Anne Frank’s father’s letters uncovered

A previously undisclosed cache of letters written by Anne Frank’s father reveals just how desperately Otto Frank tried to save his family and get them out of Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The letters, discovered two summers ago in New York City, reveal that he investigated escape routes through Spain to neutral Portugal, tried to obtain visas to Paris, ...

604530_frank_family5.jpg
604530_frank_family5.jpg

A previously undisclosed cache of letters written by Anne Frank's father reveals just how desperately Otto Frank tried to save his family and get them out of Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The letters, discovered two summers ago in New York City, reveal that he investigated escape routes through Spain to neutral Portugal, tried to obtain visas to Paris, and attempted to get his family into the United States and Cuba.

A previously undisclosed cache of letters written by Anne Frank’s father reveals just how desperately Otto Frank tried to save his family and get them out of Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The letters, discovered two summers ago in New York City, reveal that he investigated escape routes through Spain to neutral Portugal, tried to obtain visas to Paris, and attempted to get his family into the United States and Cuba.

The letters once again bring to light questions about U.S. immigration policy at the time, and why Mr. Frank’s desperate pleas for help were not successful. As chronicled in Anne Frank’s famous diary, the family ended up having to hide in an Amsterdam attic for two years, only to be discovered and sent to concentration camps.

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

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