The world suffered a huge loss this week. Miep Gies, the righteous gentile who was pivotal in both hiding the Frank family and the safeguarding and subsequent publishing of Anne Frank’s diary, died on Monday, at nearly 101 years of age.
At the same time, after decades of efforts by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others, John Demjanjuk, at 89 now an old man, is finally on trial for crimes against humanity. Much of the press has focused on how due to the ages of the perpetrators, the opportunity of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice is rapidly diminishing.
The passing of Miep Gies poignantly reminds us that it’s not only the evildoers that are dying, but also those who risked their lives to save their fellow humans.
Last year a reissue of Gies’ memoir, Anne Frank Remembered, arrived at the IJN. We’ve all read the story of Anne Frank from the diarist’s view, but Gies’ book allows us an outside view of the Frank family. More revealingly, the book tells us the heroic story of the family’s protector – though Gies is too modest to refer to herself as a hero.
In the recounting of her daily life, we understand the risk individuals such as Gies took. During WWII, Holland was plagued by food shortages. How did Gies source food for seven, later eight, individuals without raising suspicion? And Gies not only took an active role in hiding the Franks, but her and her husband were also hiding another Jew in their apartment.
People such as Gies risked their lives to protect others. And she wasn’t the only one. In Holland many families, especially those living in the isolated north secretly hid Jewish children in their homes.
The question is frequently asked, Why didn’t people do more? Reading Gies’ story, a much more troubling question presses: Would we do the same? Would we literally put our life on the line for our friends, neighbors, or even harder to fathom, complete strangers? Instead of questioning why people didn’t do more, our faith in humanity should be buoyed by the fact that some did anything, considering the circumstances under which they were living: military dictatorships or occupations where people’s every move was tracked.
This week, the world lost a courageous soul, a person to whose fundamental goodness we all should aspire.
May she rest in peace.
thank you for writing about miep g.
There is a book , a biography of anne frank by a Melissa Muller, I believe. I heard her speak in person about ten years ago at a reading of her book. “Hello” was there too, he signed my book. Melissa spoke extensively about Miep G. Aside from the fact that she was a guardian angel to Anne Frank and her family–she sounded truly remarkable and ever so humble. I believe there is an introduction written by her to Melissa Muller’s book. Melissa Muller spoke about her a lot. She met with her extensively in order to write her biography of Anne Frank. Miep Geis, truly a righteous woman (together with her husband Jan). May they rest in peace…..shabbat shalom.