Anne Frank, a name synonymous with hope and resilience amidst unimaginable horror, became posthumously famous for her diary, a poignant account of a young girl’s life in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. While her diary vividly captures the claustrophobia and fear of those years, it ends abruptly, leaving a lingering question in the minds of millions: How Did Anne Frank Die? The commonly known answer points to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, but the specifics are often less clear. To truly understand the circumstances surrounding her death, we must turn to firsthand accounts, like that of Irma Sonnenberg Menkel, who was in the same barracks as Anne in Bergen-Belsen and witnessed the tragic final months of her life.
Irma Menkel’s story, originally published in Newsweek Magazine in 1997, offers a harrowing glimpse into the brutal realities of Bergen-Belsen and sheds light on the conditions that led to Anne Frank’s death. Menkel, who lived to be 100 years old, recounted her experiences with stark clarity, providing a crucial historical testimony. Her narrative is not just about survival; it’s a vital piece of the puzzle in understanding the tragic fate of Anne Frank and countless others who perished in the concentration camps. To understand how Anne Frank died, we must delve into Irma Menkel’s memories of Bergen-Belsen and the devastating environment that sealed Anne’s fate.
Bergen-Belsen was not an extermination camp like Auschwitz-Birkenau; it lacked gas chambers. Instead, as Irma Menkel described, “the Nazis killed us with starvation and disease.” This distinction is crucial in understanding the cause of death at Bergen-Belsen. Menkel and her husband were initially sent to Westerbork, a transit camp, before being deported to Bergen-Belsen. Unlike extermination camps focused on immediate mass murder, Bergen-Belsen was designed to break down prisoners through inhumane living conditions, forced labor, and deliberate neglect. Upon arrival, Menkel, despite her weakened state, was forced to become a barracks leader, a terrifying command she couldn’t refuse. This position, though forced upon her, placed her in a unique position to observe and interact with the other inmates, including Anne Frank.
Irma Sonnenberg Menkel, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen, provides a firsthand account of the camp conditions and Anne Frank’s final days.
The barracks in Bergen-Belsen, as Menkel vividly recalled, were places of extreme suffering. “There were about 500 women and girls in my barracks. Conditions were extremely crowded and unsanitary. No heat at all.” Everyday life was a brutal routine of roll calls, forced labor, and relentless hunger. Menkel described the meager rations: “One roll of bread for eight days, and we tore it up, piece by piece. One cup of black coffee a day and one cup of soup. And water. That was all.” Sanitation was nonexistent; there were no showers, and washing clothes was a laborious process in inadequate sinks. These conditions, combined with the lack of bedding and constant fear, created a breeding ground for disease.
It was in this horrific environment that Anne Frank and her family arrived, already weakened from their time in hiding and the transit camp. Menkel remembers Anne as “a quiet child” who seemed younger than her actual age of fifteen. Typhus, a disease spread by lice and thriving in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, became rampant in the camp. “Typhus was a terrible problem, especially for the children. Of 500 in my barracks, maybe 100 got it, and most of them died,” Menkel stated. This aligns with historical accounts that identify typhus as a major killer in Bergen-Belsen, especially in the final months of the war.
When Anne Frank fell ill with typhus, Irma Menkel’s role as barracks leader placed her in direct contact with the young girl. Menkel recalled, “When Anne Frank got sick with typhus, I remember telling her she could stay in the barracks – she didn’t have to go to roll call.” This small act of compassion in the face of overwhelming brutality highlights the human connection that persisted even in the depths of despair. Menkel also remembers Anne speaking of her father and seeking reassurance about her health, “She would say to me, ‘Irma, I am very sick.’ I said, ‘No, you are not so sick.’ She wanted to be reassured that she wasn’t.” This poignant exchange reveals Anne’s vulnerability and the desperate hope for survival even as death loomed.
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where Anne and her family hid, now serves as a museum commemorating her life and the Holocaust.
In her final moments, Anne Frank succumbed to the ravages of typhus, exacerbated by starvation and the overall weakened state of her body. Menkel poignantly describes holding Anne as she slipped into a coma: “When she slipped into a coma, I took her in my arms. She didn’t know that she was dying. She didn’t know that she was so sick. You never know. At Bergen-Belsen, you did not have feelings anymore. You became paralyzed.” This intimate detail underscores the impersonal and dehumanizing nature of death in the camp. Anne Frank died not in a gas chamber, but from disease and deprivation, a fate shared by tens of thousands in Bergen-Belsen. Her death, likely in February or March of 1945, came just weeks before the camp’s liberation by British forces in April 1945.
Irma Menkel’s testimony is crucial in understanding the reality of Anne Frank’s death. It clarifies that Anne died due to the horrific conditions prevalent in Bergen-Belsen, specifically from typhus, a disease fueled by overcrowding, starvation, and lack of sanitation. It dispels any misconceptions about other causes of death, reinforcing the tragic truth that Anne Frank, like countless others, was a victim of Nazi brutality through systematic deprivation and disease. Menkel’s willingness to share her story, even decades later, serves as a powerful reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of remembering individual stories like Anne Frank’s to ensure such atrocities are never repeated. The answer to “how did Anne Frank die?” is not just a historical fact, but a somber reflection on the devastating consequences of hatred and inhumanity, a lesson that resonates deeply through Irma Menkel’s poignant recollections.
