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Miep Gies deceased
On Monday evening, January 11, Miep Gies deceased after a short illness. She has become 100 years.
I am not a hero
'I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more – much more - during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the hearts of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then.' | Read more
Miep Gies reading the incoming letters, June 2001. Photo: Bettina Flitner.
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Many thanks for your sympathy
Empty is the place, but beautiful are the memories of Miep Gies. The number of cards, flowers and your sympathy have supported us and made us realize that she meant a lot, not only to us but also to others. We would like to thank you most sincerely for your interest.
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Miep Gies, my story
Miep Gies, early 1930s.
'I am one hundred years old now. That is an admirable age, and I have even reached it in fairly good health. So then it's fair to say you've been fortunate, and being fortunate seems to be the red thread running through my life.'
During the Second World War, Miep Gies, along with Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, Bep Voskuijl, Jan Gies and Johan Voskuijl, made up a team of helpers for the eight Jewish people hiding in the Secret Annex at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. The office of Otto Frank, where Miep worked as secretary, was located at the front side of the same building.
Following the betrayal and the deportation of the hiders, Miep and her colleague Bep made sure that the diary of the youngest of the group, Anne Frank, did not fall into the hands of the German occupier. Miep stored Anne's writings in a drawer of her desk, unread, and gave them to Anne's father when he returned after the war, as the only survivor of the concentration camps. He saw to it that Anne's legacy was published in 1947 with the title Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex). | Read more
Grand Decoration of Honour for Services
On the 30th of July 2009 the Austrian ambassador Wolfgang Paul has awarded and presented to me the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. | Read more
Many thanks!
I truly thank you for the overwhelming attention paid to my 100th birthday. A sea of flowers and letters all accompanied by moving well-wishes. It was of an abundance that left me speechless. I shall never forget that day! | Read more
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Two perspectives
In their respective books, Anne Frank and Miep Gies describe the events in and surrounding the Secret Annex, each from within their own world of perception. Placing their descriptions of the same situations, people and events side by side adds an extra dimension to our perception of the past. | Read more
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New edition of book by Miep Gies
The occasion of the 100th birthday of Miep Gies in February 2009 will be marked by a revised English-language edition of her book, Anne Frank Remembered. The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family, first published in 1987. | Read more
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