Marbles Once Owned by Anne Frank Go On Display

A tin full of marbles that once belonged to Anne Frank have been found, over 70 years since her death. Anne had given the tin to a friend of hers for safe keeping before she and her family went into hiding during the Holocaust.

Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who kept a diary during her time in hiding. Her diary served as a first-hand look at the horrors that the SS inflicted on the Jewish people. The sad story of the Dutch girl and her family started in an attic in Amsterdam in 1942; however, they were betrayed and ousted to the German occupying forces. The entire family was arrested and sent to concentration camps where millions of Jews were killed. Anne died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen camp early in 1945. She was only 15 years old.

Toosje Kupers, the non-Jewish neighbor who Anne entrusted her most treasured belongings to, kept the marbles safe. Toosje was also given a tea set and a book. The now 83 year old neighbor girl tells the Express that she once offered the items to Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Otto was the only surviving member who had survived the Holocaust.

She said Otto had returned to the hidden attic where he and his family hid and found the well-known diary. Otto told her that she could keep the marbles.  For years, the tin box that contained the marbles stayed in a cupboard. They were rediscovered during a house move. The Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam stated that they had received the tin of Anne’s marbles. The marbles are display as a part of the Second World War exhibition in Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum.

Annemarie Bekkers, a museum spokesperson, said that Anne was one of many Jewish children who gave away toys before they were sent away, and died, in the Holocaust.

Anne Frank was in hiding in Amsterdam before she died of typhus in a concentration camp

Evette Champion

Evette Champion is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE