payment page
Mr. van Daan (whose real name is Hermann van Pels) is Peter van Daan’s father and the wife of Mrs. van Daan. He previously worked with Otto Frank as an herbal specialist in Amsterdam, and their family hides along with the Franks and Mr. Dussel within the annex.
Anne is excited when she learns that another family will be staying with them in the annex and she dedicates a decent amount of time in her diary to her first impressions of the three van Daans. Her entry on Mr. van Daan is the longest, which could possibly indicate that she initially found him to be the most interesting. Anne and the others find him intelligent and trust his opinion on important matters. For example, early in the diary, Anne writes of Mr. van Daan: “In the opinion of us all, this revered gentleman has great insight into politics.” However, while Anne is clearly impressed with Mr. van Daan, she also finds him difficult to live with. For example, Mr. van Daan and his wife fight frequently, which gets on Anne’s nerves. Anne is also critical of Mr. van Daan’s stubborn nature. As she writes in her diary, “Once he’s spoken, his word is final. If anyone dares to suggest otherwise, Mr. van D. can put up a good fight…Granted, the man has a good head on his shoulders, but it’s swelled to no small degree.” Anne’s assessments of Mr. van Daam reveal her intellectual and intuitive nature; she is able to respect Mr. van Daan’s intelligence without being blind to his faults.
