Jacqueline van Maarsen

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Jacqueline Yvonne Meta van Maarsen (born January 30, 1929 in Amsterdam ) is a Dutch author . She is known as the school friend of Anne Frank , whom she calls "Jackie" or "Jopie" in her diary .

biography

Before and during World War II

Jacqueline van Maarsen's father, Samuel (called Hijman) van Maarsen, was Jewish , her mother Eline was a Christian . When the National Socialists , who invaded and occupied the Netherlands in 1940, continued to promote discrimination against the Jewish population, Jacqueline had to move to the Jewish Lyceum. There she met Anne Frank , but also other girls like Nanette Blitz , Sanne Ledermann and Hanneli Goslar . Anne Frank later wrote in her diary: “I only met Jacqueline van Maarsen at the Jewish Lyceum. She's my best friend now. ”“ Like a pair of lovers, ”van Maarsen's mother recalled:“ What were they all hatching and whispering to each other and talking on the phone all day long, and the Franks didn't live three houses in us."

When the appeals for deportation were sent in July 1942, the Frank family went to their hiding place in the Amsterdam Secret Annex, today's Anne Frank House at 263–267 Prinsengracht. Jacqueline van Maarsen knew nothing about it. She thought the Franks had emigrated to live with relatives in Switzerland. Anne Frank wrote two farewell letters to Jacqueline van Maarsen in her diary in September 1942. The first letter of September 25, 1942 says:

"Dear Jacqueline, I am writing you this letter to say goodbye to you, that will probably surprise you, but fate has not determined otherwise, I have to go (as you have long since heard of course) with my family, you will already know the reason yourself. (...) I can't write to everyone, and that's why I only write to you. I suppose you won't talk to anyone about this letter or who you got it from. (…) I hope to see each other again soon, but it will probably not be before the end of the war. (...) Your best friend Anne. PS: I hope that until we meet again we will always be best friends. "

Jacqueline van Maarsen and her sister Christiane were also in danger of being deported, because " half-Jews " were considered Jewish according to the racial doctrine of the Nazis if they were either married to a Jew or a member of the Jewish community. Jacqueline and her sister were members of the Jewish community. The parents had expressly stated this in a registration form in January 1940. This registry had to be changed if the children were to be saved. Therefore, the parents van Maarssen turned in December 1941 Hans Calmeyer , a lawyer of the German occupation, who ran a decision point for "racial doubtful cases" and ordered in several thousand cases registry changes for Jews who were therefore not deported, which is why it Yad Vashem as " Righteous Among the Nations " honors. Van Maarsen's parents wrote to the “high born, very learned Dr. Callmeyer “that their children were only mistakenly registered as belonging to the Jewish community. In fact, they were never a member of the "Dutch-Israelite Main Synagogue", but were brought up Roman Catholic . Enclosed with the letter was a judgment from the Amsterdam District Court that upheld this claim. The application was approved; The undersigned was the addressed Hans Calmeyer. The decision was based essentially on the judgment of the Amsterdam District Court. Calmeyer did not conduct his own research: there was no inspection of the Jewish community books or other registers that could easily have provided clarity about the religious affiliation of the children.

After the Second World War

After the war, Jacqueline van Maarsen found out about Anne Frank's death from Otto Frank . She was one of the first to read the diary before it was published in 1947.

In 1954 she married her childhood friend Ruud Sanders. The couple have three children and seven grandchildren and live in Amsterdam.

Since 1990 van Maarsen has written several books about her history and friendship with Anne Frank. She visited Germany several times for readings.

Jacqueline van Maarsen supports the initiative “Signs against Racism and Anti-Semitism” by planting an Anne Frank memorial tree in Uedelhoven .

Awards

Publications (selection)

  • Ik heet Anne, zei ze, Anne Frank . 2003
    • My name is Anne, she said, Anne Frank. Translation Stefanie Schäfer . Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer, 2004.
  • The best vriendin Anne . 2012
    • "Your best friend Anne Frank". Memories of the war and a special friendship. Translation of Mirjam Pressler . Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 2013

literature

  • Mathias Middelberg : “Who am I that I decide about life and death?” Hans Calmeyer - “Race advisor” in the Netherlands 1941–1945. Göttingen 2015.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otto H. Frank, Mirjam Pressler: Anne Frank diary . 4th edition. Frankfurt a. M 2002, p. 14 (June 14, 1942) .
  2. ↑ Ernst Schnabel: Anne Frank, trace of a child . Frankfurt a. M 1958, p. 37 f .
  3. ^ Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (ed.): The diaries of Anne Frank . Frankfurt a. M 1988, p. 285 .
  4. ↑ Middelberg, Mathias: "Who am I that I decide about life and death?" Hans Calmeyer - "Racial advisor" in the Netherlands 1941–1945. Göttingen 2015, p. 12 f .
  5. ↑ How Anne Frank's Best Friend Survived. welt.de, October 4, 2015, accessed on September 15, 2016 .
  6. ↑ The Savior from the Apparatus of Death. Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , April 6, 2015, accessed on September 15, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Middelberg, Mathias: "Who am I that I decide about life and death?" Hans Calmeyer - "Racial advisor" in the Netherlands 1941–1945. Göttingen 2015, p. 13 .
  8. ↑ Your best friend Anne Frank - Jacqueline van Maarsen reads against racism and discrimination. Lokalo.de, October 9, 2015, accessed September 15, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Jacqueline van Maarsen - Anne Frank's friend visiting Berlin. annefrank.de, accessed on September 4, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Anne's best friend - Anne Frank Baum Uedelhoven. Retrieved October 27, 2019 (German).
  11. ^ Awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In: press release. State of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, November 17, 2016, accessed on November 18, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Maarsen, Jacqueline van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maarsen, Jacqueline Yvonne Meta van (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch author and former bookbinder
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam