“A heartbreaking memoir of friendship, loss and survival. By telling her life story, Hannah Goslar pays tribute to her best friend Anne Frank and the millions of others who did not survive the Holocaust. But she also shows us how to preserve our humanity in the face of evil.” —Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House
“A heartbreaking memoir of friendship, loss and survival. By telling her life story, Hannah Goslar pays tribute to her best friend Anne Frank and the millions of others who did not survive the Holocaust. But she also shows us how to preserve our humanity in the face of evil.” —Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank HouseIn 1933, Hannah Pick-Goslar and her family fled Nazi Germany to live in Amsterdam, where she struck up a close friendship with her next-door neighbor: an outspoken and fun-loving young girl named Anne Frank. That little girl, so full of life, became the most famous victim of the Holocaust. For several years, the inseparable pair enjoyed a carefree childhood of games, sleepovers, and treats with the other children in their neighborhood of Rivierenbuurt. But in 1942, Hannah and Anne’s lives abruptly changed forever. As the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam progressed, Anne and the Frank family seemingly vanished, leaving behind unmade beds and dishes in the sink—but no trace of Anne’s precious diary. Torn apart from her dear friend without warning, Hannah was tormented over Anne’s fate, wondering if she had, by some miracle, managed to escape danger.
Hannah Pick-Goslar shares the story of her childhood during the Holocaust, from the introduction of anti-Jewish laws in Amsterdam to the gradual disappearance of classmates and, eventually, the Frank family, to Hannah and her family’s imprisonment in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. While Hannah chronicles the experiences of her own life during and after the war, she provides a searing look at what countless children endured at the hands of the Nazi regime, as well as an intimate, never-before-seen portrait of the most recognizable victim of the Holocaust. Culminating in an astonishing chance reunion, My Friend Anne Frank is the profoundly moving story of childhood and friendship during one of the darkest periods of the world’s history.
First encouraged by Otto Frank, Hannah dedicated her life after the war to keeping the story of Anne and the Holocaust alive in people’s minds and her book will ensure that both her legacy and Anne Frank’s legacy will continue long into the future. At a time when intolerance is on the rise, Hannah wanted the truth to be heard, and this is her story in her own words.
Read Francine Prose’s review of My Friend Anne Frank in The Washington Post.
Hannah Pick-Goslar was born in Berlin in 1928. In 1943, Hannah and her family were arrested in Amsterdam and sent to Westerbork transit camp, then to Bergen-Belsen. The camp was liberated in 1945, and she immigrated to British Mandate Palestine in 1947, shortly before it became Israel. She passed away in 2022 at the age of ninety-three.
Dina Kraft is a journalist based in Tel Aviv where she is an opinion editor at Haaretz English and co-host of Groundwork, a podcast about Israelis and Palestinians working for change. She is drawn to stories featuring unlikely connections, dual narratives, and the impact of conflict and crisis on ordinary lives.
To learn more about Hannah Pick-Goslar’s story, reference the Yad Vashem interview below.