The Secret Annex was a home that consisted of eight to twelve Jews during the Holocaust. Consisting of the Franks, the Vandaans, and a Dussel, and a few extra  people, but they didnt call the Annex home sweet home. Instead of having a doormat that says welcome, their entrance was an old wooden bookshelf. Hiding for two years isnt as easy as it sounds for these families.

 

          The Secret Annex consists of many things that a normal home would have. It had three floors, with many rooms. Everything that was there was, many offices, storage rooms, a kitchen, beds, desks, sofas, tables, cupboards and an attic. It was way more crowded than a normal house. The attic was one of the places Anne favorited. She would look out the window and dream about the past, thinking of a world without hatred.

 

 

          The conditions that the families had to go through were unbearable. If they moved too loudly during the day, they had to worry if they were heard, which was the dfference between life and death.They had to go for hours without moving during the day, because people were working in the warehouse. They had little to no entertainment. They had very little food also, they ate the same thing over and over again. They also only had a radio too, which was used to hear the news, but wasn’t allowed to be played because they didn’t want to make any noise. The Franks and everyone else only had each other, they talked to the same people for over 2 years. And people were constantly arguing like Anne and her mother. The families were never safe either. The warehouse was constantly being robbed, which wasn’t good for the families in hiding. 

 

 

          The families did not have much to do in the Secret Annex. Mostly because they had to be silent all day. Anne would usually write in her diary all the time. Until Peter moved in. When Peter moved in, talking to him was Anne's favorite part of the day. As we mentioned earlier, they used to have a radio, but abandoned it, because of the noise, and if they listened, it was very quiet. Families found things to get them through day to day, but it wasn’t easy.

 

 

          All in all, living in the Annex had as many struggles as a camp. They may not of went through torture, but they suffered mentally. They weren't allowed to walk around, had limits to entertainment, and didn’t get to live a full life. They spent their last years in The Secret Annex, with no freedom. Hiding for years, was something that no one could prepare for. The families missed out on most of their lives, hiding from one of the worlds worst times.