Otto and Edith had two daughters. Their first child, Margot Betti Frank (1926-1945, hereafter referred to as Margot), was born on 16 February 1926. Halfway through 1927, when Margot had just started walking, the family rented an apartment in a villa at 307 Marbachweg in the Betramshöhe area on the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main in the Dornbusch district—approximately three miles north-east of Mertonstrasse. 18 The rent was affordable for the Franks. 19 The family lived at 307 Marbachweg, which was a semi-detached home like 4 Mertonstrasse, until late March, 1931. This large residence remains to this day, situated on a crossroads in a Frankfurt 2 am Main suburb. It was built by its former landlord with the support of the Frankfurt am Main Teachers’ Association.
The Franks inhabited the left side of the complex. The house actually comprised two separate living spaces, one on the first floor and one on the second, which were connected by a staircase. The family’s living room, dining room and library were downstairs. Otto and Edith were not intellectuals, but they did read widely. I suspect Otto was not very interested in Jewish history. In 1922, the Museum Jüdischer Altertümer 20 opened in Frankfurt am Main (the Museum of Jewish Antiquities at 14/15 Untermainkai). I do not know whether the Franks visited this museum (with any interest).
In addition, the Franks’ residence contained a kitchen, bathroom, and a room for Edith. The small room was furnished with Edith’s elegant writing desk, which she had brought from Aachen, and a bookcase in which she kept her Hebrew prayer books. Otto was not interested in Jewish customs or the Torah. Edith’s family celebrated Jewish holidays, ate kosher foods 21 and were prominent members of the Jewish community in Aachen. I cannot tell whether Otto’s and Edith’s parent would have gotten along well.
Otto and Edith’s bedroom, Margot’s bedroom, Edith’s study and the maid’s room were upstairs. The guest room at the back of the house had a balcony with potted flowers. Edith loved flowers. At the back of the Marbachweg residence there was an entrance leading to the basement and a play area.
Edith’s parents and her brothers, Julius Holländer (1894-1967, hereafter referred to as Julius) and Walter Holländer (1897-1968, hereafter referred to as Walter), often came to visit from Aachen. Anne and Margot’s uncles would regularly take them by car to their grandmother in Aachen.
The landlord resided on the ground floor of number 305; the first floor was inhabited by the Stab family. Their neighbours at number 303 were the Naumanns.
On 12 June 1929, when Margot had just turned three, Anne was born in the Klinik des Vaterländischen Frauenvereins in der 2 Eschenheimer Anlage 22 in Frankfurt am Main—a joyful family occasion.
In summer, the family liked to sit on the balcony at the back of the house, which overlooked a small garden and the street. The children would swing or play in the Stabs’ sandpit. The Marbachweg area was a green area with plenty of space for children to play.
In October 1929, the year of Anne’s birth, share prices at Wall Street crashed, which initiated a worldwide economic crisis that would last for many years. Tens of millions of people suffered because of unemployment and poverty—not only in America but also in Europe. Germany was afflicted the most by the crisis because of the burdensome WWI compensatory payments. The global crisis also severely affected the family bank.
The bank had to move to less costly premises on the edge of the city centre, at 20 Bockenheimer Anlage. In her diary, Anne refers to her parents’ financial situation as follows: ‘Daddy was born in Frankfurt am Main, his parents were immensely rich, Michael Frank owned a bank and became a millionaire and Alice Stern had very rich and distinguished parents. Michael Frank had not been at rich when he was young, but he duly worked his way up. In his youth Daddy had a real little rich boy’s upbringing: parties every week, balls, festivities, beautiful girls, waltzing, dinners, a large home, etc., etc. After Grandpa’s death [in 1909] all the money was lost and after the World War [WWI] and the inflation nothing was left at all.’23 The crisis and the inability of governments to turn the tide provided fertile ground for fascism in Europe. Hitler’s national- socialists were rapidly gaining ground in Frankfurt am Main and throughout Germany and, as usual, blamed the Jews for the crisis and ensuing unemployment. Since Frankfurt am Main was an important financial centre and the Jews had always been very influential there, the national-socialists regarded Frankfurt am Main as the place from which the Jews wanted to establish their worldwide rule.
Jews were increasingly confronted with harassment. Otto’s parents were members of the B’nai B’rith association. 24 This support 2 group, run for and by Jews, had been established in Amsterdam in 1924. Although Otto was not very interested in Jewish traditions, he was very concerned for the fate of the Jewish people.
According to author Melissa Müller, one-fifth of the population of Westend—a district in Frankfurt am Main—was Jewish, but not many Jews lived in the Marbachweg area. 25 Jewish buildings, however, indicate that a Jewish community was active around Marbachweg. On 8 September 1929, the Jewish cemetery at Eschersheimer Landstraße was founded—not even half a mile from 307 Marbachweg. The synagogues taught Hebrew and organised readings. Der Freisinnige Verein für jüdisches Gemeindeleben 26 (the Liberal Society for Jewish Community Life) provided education at the Westend Synagogue.
According to Melissa Müller, there was no synagogue close to Marbachweg. 27 The main synagogue was located two and a half miles from Marbachweg, in the inner city. Melissa Müller indicates that the Franks did not attend the main (liberal) synagogue, but rather the Westend one. 28 The Westend synagogue had been in use since 1910, and was designed by the architect Franz Roeckle (1879-1953). It was located at 30 Freiherr-vom-Stein-Strasse, and was the first synagogue in Frankfurt am Main outside the ancient city walls. There was another synagogue at 21-23 Unterlindau, the Synagoge der Israelitischen Gemeinde (synagogue of the Israelite community)—approximately two miles from Marbachweg.
Both men and women could attend the Westend Synagogue. The inner space and balcony comprised a total of 1,600 seats. Amongst the attendants of this synagogue were descendants of the Jews who had lived in Judengasse—a ghetto. Aside from the orthodox synagogue at Friedberger Anlage, this was the largest synagogue in Frankfurt.
Hitler’s popularity grew as a result of the crisis; he continued hammering away at how the Jews were the main cause of the crisis, and in his book, Mein Kampf, the dictator revealed his plan to exterminate all Jews. Unemployed working class people, side-tracked 2 military men and industrialists thought they could capitalise on the war industry.
The environment grew increasingly hostile of Jews. Otto decided to move to 24 Ganghoferstrasse when he discovered that his landlord felt sympathetic towards the Nazis. This must have been very painful for Otto: he had fought for his country in WWI and afterwards was discarded by the Germans as a Jew. Otto must have felt betrayed.
From 1930 onwards, Hitler’s propaganda blaming the German government for not having eradicated the Jews before WWI became increasingly prominent.
People sometimes say that children were not aware of the danger at hand. 29 Margot and Anne were still very young; nevertheless, they must have sensed Otto and Edith’s tensions. Parents did their utmost to keep their children aloof from the Nazi danger.
Another reason why Otto moved to 24 Ganghoferstrasse was the decline of his banking business, which forced him to look