Anne Frank Museum

About Anne Frank Museum

This is the original house where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in 1942. The hiders stayed in the shelter for more than two years, and Anne Frank kept her famous diary here. On August 4, 1944, the people from hiding place were discovered and deported to various concentration camps. Only Otto Frank, Anne’s father, survived the war.

This historic building, a typical Amsterdam canal house, became Anne Frank Museum in 1960. Around 1 million people visit it every year. The museum offers an excellent, thorough exhibition, which tells a true story from World War II. There are also a nice museum cafe and a fine bookshop with interesting souvenirs.

When to visit Anne Frank Museum

You can visit Anne Frank Museum from 9 AM to 3:30 PM only with an online ticket, bought in advance. From 3:30 PM to 10 PM you can buy your ticket at the museum entrance. The museum is open every day, except some holidays (check the website). In winter season it works until 7 PM (Saturdays until 9 PM). The queue can be long, and sometimes it closes even 2 hours before closing time of the museum!

Why to visit Anne Frank Museum

In the first part of the building we can see the restored offices and a warehouse, as they looked like in the time of Frank family. Fascinating details of this exhibition evoke the life in Amsterdam during World War II. Steep stairs leads the visitor to the second, hidden part of the house, Secret Annex. It contains original documents, photographs and objects which belonged to eight people in hiding.

The atmosphere of this place makes you forget about time and space. For example, the recreated picture wall of Anne Frank is a touching experience, and the quotes from her diary uncover the personality of Anne as a writer and as a teenager. The movies present the helpers and the survivors, telling their understanding of Holocaust.

These personal stories are brought to a higher level and put in a historical context, which makes them worth seeing. The exhibition is engaging and informative. The explanations of the exhibited items are created to help us learn and remember.

Significance of Anne Frank Museum

After the war, Otto Frank pursued the idea to transform this house into a youth center and an international meeting point. Today, it is one of a kind museum, which keeps the memory of Anne Frank. It is an organization dedicated to promoting human rights, freedom and democracy. Numerous temporary exhibitions and educational activities happen here throughout a year. They are always dealing with challenging social problems, and warning against racism, war, discrimination and Antisemitism.