Anne Frank’s House

I know where to hide Zac and Talia

Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam is a moving experience but when our 8-year-old and 6 -year-old quietly set about planning where we could hide their small Jewish friends, the moment becomes even more poignant.

We were living in the UK and each of us could choose one place to visit that summer. Brett was nearly 10, Tom was 7 and Demi 5. When Tom who was fascinated by all things soldiers and slept with his WWI gas mask in camouflage pyjamas, said he wanted to follow Anne Frank's journey I should not have been surprised. We had been reading her story and had already been to the D Day beaches and WW1 battle fields so his request was the next step. Still, we knew how the story ended for the young Dutch girl in and had to decide if the children were ready to cope with it, and in reality, if I was. I find the whole holocaust disturbing beyond any words and was torn. But the decision was made, and Anne Frank’s house was the beginning of our road trip which took us all the way to Annes's ultimate destination, Auschwitz.

The house was unassuming and sombre as we entered. People spoke in hushed voices as they moved through the displays and audio visuals. I was reading the displays to the children as we moved through. Towards the end I was feeling drained and had shed tears on a number of occasions. Like most parents I had imagined the powerful fear for your children that must have engulfed the Frank family.

I looked over to see Tom and Demi with heads bent whispering to each other. I moved across to ask if they were OK. Two serious little face looked up to me. Tom answered with confidence, “Mummy, we know where we can hide Zac and Talia when the Germans come”. My response caught in my throat. Zac and Talia were the children of our dear Jewish friends Pam and Richard. Demi then stepped in with an elaborate plan about how we could hide them in our loft, with Tom adding what food we could take to them and the toys they would need. Demi added that Pam and Richard would have to come too so that the children would not be scared without them. They had clearly been working on this plan for much of the time we had been in the museum as vantage points to see the German coming and who they could tell had been thought through. The furniture that would need and the fact that Talia loved to eat chips was mentioned. The details were set as far as they were concerned. Tom ended by telling me we needed to tell Pam and Richard so they would know where to come if the Germans came to Sydney.

I wanted to answer with reassurances that they were safe from the Germans but realised that was not what they needed to hear. They needed to know that they could help when they saw injustice. In their own ways they we facing probably for the first time, as sense of powerlessness against great odds. They needed reassurance that they had it covered. My simple answer was “Yes, of course we would- it looks like you have an amazing plan”, and I turned away with a tear and a smile.

Pam and I still talk about this story many years later and comment on the purity of children. But, maybe it really is that simple and we just complicate it as we get older.

By the way, Zac and Talia became a continual thought as we wove our story making our way with Anne Frank across Germany. We had the routine of making a story that we added to each day when we were travelling. It was a way to immerse the children in the place we were in without being to teacher like. In this story Gary and I became Elsa and Klaus who worked for the resistance and smuggled children out of the Netherlands. Demi became Ingrid. She was Annes best friend and was captured but escaped, hiding on a farm until the war was over. Tom became Otto a German boy who became a part of Hitler youth and would sneak around spying- but the good news is he changed sides in the end. Brett became Hans a German soldier who was sent to Auschwitz and was confronted with some startling dilemmas.

Our journey ended 2 weeks later at Auschwitz where Ingrid, Otto and Hans were confronted with the reality of the atrocities of the Holocaust.