CHAPTER THREE
Sunday, 5 July 1942
My exam results were good! My parents are pleased, of course. And Margot had a brilliant report, as usual.
Father has been at home a lot lately, because he can’t work at the business any more. It must be awful for him to feel that he’s not needed there. Mr Kleiman and Mr Kugler are now the managers in the offices.
When we went out for a walk together a few days ago, Father said, ‘We may have to go into hiding soon.’
‘Why?’ I asked him. ‘Why are you talking about it already?’
‘Well, Anne,’ he said, ‘you know that we’ve been making stores of food, clothes and furniture for more than a year now. The Germans could take everything away, and us too.’ He was very serious.
‘But when will we go?’
‘Don’t worry – we’ll arrange everything. Just enjoy yourself while you can!’
Wednesday, 8 July 1942
It seems like years since Sunday morning. So much has happened – the whole world has turned upside down. But I’m alive, and that’s the most important thing.
On Sunday afternoon we heard that the Germans were going to take Father away. We know what that means – to a concentration camp.
‘Mother’s gone to ask Mr van Daan about our hiding-place,’ said Margot. Mr van Daan worked in the business with Daddy and is a good friend of his.
Then Margot told me later that there was a mistake – the Germans had called her up, not Father. How can they take a girl of sixteen away from her family like that? But she’s not going!
A hiding-place – where shall we hide? In the city? In the country? When, where, how…? These questions were in my mind, though I couldn’t ask them.
Margot and I started to pack. I packed the craziest things! This diary first, then handkerchiefs, schoolbooks, a comb and some old letters. Memories are more important to me than dresses.
Miep and her husband Jan came to help and share the work. They carried some bags of clothes away for us. Miep and Jan work for Father’s company and they are our close friends. I slept for the last night in my own bed, and Mummy woke me up at five-thirty. We dressed in lots of clothes. No Jew would dare to leave the house with a suitcase!