Anne Frank Versus Gerda Weissmann

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Anne Frank versus Gerda Weissmann “Knock! Knock! Knock! ” The Nazis were pounding on the wooden door. “Erschließen,” yelled the voice of a soldier in German. These were the sounds Anne Frank and Gerda Weissmann heard the day they were captured. Anne and Gerda were two of the millions of victims who suffered during the Holocaust, the Jewish genocide led by the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany. The lives of these two women have many similarities and differences. The life conditions of Anne and Gerda were very similar. For example, Gerda and her parents were forced to live in the basement of their home after a German family moved in. Likewise, Anne and her family had to hide in the Secret Annex which was located in the building of her father’s business. The Secret Annex is described by Anne as “… an ideal place to hide in. It may be damp and lopsided, but there's probably not a more comfortable hiding place in all of Amsterdam. No, in all of Holland” (Website). Additionally, both Anne Frank and Gerda Weissmann were taken by the Nazis to camps at age fifteen. Lastly, Gerda and Anne …show more content…

In addition, Anne was taken to a concentration camp in Auschwitz. On the contrary, Gerda was taken to a forced labor camp that made fabric for the German military. Gerda illustrates her experience in the camp as “…very bad... almost died from being overworked...the director was very violent and very often beat the prisoners” (Website). Furthermore, Gerda’s father died; however, Anne’s father was the only survivor of their family. Anne had a sister, Margot Frank, who died in the same concentration camp as her. In contrast, Gerda Weissmann had a brother, Arthur Weissmann, who had to leave before the rest of the family because he was requested to join the army. This was the last time Gerda saw her brother. Lastly, Anne lived in Germany while Gerda lived in Poland. To sum up, these are the differences between Anne Frank and Gerda