Miep Gies, R.I.P.
I assigned “The Diary of Anne Frank” to my fourth-grade daughter over the Christmas holidays. We’ve been discussing the bravery of the Frank family’s protectors, including Miep Gies. Now comes word that Gies has passed away (h/t Melissa Clouthier).
Miep Gies, the last survivor among Anne Frank’s protectors and the woman who preserved the diary that endures as a testament to the human spirit in the face of unfathomable evil, died Monday night, the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam said. She was 100.
Miep Gies displayed a copy of her book “Anne Frank Remembered” at her apartment in Amsterdam in 1998.
The Miep Gies Web site said Mrs. Gies died after a short illness but provided no other details.
“I am not a hero,” Mrs. Gies wrote in her memoir, “Anne Frank Remembered,” published in 1987. “I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more — much more — during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the heart of those of us who bear witness.”
…Miep Gies was born Feb. 15, 1909, as Hermine Santrouschitz, a member of a Roman Catholic family in Vienna. When she was 11, she was sent to Leiden to be cared for by a Dutch family, having been among the many Austrian children suffering from food shortages in the wake of World War I. She was given the Dutch nickname Miep and later adopted by the family.
When she was 13, the family moved to Amsterdam, and in 1933 she became a secretary to Otto Frank, who was overseeing the Dutch branch of a German company selling an ingredient for manufacturing jam. Mr. Frank had fled Hitler’s Germany, and he was soon joined by his wife and daughters.
Miep became a trusted employee and friend of the Frank family and joined in its alarm over the persecution of German Jews. In May 1940, the Netherlands fell in Germany’s invasion of the Low Countries. In July 1942, when thousands of Dutch Jews were being deported to concentration camps, the Frank family went into hiding in unused rooms above Mr. Frank’s office. He had asked Mrs. Gies if she would help shelter them, and she unhesitatingly agreed.
The annex became a hiding place not only for the Franks but for three members of a family named van Pels — the father a business colleague of Mr. Frank’s — and Mrs. Gies’s dentist, Fritz Pfeffer.
Having married a Dutch social worker, Jan Gies, in 1941, Miep Gies joined with him and three other employees of Mr. Frank’s business in sheltering the eight Jews and caring for their daily needs. The protectors risked death if caught by the Nazis.
Here’s video of Gies recalling when and how she handed Anne Frank’s diary to her father, Otto (click on arrow on right-hand corner for captions):
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Another Angel returns to Heaven.
Eternal rest grant unto her oh Lord
And let Perpetual Light shine upon her
May her Soul and all the Souls of the Faithfully departed Rest in Peace.
Mrs. Geis is a true hero, unlike the ilk that portray themselves as such. How many of our current crop of polticos would lay their lives on the line to protect innocent people? Few and none come to mind.
When you get to heaven Mrs. Geis, say hi to Anne for us.
Morality and conscience we should all aspire to.
God bless her!
**About the video: I listened about 3 times trying to figure out why I couldn’t understand her. (You have to turn the captions on at the bottom right of the video)
The story of Corrie Ten Boom is similarly heroic, though perhaps lesser known. We may not live in quite as dramatic conditions, but we are always challenged to be courageous in times of criminality.
I just read a book about Anne and the diary (and how it got published)….spent much time thinking about the grit and bravery of Miep. God Bless – and god speed. May your deeds never be forgotten as a reminder of angels here on earth.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
She has received her inheritence. God bless her.
Amen.
They say that good die young.
Mrs. Gies proved that it’s not always true.
Godspeed Mrs. Gies!
Comapre her with George Soros, who as a 15 year old, turned people like Anne Frank in to the Nazis.
Consider the character of those who look at him as their benefactor and asset.
May the Lord welcome her with opened arms.
She and Anne are celebrating with the angels.
Truly and inspirational woman!
Heaven just got brighter….RIP, Miep.
I’ve said it many times, the Democrats are the fascists today like the Nazis were then. Soros, the self proclaimed owner of the Democrat party of the United States has so much blood on his hands it is unreal and his followers march in lockstep believing every evil they support is actually good. It is so sick and sad. Soros now wants to kill off the elderly through government control of health care like the Nazis did and his hatred of Israel as a safe haven for Jewish people is a Democrat trait as well. So many similarities it is scary.
Miep Gies may your soul find comfort for eternity. Your defiance of fascism and belief of freedom, at your own risk, for every human being is a quality I hope to always strive to have.
RIP. A hero has passed.
What a wonderful legacy. Too bad kids today are learning more about putting condoms on the miniature tree frog than real heroes. RIP.
When I think of Map Giel’s bravery and grace and then I think of the sleazy people like Richard Goldstone who portray themselves as heros and congratulate themselves on their “bravery”, it makes me severely ill. BTW, Yale University will bestow its highest lecture award on Richard Goldstone on January 27. Yale is honoring Goldstone for his report accusing Israel of war crimes.
People like Maps Giels are never celebrated at elite universities like Yale or Columbia. But people like Goldstone and Ahmedinejad are. How terribly sad.
So true, Marc.
