Anne Frank's Final Days: Death by Typhus at Bergen-Belsen
In early 1945, likely between February and March, Anne Frank, the young author of a famous diary, succumbed to typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, passing away at the age of 15. Born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, she and her family fled to Amsterdam in 1933 to evade Nazi oppression. Following the Nazi invasion in 1940, they went into hiding in July 1942. Their secret location was uncovered on August 8, 1944, leading to their arrest and subsequent deportation to Auschwitz, where Anne and her sister Margot were separated from their parents. In November 1944, they were moved to Bergen-Belsen, where they both contracted typhus. Otto Frank was the sole survivor of the family and published Anne's diary in 1947.
Key facts
- Anne Frank died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945, likely between February and March, just weeks before liberation.
- Anne was 15 years old at the time of her death.
- Anne and her sister Margot were transported from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen in November 1944.
- Anne's mother, Edith, died of starvation and exhaustion at Auschwitz in January 1945.
- Otto Frank was the only member of the Frank family to survive the Holocaust.
- The Secret Annex was discovered on August 8, 1944, and all its occupants were arrested.
- Anne's diary was published by her father Otto in 1947 and has sold over 30 million copies, translated into more than 70 languages.
- Typhus is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria and spread by body lice.
Entities
Artists
- Anne Frank
- Margot Frank
- Edith Frank
- Otto Frank
- Auguste van Pels
- Hermann van Pels
- Peter van Pels
- Fritz Pfeffer
- Queen Wilhelmina
- Heinrich Himmler
- Otto Heinrich Frank
- Margot Elisabeth Frank
- Van Daan
- Dussel
Institutions
- Anne Frank House
- National World War II Museum
- US Holocaust Museum
- National Archives
- Gestapo
- Bergen-Belsen
Locations
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Prinsengracht Street
- Westerbork Transit Camp
- Auschwitz
- Bergen-Belsen
- London
- United Kingdom
- Frankfurt