Anne Frank's House

The museum opens at 9:00 each day, and after seeing the long lines the previous day, I made sure to get there early.  Even arriving a half hour before opening, there were at least 100 people in line ahead of me.

I was bundled up for the weather though, and didn't mind the wait.

The house is located on a narrow street that overlooks one of the many canals.  I didn't take a picture of it because I would have had to cross over on the other side of the canal to get a shot.

It is very nondescript.  It looks very much like all of the other homes/buildings in the area.  A small sign at the entryway is the only clue to the history it holds.

A view of the house from across the canal.
It is the one with the grey panels behind the tree in the middle of the picture.
Photo found online.

Here's another photo found online.
Everything from the right corner to there the bikes are is the museum.
What you can't see is the vast number of people waiting in line to get in.

I had not purchased a ticket online, and just took my chances that I would be able to purchase one at the door.

Thankfully, I could.

The street level of the house has been converted into a museum foyer, with all of the necessary trappings to accommodate the number of visitors each day.

It is a self-guided tour, which is nice.  You can go at your own pace.

Although there were many people, it was totally quiet.

A very somber scene.

There are videos throughout, explaining what was happening at the time, and the only voices heard.

The house is four stories, with incredibly steep stairs.  Access to this area was through an entryway disguised as a bookcase.  When moved, it reveals a secret passageway upstairs.

This is a diagram of the house, also found online.

There were eight folks hidden away here for over two years.

They were betrayed by someone, and their whereabouts noted and they were arrested and sent to the concentration camps.  Of these eight people in hiding (Anne, her older sister, mother and father plus four others) only her father survived the Holocaust.

When you think about the atrocities leveled against these folks and millions others, it's hard to imagine that degree of loathing and hatred.  And yet, this place is living proof of that, and of the resiliency of the people to survive.