Historical records from Switzerland belonging to the Frank family were presented to the Anne Frank House on long-term loan.

This family archive, stemming from the Frank-Elias family and the ANNE FRANK-Fonds in Basel, will complement the historical records of the Anne Frank House.

Buddy Elias, Anne Frank’s cousin and chair of the Anne Frank-Fonds, performed the official transfer on Monday 25th June 2007, by presenting the complete inventory list of the Swiss archive to Hans Westra, director of the Anne Frank House.

This transfer took place in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the publication of Anne Frank’s diary.

The Frank family in a health resort in the Black Forest in 1901. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, is on the first row, the third child from the right, with the dark sailor collar

Other items on loan:

Two photos of Anne and Margot Frank on the beach in Zandvoort, the Netherlands, in 1937.

Birthday letter by Anne Frank to her grandmother in Basel, signed with the pet name ‘Zärtlein’, from December 1938. At the other side is a letter to her cousin Stephan. Grandma and Stephan had the same birthday: 20 December.

Childrens’ record player from the twenties. The record player was a gift from the Frank family to their neighbors, the Könitzer family, to the occasion of Anne’s birthday on 12 June 1929. After the war, in the nineties, the Könitzer family gave the record player, together with a number of records and needles, to the Anne Frank House.

Included in this unique family archive – measuring almost 12 metres in length – are many letters, documents and photographs of Otto, Edith, Margot and Anne Frank.

Visit the Anne Frank House Website for more information