Anne Frank - The
author of the diary. Anne was born on June
12,
1929,
in Frankfurt, Germany, and was four years old when her father moved
to Holland to find a better place for the family to live. She is
very intelligent and perceptive, and she wants to become a writer.
Anne grows from an innocent, tempestuous, precocious, and somewhat
petty teenage girl to an empathetic and sensitive thinker at age
fifteen. Anne dies of typhus in the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen
in late February or early March of
1945.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Anne Frank.
Margot Frank -
Anne’s older sister. Margot was born in Frankfurt in
1926.
She receives little attention in Anne’s diary, and Anne does not
provide a real sense of Margot’s character. Anne thinks that Margot
is pretty, smart, emotional, and everyone’s favorite. However, Anne and
Margot do not form a close bond, and Margot mainly appears in the
diary when she is the cause of jealousy or anger. She dies of typhus
in the concentration camp a few days before Anne does.
Otto Frank - Anne’s
father. Otto is practical and kind, and Anne feels a particular
kinship to him. He was born on May
12,
1889,
into a wealthy Frankfurt family, but the family’s international-banking
business collapsed during the German economic depression that followed World
War I. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, Otto moved to Amsterdam
in
1933 to protect
his family from persecution. There he made a living selling chemical
products and provisions until the family was forced into hiding
in
1942. Otto is the only
member of the family to survive the war, and he lives until
1980.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Otto Frank.
Edith Frank - Anne’s
mother. Edith Hollander was originally from Aachen, Germany, and
she married Otto in
1925.
Anne feels little closeness or sympathy with her mother, and the
two have a very tumultuous relationship. Anne thinks her mother
is too sentimental and critical. Edith dies of hunger and exhaustion
in the concentration camp at Auschwitz in January
1945.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Edith Frank.
Mr. van Daan - The
father of the family that hides in the annex along with the Franks
and who had worked with Otto Frank as an herbal specialist in Amsterdam.
Mr. van Daan’s actual name is Hermann van Pels, but Anne calls him
Mr. van Daan in the diary. According to Anne, he is intelligent,
opinionated, pragmatic, and somewhat egotistical. Mr. van Daan is
temperamental, speaks his mind openly, and is not afraid to cause friction,
especially with his wife, with whom he fights frequently and openly.
He dies in the gas chambers at Auschwitz in October or November
of
1944.
Mrs. van Daan - Mr. van Daan’s wife. Her actual name is Auguste van
Pels, but Anne calls her Petronella van Daan in her diary. Anne
initially describes Mrs. van Daan as a friendly, teasing woman,
but later calls her an instigator. She is a fatalist and can be
petty, egotistical, flirtatious, stingy, and disagreeable. Mrs.
van Daan frequently complains about the family’s situation—criticism
that Anne does not admire or respect. Mrs. van Daan does not survive
the war, but the exact date of her death is unknown.
Peter van Daan - The teenage son of the van Daans, whose real name
is Peter van Pels. Anne first sees Peter as obnoxious, lazy, and
hypersensitive, but later they become close friends. Peter is quiet,
timid, honest, and sweet to Anne, but he does not share her strong convictions.
During their time in the annex, Anne and Peter develop a romantic
attraction, which Mr. Frank discourages. Peter is Anne’s first kiss,
and he is her one confidant and source of affection and attention
in the annex. Peter dies on May
5,
1945,
at the concentration camp at Mauthausen, only three days before
the camp was liberated.
Albert Dussel -
A dentist and an acquaintance of the Franks who hides with them
in the annex. His real name is Fritz Pfeffer, but Anne calls him
Mr. Dussel in the diary. Anne finds Mr. Dussel particularly difficult
to deal with because he shares a room with her, and she suffers
the brunt of his odd personal hygiene habits, pedantic lectures,
and controlling tendencies. Mr. Dussel’s wife is a Christian, so
she does not go into hiding, and he is separated from her. He dies
on December
20,
1944,
at the Neuengamme concentration camp.
Mr. Kugler - A
man who helps hide the Franks in the annex. Victor Kugler is arrested
along with Kleiman in
1944 but escapes
in
1945. He immigrates
to Canada in
1955 and dies
in Toronto in
1981.
Mr. Kugler is also referred to as Mr. Kraler.
Mr. Kleiman -
Another man who helps the Franks hide. Johannes Kleiman is arrested
in
1944 but released
because of poor health. He remains in Amsterdam until his death in
1959.
Mr. Kleiman is also referred to as Mr. Koophuis.
Bep Voskuijl - A
worker in Otto Frank’s office. Elizabeth (Bep) Voskuijl helps the
family by serving as a liaison to the outside world. She remains
in Amsterdam until her death in
1983.
Mr. Voskuijl - Bep’s
father.
Miep Gies -
A secretary at Otto’s office who helps the Franks hide. After the
Franks are arrested, she stows the diary away in a desk drawer and
keeps it there, unread, until Otto’s return in
1945.
She died in 2010 at the age of 100.
Jan Gies - Miep’s
husband. He dies in
1993.
Hanneli - Anne’s
school friend. The Nazis arrest her early
in the war.
Peter Schiff -
The love of Anne’s life from the sixth grade. Peter Schiff is a
boy one year older than Anne. She has dreams about him while in
the annex. Peter Schiff is also referred to as Peter Wessel.
Hello Silberberg - A boy with whom Anne has an innocent, though romantic
relationship before she goes into hiding. Hello is also referred
to as Harry Goldberg.
