10 Elements Outline
Miep Gies
*ALL INFO IS FROM "ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED" BY MIEP GIES*
Birth Date And Place
Miep Gies was born in 1909 in Vienna, Austria. Her original name is Hermine Santruschitz.
Family Members
Miep's
mother, father, adopted mother and adopted fathers names are unknown.
Her husbands name was Jan "Hank" Gies. She has one child named Paul Gies
and a daughter in law named Luce Gies. Lastly, Mieps grandchildren:
Erwin, Jeanine, and David Gies.
Childhood And School Life
When
Miep was only 11 years old, she became very sick and malnourished so
she was sent away from Austria to Leiden, Amsterdam to improve her
condition. She moved in with her adoptive parents and was set to stay
for 6 months, but she was still in not the greatest health so she stayed
longer. After a year, Miep considered herself dutch and wanted to live
with her adoptive parents. She loved classical music and riding her bike
and all the kids in school were very nice to her.
Hobbies, Interests And Activities
Miep
loved to dance at the nightclubs on the weekends and was one of the
first people to learn the Charleston, Two Step, Tango, and the Slow Fox.
She would go out dancing on Saturday nights. She also loved pictures or
movies. She would regularly go see them whenever she could. Just like
when she was a child, she still loved to ride her bike. Miep also likes
to work, and took great pride in her independence.
Anecdotes
After
almost three years in hiding, the Franks, van Daans, and Dussels luck
ran out. On August 4, 1944, a Friday morning, Miep ventured up into the
Annex where her Jewish friends were hiding during the holocaust to
gather grocery lists. It began just like every normal day. As Miep was
working at about 11 or 12 in the afternoon, a man in civilian clothes
appeared at the office door with a bin and ordered everyone to stay put
and not to move. By this point, Miep was reluctantly, but undoubtedly
aware of the situation. The man with the gun left the office and Henk,
Mieps husband showed up for lunch. Miep ordered him to leave and he
understood and left. Ellie, one of the office assistants was very upset,
so Mr. Koophuis sent her away and asked Miep if she would like to go as
well, but she replied "I cant". Miep didn't want to leave her friends
up in the annex after being there for them all this time. Finally, after
some time had passed, a German officer appeared. The German also
returned with the dutchman who had first appeared. They split the office
up and talked to people individually. The German officer came in to
speak to Miep and she realized that he had a Vienna accent and she used
this to her advantage. As they talked, the sound of steps came down from
the stairs to the annex. "...I could hear the sound of our friends
feet. I could tell they were coming down like beaten dogs".
Career
At
the age of 24 in 1993, Miep had a difficult time finding a job. She had
been fired several months earlier from a textile company and because of
her independent attitude, was eager to find more work. One Saturday
afternoon, a lady that lived on top of Miep and her adopted family came
home with news of a job opening with a man named Otto Frank. When she
went to ask about the job, Mr. Frank immediately liked her and began to
put her to work, starting with making jam, and then as a service
operator. She was originally supposed to work as a fill in, but when the
lady she was filling in for came back, she was surprised to see another
desk in the office. Mr. Frank had made enough room for the both of
them. The worker that returned was named Miss Heel, a lady about the
same age as Miep, but blond and chubby. She was a member of the NSB, a
dutch Nazi group. She quit after a couple months of her return. Miep
worked with the company all through the holocaust.
Reason For Fame
Miep
Gies became famous for the hiding of Anne Frank and her family. For
almost three years, she took care of them in the Annex, an attic above
Mr Franks business. Throughout time, Meip, Mr. Frank, and his family
became very close. In 1939, Hitler began to discriminate against Jewish
people and created absurd laws that made life very difficult.
Eventually, he started moving jews to concentration camps, and then
death camps. While this was happening, Margrot, the oldest of the Frank
daughters, was ordered to go to a work camp. The Franks knew this was
trouble and began thinking of options. The Franks turned to their close
friend, Miep, for help and a place to hide. Miep, as well as her husband
were successful in hiding the Franks and their friends until August 4,
1944. The Franks and their friends that were hiding up in the attic were
captured. Miep ventured up into the Annex one last time to gather some
small items that her friends had in hiding, including all of Anne
Frank's writings and journals. Anne Frank’s diary gave insight to the
life they lived in the Annex. Fear, claustrophobia, and disease along
with all the other problems the friends faced were all explained with
lots of detail and emotion. Everyone who lived in the Annex tragically
passed away except for Mr. Frank. With some persuasion, Anne’s diary was
published and her story touched millions around the world, as well as
Miep’s courage and heart. After the publishing of Anne’s diary, people
longed for Miep’s side of the story, thus her book, Anne Frank
Remembered. (Published April 15, 1988)
Later Life/Old Age
As
Miep Gies got older, she moved away and got a different job. She got
pregnant at the age of 40 and gave birth to her son Paul Gies in 1952.
Although the holocaust had been over for some time, Miep could never
throw away any food. Because of the fame that had grown from both Anne’s
and her writings, Miep traveled a lot and told thousands of people her
story. Henk, her husband, passed away on January 26, 1993.
Death
Miep
Gies passed away in her home on January 11, 2010 just a month before
her 101st birthday. She passed away due to a hip injury from a fall in
her home. She left on a legacy that the world could not be thankful
enough for. Her son, daughter-in-law, and their kids live on in her
legacy.
