide in the little apartment behind her office, in her well-told book "Anne Frank Remembered". Part memior, part rememberance of Anne herself, this book details the life of Miep, from a little girl born in Vienna, to her migration to Amsterdam. She becomes an office worker in Otto Frank's pectin business, and her history is now set. Soon, due to Hitler's oppresive policies against the Jews, the Franks must go into hiding to survive. Miep recounts details of her assistance in helping keep the Franks, the Van Daans and Albert Dussel alive. In fact, this book is a brilliant piece of writing to accompany Anne Frank's diary. While Anne details life inside the Annex, we find out from Miep what she was doing outside. Together, they paint a complete picture of the horror and danger of their daily lives. And when Anne's diary stops before that faithful day, Miep's story continues. She bravely tries to bribe the Franks out of captivity to no avail. Whereas Anne is probably the most "famous" Frank, Miep does talk about her from time to time, knowing that we would want to know her impressions of the little girl. She offers some touching, poignant insights to Anne, making her seem more real, if that's possible. Detailing Anne growing out of her clothes, which Anne domcuments herself in her diary, is a particular moment that shows us Anne having to grow up, imprisioned becuase of her religion and for her safety. Without a doubt, Miep and all of the people who aided the Franks in the Annex are heroes. This time of history had many thousands of heroes, many of them unsung. Fortuantely, we have a well-documented life of Anne and we can spend as much time as possible with them, thanks to these books.

Such a strong woman...:
Miep Gies should be remembered as one of the greatest women of all time. Out of sheer love, love for people, she helped in hiding the Frank family along with a few others. The book tells the entire story of Miep Gies, from her first employment by Anne's father until the final liberation of Holland. The story is told honestly and without a feeling of ego or of her deliberately sounding like the brave woman she was. And it's told in such a way, that you feel a kind of suspense as if you didn't know of the tragedy coming. Miep is unrelenting in her portrayal of the grimness of life during the German occupation of Holland. It was worse of all for the Jewish people, but it was also hard on the Dutch people. Reading this is an education for those of us who have no idea of how it is to live in an occupied country. However, you feel the hope in the ending. Also, one realizes how truly important a book that Anne Frank's diary was. This is a very moving and a most important book on its own.

Miep the Hero:
Miep Gies is a woman who is always trying to help those in need. She started work for a man named Otto Frank. He had a wife and two daughters named Anne and Margot. They were Jewish and had moved from Basel, Switzerland to escape from the Germans. Instantly, they became friends. When the Jews were made to leave their homes to go to "labor camps", the Frank's became scared. They decided to go into hiding and wanted to know if Miep would help. She said "yes", and right away they left to their new place to stay. Miep helped eight people stay with the Frank's while she and her husband, Henk, helped other Jews in need. Food was hard to find for so many people. They both tried their best for their friends. Miep always visted them while Henk showed up less often. They were always scared that the Germans would catch their friends. After almost three years in hidding the Germans discovered the hiding place. After the war ended only Mr. Frank came back. It was very hard for him to deal with his loved ones being gone. But they did find Anne's diary, which she wrote in many times every day. At first neither of them read it, but after a while Mr. Frank read the diary. I thought the book was terrific. It told me so much about what happened in Miep's life. She was a very good woman who helped so many people. It told us about her life befor, during, and after the war. The book has a very sad tone. The people in the annex are very scared that they will get caught by the Germans. They are very frightened that the end will come soon. They have to live with the fear of trying not to be noisey so no one will hear them. They have to go threw alot of things that might show that their are people in hiding. This makes them very sad.

A haunting story that will stay with you for a long time!:
Miep Gies has done an astounding job and written a really wonderful book. I own this book, originally having bought it when it first came out 14 years ago. I read it then, put it away, and recently got it back out when the Anne Frank miniseries was on t.v. I reread it, and it was just like reading it for the first time! You get to know more about the Frank family and those in hiding with them. You learn more about them on a personal level. Miep also tells us about herself and her background. She really helps us feel what it was like to be a Jew in hiding. And she describes the days before, during and after the war so vividly. It's a great lesson in the circumstances and political atmosphere of how Hitler's Third Reich came to power. Miep says that she is not a hero; that she only did what a lot of people did, but after reading this book I cannot agree with her. What she and her husband did was extremely heroic and the Frank family was truly blessed to have them. She and her book are truly a treasure.