Het Achterhuis: History Echoes Today- A Journey from 1930 to 2025

The front of Anne Frank Huis (previously the front of Opekta, the company Anne's dad opened)

I'm not particularly a fan of museums, but I find it quite fascinating to see artifacts from ancient times. I enjoy imagining how people used to live, what their lives were like, and what influenced their way of living. Since arriving in the Netherlands, I've visited many museums, but the Anne Frank House gave me a completely different experience. I can truly feel that they were once living individuals just like us, that they were very close to us.

My friend and I participated in the English guide program, where we gained insights into the background of that era from both the Jewish and the German perspectives.

Germany after World War One

World War One (WW1) caused Germany to carry a massive debt as a consequence of starting the war and losing it. This initial burden cast a long shadow, and the economic situation continued to worsen. Eventually, Germany's poverty was so extreme that they couldn't even afford to print money on both sides.

A cash from Germany with only one side printed, loosing the value of it due to hyperinflation

Poor economy leads to unstable society. People won't have extra energy to concern themselves with others' affairs. What could be more crucial than survival? The stress of daily life and the pressure of supporting a family piled up day by day. We all understand the consequences if these pressures aren't relieved—rebellion, civil wars, conflicts... People need an outlet for their negative feelings, and who could be a more convenient target than "wealthy" Jewish people?

Jewish people often have a strong sense of cultural and religious identity, and at times, have formed close-knit communities. Sadly, this strong sense of identity and communal living was sometimes misinterpreted through the lens of existing prejudices, contributing to negative stereotypes among some Germans.

So came Hitler and the Nazi Party, an extreme right-wing group, claiming that Jewish people were the ones to blame.

Either victory of the Aryan, or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.

The troops supporting Hitler's arrive in Munich where he said the above quote, Credit: Holocaust Encyclopedia

Hitler committed to restore prosperity, create a new civil order, eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make their fatherland once again a world power. His propose is truly appealing for a nation desperate for change and easily swayed by promises of a brighter future and the identification of a clear enemy. As the result, by 1932, the Nazis were the largest political party in the Reichstag (the legislative government). In January of the following year, with no other leader capable of commanding enough support to govern, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler the chancellor of Germany.

The first step the Nazis took were to subtly but deliberately push Jewish people to the fringes of German society. They established laws prohibiting Jews from working as civil servants, judges, lawyers, and doctors, excluding them from important professions and damaging their economic position. Furthermore, Jewish people were forbidden from entering public entertainment venues, and a widespread boycott of Jewish-owned businesses was actively promoted. These policies, while initially appearing limited in scope, gradually diminished the rights of Jewish people in economic, political, and social areas, intentionally reducing German Jews to 'second-class citizens' in their own country.

Their second step was a brutal escalation of their anti-Jewish agenda, spanning from the "Night of Broken Glass" (Kristallnacht) on November 9, 1938, to the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942. Mass arrests, the destruction of property, and the first large-scale deportations to concentration camps characterized the widespread terror faced by Jewish individuals during Kristallnacht. At the same time, the Nazi government gained more power in Germany and taught German people to hate Jewish people. This created a situation where many were either helping or too afraid to do anything. They also changed the laws to say Jewish people weren't German citizens anymore. This all led up to their 'Final Solution,' their plan to murder all Jewish people.

The yellow badge and the identity card with "J" for Jewish people during the Nazi's occupation in the Netherlands, 1942

The Frank Family

Before Hitler became chancellor, Otto, Anne's father, noticed the rise of right-wing movements and began planning to move his family out of Germany. He chose the Netherlands as their destination, a country having similar cultures with Germany. He left Germany for the Netherlands in July 1933 to establish and manage the Dutch branch of Opekta, known as Nederlandsche Opekta Maatschappij N.V.

Opekta, the company Anne's dad Otto Frank worked for and later directed, was a German pectin and spice company.

After everything was arranged, Edith joined him in September and started looking for a house. Margot reached Amsterdam in December, and Anne came in February 1934.

Anne (second to the left) with her friends on her tenth birthday, 12 June 1939

Hearing the Kristallnacht incident and the fact that Netherlands is just next to Germany, Otto tried to get visas for his family and move to the USA, the only country he believed was safe, but everyone else had the same idea. During long waiting, an unexpected incident occurred. The American consulate was destroyed during the bombardment of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940. That led to all visa applications - including Otto Frank’s - had to be resubmitted.

Germany bombs Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1940, Netherlands surrendered after 5 days of Nazi's invasion

Otto didn't give up though. He tried several other methods. Yet, when the most promising one also failed, with no more time left for them, he realized that the only option for their family was to hide.

Dutch houses are often narrow because, in the past, taxes were higher for wider houses. Since tax was based on how wide the house was facing the street, building narrow meant paying less. This design also conveniently allowed for the building of a secondary structure behind the main house, a house that will never be seen from the front-- het achterhuis, the house at the back.

Opekta (middle) and the secret annex which cannot be seen from the front, Credit: Anne Frank Huis

Six of Otto's employees and friends helped them hide in the secret annex located behind the company. The entrance to the secret annex is covered by a bookshelves.

The architecture of the Secret Annex (Het Achterhuis)

After that, we all knew what happened to them.

History Echoes Today, Our World Now

Disclaimer: the following content is simply my personal thoughts

Sometimes, I get the feeling that there are regular patterns for what's happening on earth. It seems that God is observing what will happen if similar situations arise again, to determine whether we've learned from history. So, after hearing Anna Frank's story, after understanding the context of that era, they sound like déjà vu to me.

The Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted economies worldwide. Inflation rate grows way faster than the raise of employee's salary.

"Anti-imigrants", "Go back to your country"...more and more people seems to agree that immigrants are to cause for their bad performing economy. They believe that immigrants are occupying their social benefits, they believe that immigrants are stealing their jobs. Some countries are getting more selfish... or maybe we can say getting more and more conservative to the outside world. I discussed this with one of my German friends, and she confirmed that the German society is very aware of the on-going global and domestic events and is deeply concerned about potentially repeating historical mistakes. Fortunately, it's the right-wing didn't win the election of Germany, but they are still the second biggest party in the government.

And now, it's only been four months since the start of 2025, yet our world is already facing significant uncertainty.

Two wars continue without any indication of ending, furthermore, a third world war has already begun—not in the traditional sense, but economically—due to the intense economic protectionism from the USA.

How the trade war is affecting our world, you ask?

Chaos, I would say.

China's growing economic independence from the USA, coupled with its stated goal of controlling Taiwan by 2027, presents a clear point of potential tension. At the same time, the European Union is re-evaluating its dependence on the USA as a reliable "friend", making new economic connections and getting European countries to act more like a single unit. This changing dynamic is highlighted by a global rise in military budget and a trend of countries choosing to store their gold reserves domestically instead of mainly in the USA. The EU's goal to become self-sufficient in weapon supply (instead of purely relying on the USA) adds an additional aspect to this shifting power dynamic.

While the USA is still the strongest country of the world, these converging trends raise crucial questions-- Will the future remain unchanged? Will the relationships among these global actors be rearranged? These entire events are beginning to convince me that we are truly living in history, an ongoing historical moment. This isn't just news we're reading; it's the very fabric of history being woven right now, and we're all witnessing it in real-time.

History echoes today, and we're at a turning point where the old ways of the world are being challenged, and the future shape of international relations is still very much up in the air. The choices made by these key players will undoubtedly shape the world for generations to come.