FAQ Anne Frank -After the arrest

The second part, Anne Frank - After the Arrest, which was launched in August 2021, follows Anne’s life story after the period in hiding. From an indeterminate time and place, Anne Frank, played by Luna Cruz Perez, looks back on the events after the arrest – the last six months of her life in the concentration camps – telling of them in monologues. Watch it on our YouTube channel.

1. Is the second video series Anne Frank - After the Arrest now in English?

Yes, with financial support from the David Berg Foundation, the original Dutch-language episodes of Anne Frank - After the Arrest have been re-recorded into English, making the series more accessible and easier to follow for young people outside the Netherlands.

2. Will the first video series Anne Frank video diary also be re-recorded into English?

The first series will not be dubbed in English for the time being, perhaps in the future. The series is subtitled in English and other languages.

3. Why have you chosen to have Anne look back on her time in the camps after her death?

In the Anne Frank video diary the camera takes the place of Anne’s diary: the story is told from Anne’s perspective. This principle is followed in Anne Frank – After the Arrest, the episodes about Anne Frank’s time after the arrest. We’ve chosen to also have Anne tell her own story in these episodes. From an indefinable place and time she looks back on the events after the arrest. In monologues, Anne only talks about what she experienced and saw (or could have seen) herself. So Anne is not an omniscient narrator: it’s her own story that she’s looking back on. This is what she could have said about it…

4. Anne didn’t record her experiences after the time spent in hiding in a diary. How do you know what she went through in the camps?

The video series is a docudrama. For the episodes about the time after the arrest we’ve made use of the book Na het Achterhuis (After the Secret Annex) by Bas von Benda-Beckmann and other relevant sources, such as eyewitness statements. Given that Anne didn’t keep a diary after the period in hiding, we can’t know exactly how she thought and felt. We’ve had to ‘fill these in’: this is an interpretation of what could have happened. In doing so we’ve attempted to follow the historical facts as closely as possible.

5. Does Anne also post video diaries in the episodes about the time after the arrest?

No, Anne didn’t make any diary entries in the camps, which is why she doesn’t make any video diaries (the camera acts as her diary book). We wanted to retain the power of the video diary, but to show the events in the camps in a different way. From an indeterminate time and place, Anne tells us what happened to the people in hiding after the arrest. Dramatized scenes present Anne’s thoughts: she doesn’t appear in them herself. So we don’t see any images of Anne after the arrest, but we look through her eyes at the events surrounding her.

6. The Anne Frank House has always had the profiled itself as the place where the life story of Anne Frank is presented in the most relevant, historically reliable way. In the Anne Frank Video Diary a video camera replaces the diary. In the episodes that take place after the arrest, Anne looks back on her time in the camps from after her death. Why did you make this choice?

The Anne Frank House believes it’s vitally important to keep the memory of Anne Frank and the Holocaust alive for the current generation. In doing so we seek out innovative ways to bring the story to young people’s attention. Young people are reading less and less, but they watch videos on YouTube en masse. This series is a new and engaging way to reach young people with Anne Frank’s life story.

The first part of the series is based on the diary of Anne Frank, while the second part makes use of the book Na het Achterhuis (After the Secret Annex) and eyewitness statements. The series is integrated with our educational work, for example through an extra educational video on the Holocaust. On our social media channels and through our educational programmes we give information and clarification on the diary of Anne Frank, the hiding place and the time after the arrest.

7. What age range is the second series, Anne Frank - After the Arrest, suitable for? What is your advice?

On our YouTube channel we say that the series is suitable for children from 9 years old. We also advise that parents should first see for themselves whether the series is suitable for their children, and that parental supervision is desirable.

Following the publication of the Anne Frank video diary on YouTube we received many requests from viewers for a sequel, showing what happened to Anne after she was arrested. When making these episodes we took account of the age of the viewers: no disturbing images or violent scenes are shown. But of course it remains an intensely tragic reality that Anne ends up in various camps and ultimately dies there.

8. Why can’t I watch the first series,  Anne Frank video diary?

In a number of countries, including the USA, Spain and Mexico, the copyright on the diaries of Anne Frank has not yet expired. That is why the first series of the Anne Frank video diary can’t be seen there.

9. Can the second series, Anne Frank – After the Arrest, be seen everywhere?

Yes, Anne Frank – After the Arrest can be seen worldwide on the YouTube channel of the Anne Frank House. The second series is based on the book After the Secret Annex by Bas von Benda-Beckmann and other relevant sources, such as witness statements.

The second video series focuses on events after the period in hiding, and can be shown around the world. It begins with a look back at Anne's life before the arrest, and can be followed separately from the first series.