When the eight people who had been in hiding arrived in Westerbork, they first had to be registered. From 1944, when the groups of new arrivals became smaller and smaller, the registrations were usually handled in administration barracks number 34, where the inspection for lice was now also carried out. This was probably also the case for the transport on which the eight people who had been in hiding came to Westerbork.^[1]

First, a list of entry was made (Eingangsliste), the identity card and distribution documents had to be handed over. The prisoners were registered in the central administration (Zentralkartei) and they were given a Lagerpass (camp pass).^[2] The Zentralkartei was the main administrative tool in the camp for forwarding transports. The Zentralkartei was arranged alphabetically-lexicographically, so that members of a family were listed together administratively. This is also how they ended up on the transport list, and how the eight people from the Secret Annex stayed together.^[3]

Camp pass

All prisoners received a Lagerpas and were allowed to exchange a maximum of two hundred and fifty guilders per family for camp money. The rest of their money and valuables had to be handed in to Lippmann Rosenthal's department in the camp.^[4] In addition to their luggage and possessions, the punishment cases had to hand in their clothes and were given blue overalls with a red inset shoulder patch, a white belt bearing the letter S to indicate 'prison case', a yellow badge and clogs. The men were also given red and blue caps. This made them clearly recognisable as criminal cases.

Antragstelle

An important part of the registration process was the registration office, the Antragstelle, which was headed by German lawyer Hans Ottenstein. This not only took care of the registration of new arrivals to the camp, but also handled applications for provisional exemptions from deportation to camps in the east. Prisoners who met certain conditions were granted exemption from deportation on Ottenstein's advice. Prisoners were given a Sperre (postponement) in such cases.^[5] With few exceptions, the chances of prison cases (the 'S' cases) obtaining a Sperre were slim. Whether Otto Frank and Fritz Pfeffer, based on their status as World War I veterans, nevertheless made an attempt to get their S status removed, we do not know: the cards from the Zentralkartei and the Antragstelle have not been preserved.^[6] But they may certainly have tried.

Medical examination

The registration procedure of the eight people from the Secret Annex ended with a medical examination. All men and women had to undress and were checked for contagious diseases and head lice. Finally, they were assigned a place in one of the barracks.The eight people from the Secret Annex ended up in prison barrack 67.^[7] The next morning, the men were shaved bald in the barrack's washroom.^[8] Otto Frank, Hermann and Peter van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer were among them. They wore caps from then on.^[9] Auguste van Pels, Edith, Margot and Anne Frank, like the other girls and women, kept their hair. Only women who had lice were shaved bald and then given a petroleum hood. From all available accounts, there is nothing to suggest that this was the case with Auguste, Edith, or the two girls.^[10]