RIP, Miep Gies. May you find joy in your reward in heaven.
in a world where we are told, time and time again, that honor does not matter, and there is no right or wrong, but only shades of gray, she and her compatriots proved otherwise. the world is a better place because of them.
a pox on those who would deny the facts of the Holocaust, and on those who would argue otherwise; they are scum, one and all. may their punishment be long and painful, for their death shall be just.
I live a few hours from Amsterdam, and my family and I visited both the Anne Frank House and the Corrie Ten Boom House. Both were intensely moving experiences. Ms Gies is a hero in the truest sense of the word.
That’s what every REAL hero always says.
Rest in Peace, Mrs. Gies. Give Anne Frank a hug, and shake hands with Oscar Schindler.
Very sad to hear. My daughter is reading it in one of her 8th grade classes.
I highly recommend to anyone to read Corrie’s book The Hiding Place. Her Christian family saved many Jews during the war, and her sister and parents died in the concentration camp where they were all held.
WW2 and the era surrounding it, is fast becoming a memory with the loss of the people who lived it, every day. Soon, it will be nothing more than something to read about in a history book…just like WW1 and its era. The lessons learned then, also become forgotten.
Where is her Nobel Peace Prize?
When I was a kid, living in Europe, we visited Amsterdam and the Anne Frank House. While we were upstairs, a police car went by outside with its European style siren blaring. Very creepy.
Like graysonret said, the past is becoming a flickering memory, too distant to be worth remembering.
Indeed.
Such bravery amongst unspeakable evil. Would that we all could pass such a test.
She does not qualify. The person she protected was a Jew. She would have qualified had that person been Hamas, Hezzbollah, an illegal lien, gay, or transgender.
Indeed.
I see Oliver Stone is planning a “rethink” on Hitler. In this politically correct, U.S. always wrong, and bad guys are misunderstood world, I wonder how Ms. Gies will fit in.
Let’s see…in the wake of overwhelming evidence that Hitler and the Nazis really were left wing liberal socialists…
The libtards in the country need a quick, “authoritative,” counter-stroke. Oliver Stone is assigned to tell the world that Hitler was a left wing liberal, but in a warm fuzzy way. (Since we know that all hollyweird movies are hard fact.)
Oh, wait! That pesky holocaust thing. Damn! The NY Federal Reserve Bank
createsfinds a document in the Geithner mold that proves Hilter didn’t know about the “Final Solution.”As the end credits roll, a libtard librarian takes Mein Kampf off of a shelf in the non-fiction section, applies a new label to the book, and places it in the fiction section.
Music up, fade out.
I believe the liberals are always declaring Hitler as a “right wing” radical. Of course, the only difference was that the communists had state-owned and controlled businesses and industry while the fascists had privately-owned businesses totally controlled by the state. Sounds familiar, these days.
If Ms. Gies was not doing the Lord’s work on Earth, I do not know who was. RIP.
We will remember Anne, and all the (too many) others.
WE WILL NOT FORGET.
On January 12th, 2010 at 9:27 am,
The true heroes of WWII are quickly dying off. Heaven is rejoicing, but we here on earth must not ever forget them!! Their story needs to live on. Our children need to hear the truth of what happened. It is our duty to never let this truth be forgotten! Those of you with children and grandchildren, be sure they are informed of these things. Pass along your knowledge to your kids. It may be the only way they ever hear the real stories.
Rest in peace.
The true heroes of WWII are quickly dying off. Heaven is rejoicing, but we here on earth must not ever forget them!!
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Say what you will about Steven Spielberg, but his work preserving the memories of survivors on film is magnificent.
Comapre her with George Soros, who as a 15 year old, turned people like Anne Frank in to the Nazis.
—————————————
How far-left Democrats (or anyone else) can ally themselves with that man and not blink an eye is hard for me to comprehend. How dare Mr. Soros lecture anyone on foreign policy?!
Better than a Nobel, she’ll have many stars in her crown in heaven.
On January 12th, 2010 at 11:54 am, happy2behere said:
Better than a Nobel, she’ll have many stars in her crown in heaven.
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Greater love has no (woman) than this; that (she) lay down (her) life for (her) friends.
Mrs. Gies was a real hero…an ordinary, humble person who did the right thing when it mattered.
RIP Mrs. Gies. Thank you, and may God continue to bless you in His kingdom.
Mevrou Gies: dank u & tot siens
Didn’t want to let the day end without paying respects to Mrs. Gies’s memory. Her humble rejection of the label ‘hero’ is what I would expect of this truly heroic woman, who continued to put others before self.
Peace and eternal rest, dear lady.
In the FAQ of her website (question 97), she explains why she eschewed the label of hero (which she nevertheless does deserve):
“I am afraid that if people feel that I am a very special person, a sort of heroine, they may doubt whether they will do the same I once did. Not many consider themself very talented or courageous and thus would refrain from helping endangered people. This the reason that I want everyone to know that I am a very common and cautious woman and definitely not a genius or dare-devil. I did help like so many others who ran the same or more risk than me. It was necessary so I helped.” (emphasis mine)
Sometimes, a hero is the person who is there when it matters.