Bep Voskuijl
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth "Bep" Voskuijl (Elli Vossen) (5 July 1919, Amsterdam
– 6 May 1983, Amsterdam) helped conceal Anne Frank
and her family from Nazi
persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands
.
Bep was born in :Amsterdam. She was one of the eight children of Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl
and Mrs Voskuijl.
She was hired by Otto Frank
in 1937 as a secretary and by 1942 was the administration manager of his company, Opekta
, based at 263 Prinsengracht, the address which would become the Frank family's hiding place. She agreed to help bring provisions to his family and four other people concealed in the back rooms of the office building, from July 1942, until their betrayal and arrest in August 1944. She also ordered correspondence courses, such as shorthand
, and Latin
. During the Gestapo
raid she managed to escape, but returned to assist Miep Gies
in collecting the personal possessions of the captured Jews, amongst which were Anne Frank's diaries and manuscripts.
She left the company after her marriage to Cornelius van Wijk on 15 May 1946 and they went on to have four children; Ton, Cor, Joop, and a daughter, Anne-Marie, born in 1960, who was named after Anne.
She was honoured in later years for her activities during the Second World War, but disliked publicity and gave few interviews about her association with Anne Frank. She did, however, remain in touch with Otto Frank until his death and kept a scrapbook of articles about Anne and her diary.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
– 6 May 1983, Amsterdam) helped conceal Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
and her family from Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Bep was born in :Amsterdam. She was one of the eight children of Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl
Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl
Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl was one of the people who helped to hide :Anne Frank and her family and friends. He is known as "Mr Vossen" in the earliest editions of Anne's posthumously published :diary, but all people in the diary have their real names restored in all versions printed since...
and Mrs Voskuijl.
She was hired by Otto Frank
Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
in 1937 as a secretary and by 1942 was the administration manager of his company, Opekta
Opekta
Opekta was a business run from 1933 to 1995, founded by Anne Frank's father Otto Frank, which distributed a pectin-based gelling preparation, to be used in jam making...
, based at 263 Prinsengracht, the address which would become the Frank family's hiding place. She agreed to help bring provisions to his family and four other people concealed in the back rooms of the office building, from July 1942, until their betrayal and arrest in August 1944. She also ordered correspondence courses, such as shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
, and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. During the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
raid she managed to escape, but returned to assist Miep Gies
Miep Gies
Miep Gies was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family and several family friends in an attic annex above Anne's father's place of business from the Nazis during World War II...
in collecting the personal possessions of the captured Jews, amongst which were Anne Frank's diaries and manuscripts.
She left the company after her marriage to Cornelius van Wijk on 15 May 1946 and they went on to have four children; Ton, Cor, Joop, and a daughter, Anne-Marie, born in 1960, who was named after Anne.
She was honoured in later years for her activities during the Second World War, but disliked publicity and gave few interviews about her association with Anne Frank. She did, however, remain in touch with Otto Frank until his death and kept a scrapbook of articles about Anne and her diary.