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Miep Gies A Living Legend 


 * //“So please, tell me where Anne Frank lives at this moment if the Holocaust did not take place, because Anne Frank would still be with us today." //** – Miep Gies (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”)  

**Background of Miep Gies **:  -born in Vienna, Austria on February 15, 1909 (making her 99 this year!) -grew up during the First World War when there was a food shortage -suffered from tuberculosis, which is a disease that is harmful to the lungs, at the age of 11 -sent to live with Dutch foster parents and treated with much love and generosity (Lowenstein, McCune, and Schreiber) 

  -helped the Jews hide from the attacks by the Nazis led by Hitler -brave and courageous people who put their live in great danger by creating underground organizations for the Jews -If the Partisans were caught keeping them from danger, they would be killed. (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”)
 * //“I myself, I’m just a very common person. I simply had no choice” //**– Miep Gies (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”)
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 48pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'"> ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; COLOR: #943634; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW">Partisans: **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; COLOR: #fde9d9; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-themetint: 51">

Miep Gies previously worked as an office assistant for Otto Frank in 1933. His wife was named Edith and they had two daughters, Margot and Anne. Adolph Hitler brought his troops into Holland to attack. Otto Frank knew his family was in danger and asked Gies, “Miep, are you willing to take on the responsibility of taking care of us if we go into hiding?” Because Miep Gies has become so close to the family, it was easy for her to decide to help hide them from the Nazi attack. The family stayed in secret rooms in Otto’s business building. The rooms were on the third and fourth floor and had an entrance to them was a bookcase. The bookcase could be slid over revealing a doorway to the rooms (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”). Miep Gies gave them everything they needed to survive: shelter, food, clothing, news from the outside life, and safety. She also gave them books to read and most importantly, hope for safe and free lives. They stayed under Gies’ protection for over two years (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”). The Frank family had to share their secret rooms with another family that had three people. They were Herman, Auguste, and Peter Van Pels. There also was another man that stayed with the family. His name was Pfeffer, who was Miep’s dentist. On August 4, 1944, their secret hiding place was revealed. Only one of the eight people survived, Otto Frank. The rest of them were either gassed or died at a concentration camp (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”).
 * The Story: **
 * //<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #17365d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191">I can't remember that I was really afraid while I was hiding the families; I was too busy finding food and other supplies to find time to worry. //**<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #17365d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191"> – Miep Gies ( <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #17365d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191">Lowenstein, McCune and Schreiber <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #17365d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191">) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #17365d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Book Antiqua','serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW">

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW">These days, Mrs. Gies talks about her experiences of this time in her point of view. She also discusses the diary she found from Anne Frank, one of the young girls she helped hide from the Nazis. It has become very popular and is known as “The Diary of Anne Frank”. In the book, it talks about her life during this time of secrecy from the rest of the world. Miep Gies has won many awards for showing her bravery in helping others during a time with such hardships (“Miep Gies, The Diary of Anne Frank”). <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; COLOR: #943634; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW">Life Today: **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; COLOR: #fde9d9; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW; mso-themetint: 51">

Lizzy Maholic Mrs. Mann AA English II 4 March 2008 Women’s Influence on the Holocaust

Overview Although the Nazis made both men and women their victims, women, both Jewish and non-Jewish, were subjected to harsh brutality that was used specifically for women. Nazi ideology targeted many ethnicities and groups of women including Roma (Gypsy) women, Polish women, and women living in institutions with disabilities. Women were even sent to their own individual concentration camps or areas within concentration camps designated for women (“Women during the Holocaust”). Jewish women were more than 50% of the Jewish population that the Nazis banished or killed (Ringelheim).

Concentration Camps for Women Ravensbrück, the largest women’s concentration camp, was opened in May 1939 by the SS, the secret police (“Women during the Holocaust”). By the time Soviet troops freed the women in the camp in 1945, over 100,000 women had been imprisoned there (“Women during the Holocaust”). Some of the prisoners from Ravensbrück were transferred by the SS to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp established in 1942 which was also used to incarcerate female inmates (“Women during the Holocaust”). Thousands of women were moved from Ravensbrück to Auschwitz and another camp called Bergen-Belsen toward the end of World War II (“Women during the Holocaust”). Reasons for Targeting Women The Nazis did not spare women or children, Jewish or non-Jewish, when planning their mass murder procedures. Nazis supported the total destruction of all Jews, regardless of gender or age. The SS used the code name “Final Solution” to refer to the policy that they wanted to carry out. Pregnant women and mothers of small children were often labeled “incapable of work” when being deported (“Women during the Holocaust”). Many were sent to killing centers where a majority of them were immediately sent into the gas chambers by camp officials (“Women during the Holocaust”). Conditions in the Concentration Camps for Women In concentration camps, women were forced into extremely arduous labor that often times caused death. Women were used by German physicians and medical researchers for sterilization experiments along with many other unethical experimentation projects. Women were susceptible to rape and beatings. Pregnant women tried to conceal their pregnancies but, once they were discovered, they were forced to abort their babies (“Women in the Holocaust”). Coping with the Brutality Many women in the concentration camps established “mutual assistance” groups to share information, clothing, and food (“Women during the Holocaust”). Many times, members of these groups originated from the same area, had a similar level of education, or were related in some way. Other women played a vital role in resistance against the Nazis. In Poland, women were messengers who brought information to the ghettos. Others fled to the forests of the Soviet Union and Eastern Poland and served in armed partisan groups. Some women were also active in aid and rescue operations of the Jews (“Women during the Holocaust”).

Hierarchy before Gender During the Holocaust, millions of women were murdered and mistreated. In the end, it was not the gender of the people that caused this cruelty, but the “Nazi racist hierarchy” or their religious and political associations (“Women during the Holocaust”).

Works Cited Ringelheim, Joan. “Preface to the Study of the Women and the Holocaust.” 1996. 30 March 2008. www.theverylongview.com. “Women during the Holocaust.” 22 March 2008. www.ushmm.org.