My Friend Anne Frank: The Inspiring and Heartbreaking True Story of Best Friends Torn Apart and Reunited Against All Odds

by Hannah Pick-Goslar, Dina Kraft Narrated by Alix Dunmore

Overview

"Both heartbreaking and life-affirming" (Edith Eger, author of The Choice), the long-awaited memoir of Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick-Goslar, who shares an intimate look into her life and friendship with Anne Frank.

In 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. 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 from her dear friend without warning, Hannah spent the next two years tormented by questions about Anne's fate, wondering if she had, by some miracle, managed to escape danger.
 
In this long¿awaited memoir, Hannah 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. As 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 fateful reunion, My Friend Anne Frank is the profoundly moving story of childhood and friendship during one of the darkest periods in the world's history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Hannah’s story finally completes what Anne could not. It is both heartbreaking and life-affirming, and we need its truth now more than ever.”—Edith Eger, author of The Choice

“An extraordinary story of love, loss, and the power of friendship in the darkest time. This book, like its author, is an essential companion to Anne Frank’s life.”—Jack Fairweather, Costa Prize-winning author of The Volunteer

"A profoundly moving account…an immensely valuable contribution not just to our knowledge of Anne Frank, but to the memory of the Holocaust itself."—Dave Rich, author of Everyday Hate

“One of the most moving, profound, and important books I've ever read.”—Rangan Chatterjee, host of the podcast Feel Better, Live More

“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

“Every bit as remarkable as the Anne Frank story. Hannah has left us a jewel.” —Jon Sopel

“Pick-Goslar certainly has a story, and she tells it here with great clarity and conviction. In many ways her experience parallels Anne Frank’s.”—Francine Prose, The Washington Post

“Hannah Pick-Goslar details the joys of their friendship and harrowing details of life under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime…A devastating account of the Holocaust.”—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME

“A powerful book.”—Tony Dokoupil, CBS Mornings

“Painful history but a good choice for readers interested in Anne Frank or Holocaust-era memoirs.”—Kirkus Reviews

author of The Choice Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Hannah’s story finally completes what Anne could not. It is both heartbreaking and life-affirming, and we need its truth now more than ever.

Costa Prize-winning author of The Volunteer Jack Fairweather

An extraordinary story of love, loss, and the power of friendship in the darkest time. This book, like its author, is an essential companion to Anne Frank’s life.

Rangan Chatterjee

One of the most moving, profound, and important books I've ever read.

author of Everyday Hate Dave Rich

A profoundly moving account…an immensely valuable contribution not just to our knowledge of Anne Frank, but to the memory of the Holocaust itself.

Kirkus Reviews

2023-03-25
Firsthand account of a Holocaust survivor who knew Anne Frank.

Born into a prosperous, middle-class German Jewish family like the Franks, Pick-Goslar fled to Amsterdam after the Nazis came to power in 1933. Born in 1928, the author was the same age as Anne, and since the families lived in adjacent buildings, they quickly became friends and classmates. In the early chapters, Pick-Goslar recounts the carefree activities of two schoolgirls, but the text is imbued with an increasingly ominous background, capped by the brutal German invasion in May 1940. In July 1942, the Franks disappeared, leaving a message that they had moved to Switzerland. In fact, they had gone into hiding in Otto Frank’s warehouse, where they remained until they were betrayed in August 1944. Pick-Goslar’s family was arrested in June 1943, and they spent six months in a filthy Dutch transit camp before being sent to Bergen-Belsen in Germany. Although not an extermination camp, the conditions were so awful that most prisoners died of starvation or disease after months of suffering. That included the author’s entire extended family except a baby sister under her care. During this time, she encountered Anne, already starving and ill, in a neighboring camp. Liberated in 1945, Pick-Goslar moved to Palestine in 1947, became a nurse, and died in 2022 at the age of 93. Co-author Kraft, a journalist based in Tel Aviv, renders a compelling yet disturbing story. Readers will squirm at the Nazis’ loathsome behavior and feel disheartened to learn that all advanced Western governments (the U.S. included) denounced Nazi atrocities but turned away Jews fleeing Germany except for those who were wealthy and famous. Holland was no exception, classifying Pick-Goslar’s family as “temporary refugees,” with the understanding that they would move on.

Painful history but a good choice for readers interested in Anne Frank or Holocaust-era memoirs.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176952056
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/06/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	557,743

Videos