My Name is Anne, She Said, Anne Frank

(Paperback)

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Description

Jacqueline van Maarsen was a Dutch Jew in 1938. She was forced to go to a special school for Jewish children with her sister, which is where she met Anne Frank. They became immediate friends. Unlike Anne, Jacqueline escaped deportation when her Catholic-born mother managed to undo her registration as a Jew. Jacqueline left school a few months after Anne went into hiding (or 'went to Switzerland', as Jacqueline believed). It was only after the war, when Otto Frank, Anne's father, told her about what happened that she found out the truth about her best friend's fate.

Reviews

'Anne Frank described her as her best friend in her famous diary. Now 78, the former bookbinder Jacqueline van Maarsen recalls being a teenager in Holland during German occupation, and how her cherished friendship with Anne came to an abrupt and tragic end' - Sunday Times magazine'For years after Anne Frank's diary was published, the identity of her "best friend" was secret. Then van Maarsen owned up. Now she has written about the Anne she knew' - Sunday Telegraph 'In this memoir, Jacqueline van Maarsen fills in the gaps, telling her side of the story of her friendship with one of the world's most famous diarists' - Daily Mail'Van Maarsen gives a moving first-hand account of her friendship with Anne Frank, whose life and death has become emblematic of the horrors of Nazism' - The Times'Called "Jopie" in Anne's published diary, a childhood friend recalls her family's history as it intersected with the Franks' before, during and after the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. One of the strongest moments here is her description of a visit to the Franks' house immediately after their "departure" ... Van Maarsen saw Anne's unmade bed, her new shoes lying on the floor, the entire house uncharacteristically unkempt, the breakfast dishes not yet washed' - Kirkus Review 'A poignant and, in places, heart-rending read' - The Good Book Guide'Anne Frank described her as her best friend in her famous diary. Now 78, the former bookbinder Jacqueline van Maarsen recalls being a teenager in Holland during German occupation, and how her cherished friendship with Anne came to an abrupt and tragic end.' - Sunday Times'For years after Anne Frank's diary was published, the identity of her "best friend" was secret. Then van Maarsen owned up. Now she has written about the Anne she knew' - Sunday Telegraph'

Author Bio

Jacqueline van Maarsen was born in 1929 in Amsterdam, where she still lives. Since 1986 she has been lecturing on Anne Frank, and on discrimination, in schools all over the world. She is also the author of Anne Frank's Heritage.