On 27 January 1945, Red Army units entered the Auschwitz concentration camp. There, they came upon about 7,000 prisoners, often more dead than alive. One of them was Otto Frank, Anne’s father. He only weighed 50 kilogrammes. In his first letter to his mother in Basel, Switzerland, he emphasised that he had been very, very lucky. Otto’s journey back to Amsterdam took four months. As it turned out, he was the only one of the eight people from the Secret Annex who had survived the Holocaust.

Bevrijding Otto Frank

Otto Frank herstelt in ziekenzaal

The liberation of Auschwitz

Out of the eight people from the Secret Annex, Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, was the only one to survive the Holocaust. This is the story of his return from the Auschwitz concentration camp to Amsterdam. This reconstruction is based on Otto’s notes and other testimonies and documents. Click through the slides for the story and on the markers for more information.

A long and uncertain journey

Terugreis Otto Frank: Katowice

Overlijden Edith Frank

A school in Katowice

A sad encounter

Edith's death

Terugreis Otto Frank: Tsjernivtsi

A warm reception in Chernivtsi

Terugreis Otto Frank: Odessa

Weeks of waiting in Odessa

A protest telegram

Aboard the ‘Monowai’

Terugreis Otto Frank: met de Monowai naar Marseille

Terugreis Otto Frank: Roermond en Arnhem

The national anthem in Marseilles

Terugreis Otto Frank: terug in Amsterdam

Otto Frank woont in bij Jan en Miep Gies

Otto Frank verhuist samen met Jan en Miep Gies

Back in Amsterdam

The deaths of Anne and Margot

Anne’s writings

Otto Frank tussen de helpers, Amsterdam, augustus 1945.

The return of Otto Frank