On 20 May 1945, the long wait came to an end. The transport ship ‘Monowai’ arrived in the port of Odesa and departed the next day with the Dutch group. Several Nazi collaborators were discovered and removed or detained on the ship. For the former prisoners, the boat trip was a relief after all their hardships. The care on the ship was excellent, and there was more than enough to eat. Even so, many of the passengers were haunted by the thoughts of those they had lost. And what would the situation in the liberated Netherlands be like? In a letter to his mother, Otto wrote: ‘My children, they are my only hope.’

The SS Monowai off the English coast in 1944.

Aboard the ‘Monowai’

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.

Bevrijding Otto Frank

Otto Frank herstelt in ziekenzaal

The liberation of Auschwitz

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

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