Anne frank e peter van daan biography
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Biographies
Peter van Daan
About Peter
In her diary, Anne gave the Van Pels family the pseudonym Van Daan. Peter was the only child of Auguste (pseudonym Petronella) and Hermann van Pels and was born on 8 November 1926 in Osnabrück, Germany.
Before the Secret Annex
Peter and his family lived in Germany until 1937, before moving to Amsterdam to escape the persecution by the Nazi party. In Amsterdam, the Van Pelses met the Franks and Peter's father Hermann became a business partner of Otto Frank.
The Van Pelses had been trying to emigrate to the United States, and when the notices for Jews to return to Germany to work in labour camps became more frequent, they decided they couldn't wait any longer. They joined the Frank family in the Secret Annex on 13 July 1942.
During the Secret Annex
Initially, Anne thought little of Peter, but as he became more confident, taking on handyman roles around the annex, Anne's opinion of him changed. Romance blossomed, but in the close co
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Peter van Pels 1926 - 1945 Edit
‘I sat down on the stairs, and we began to talk... Peter didn't say anything more about his parents; we just talked about books and about the past. Oh, he gazes at me with such warmth in his eyes; I don't think it will take much for me to fall in love with him.’
Anne Frank, 3 March 1944
Peter van Pels was born on 8 November 1926 in Osnabrück (Germany). He was the only child of Hermann van Pels and Auguste van Pels-Röttgen. His grandfather originally came from the Netherlands, which meant that Peter and his parents had Dutch nationality. His father Hermann was a sales representative in his own father’s business, a butchers’ supplies wholesaler.
Peter van Pels started his education at the Israelite Elementary School in Rolandstraße, directly next to the Osnabrück synagogue. Children of all ages were taught in a single class there. A friend from the time recalls that Peter wa
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Peter was the son of Hermann and Auguste van Pels. The family was Jewish and lived in Osnabrück (Germany). In 1937, Peter's parents decided to leave because of the Nazis' antisemitism. The family moved to Amsterdam.
Only a handful of pictures of Peter have survived. In the only photo of him taken in Amsterdam, he is repairing a chair. It is believed that in 1942, he was taking a course in furniture upholstery.
When the number of call-ups for forced labour in Nazi Germany increased, the Van Pels family felt it was time to go into hiding in the Secret Annex. Peter's father worked for Otto Frank and they had agreed that there was room for two families.
‘Rather soft, shy, gawky youth; can't expect much from his company.’
Tinkering and doing carpentry
Peter and his parents arrived at the hiding place on 13 July 1942, one week after the Frank family. His parents allowed him to bring Mouschi, his tomcat, to the annex.
Peter was the only one of the eight people in hi