The Holocaust: The Story Of Anne Frank

If you’ve learned about the Holocaust, chances are you’ve heard of Anne Frank. But there are other fascinating stories out there that aren’t as famous that have both similarities and differences to Anne Frank’s story.

First, let’s get some background information. What was the basic reason for Hitler’s persecution of the Jews? Adolf Hitler wanted to create an empire of what he thought was a “superior race” in Northern Europe. He believed that Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians, people with disabilities, and people that were not white were not important, and should even be eliminated! He called this “superior race” Aryans.(Altman)

About six-million Jews were killed during the Holocaust (Life), but they weren’t the only ones to die. Along

They hid in cellars, attics, barns, chicken coops, sheds, and any other place they could. They had to be extremely quiet as not to arouse the suspicion of neighbors.(Life)

Who else went into hiding? At just ten years old (in 1941) Maria Weinstein and her family were relocated to Lubomi, the city neighboring them. Over a short period of time, the city evolved into a ghetto, or prison. Her father was allowed out of the ghetto during the week on business, but this was all.

When Maria was eleven, she and her sister, Valya escaped the ghetto, pretending they were delivering milk. Later, Maria learned of her mother’s and brother’s deaths at the ghetto and then encountered their father. The three went into hiding. Unluckily for them, they didn’t have a Secret Annex, so they found refuge under trees, in bushes, etc.

Soon, they were discovered and fled into the forest, where they and other jews took refuge there. One day, they sent Maria to go plead for food in a nearby home. As soon as she emerged from the bushes, though, she saw Nazi soldiers surrounding the

Maria ran and hid in the forest while the soldiers shot at the others. In the morning, she found her sister, who told her of their father’s death. Soon enough, winter arrived.

The two sisters slept in barns and sheds of unknowing owners and finally. They were so hungry and parched, that they decided to go back to the ghetto. On the way, a woman spotted them and took them in as her own. Maria and Valya went to the Yanyuk’s (the family they were cared for by) church and when the Nazis came to burn the village, the family clustered in prayer in their home and it didn’t burn. Maria later married and had four children. (Friedlander)

Though the story of Maria Weinstein has many differences from Anne Frank’s story, there are also similarities, such as: both girls suffered separation from one or more of their parents and both went through terrifying, near death experiences.

The Bilecki family rescued and hid twenty-three Jews in an underground shelter hidden in the woods. They had to change the location three times in order not to get caught! It was difficult to find food for twenty-three people, but somehow they managed. The Bilecki family not only provided food for the twenty-three hiding Jews, but also read the bible to