A Hero Dies

A hero has died. Miep Gies, who was 100 years old, died after a short illness last Monday. No other details of her death have been released. If you don't recognize the name, she was one of the main five people who were responsible for hiding Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis during World War II in Amsterdam.

In the 1995 picture above, Miep Gies stands next to a photo of Anne Frank. Ms. Gies was an employee of Anne's father, Otto Frank. When the family went into hiding, Mr. Frank asked her, "Miep, are you willing to take on the responsibility of taking care of us while we are hiding?" Her reply was, "Of course." She later said she could not refuse because "remorse and regret can be worse than losing your life."

After the family was arrested on August 4, 1944 (and Miep herself was nearly arrested), she found Anne's diary and papers on the floor of the annex they had hidden in. She put them in her desk, planning on returning them to Anne after she returned.

But Mr. Frank was the only family member to survive the war. Anne and her sister died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and their mother died at Auschwitz. When Frank returned to Amsterdam, Ms. Gies gave him the diary saying, "Here is your daughter Anne's legacy to you."

He was later talked into publishing the diary and it has now been translated into 67 languages and sold tens of millions of copies. Miep Gies though could not bring herself to read the diary until it was into it's second printing. She didn't want to violate Anne's privacy.

Before her death, Anne Frank had dreamed of becoming a writer. Miep Gies said, "I could not save Anne's life. However, I did save her diary, and by that I could help her most important dreams to come true."

Miep Gies was a special person, but she was not alone. During that war and afterword, there have been many people willing to sacrifice their own safety to help others. We must never forget their unsung heroism.