Otto Frank spends his childhood in Frankfurt
Otto Frank was born and raised in Frankfurt am Main.
Otto Frank was born on Sunday 12 May 1889 in Frankfurt am Main, the son of Michael Frank and Alice Betty Frank-Stern. At the time of Otto's birth, the Frank family lived at Gärtnerweg 58, where Michael Frank had been registered since 15 December 1887.[1]
The house had a telephone, number 189. Michael Frank was referred to in the 1890 address book as 'Kfm (Kaufman)'; in the 1896 telephone book as 'Wechselmkh' (exchange broker).[2] This house no longer exists.
Around 1897 Otto Frank's parents Michael Frank and Betty Frank-Stern with their four children Robert, Otto, Herbert and Helene Frank moved to Gärtnerweg 40.[3] Michael Frank was referred to as 'Wechselmkh' (exchange broker) in the 1897 address book. The telephone connection was number 189.[4] This house, too, no longer exists.
Around 1902 Otto Frank's parents moved with their four children to Jordanstrasse 4.[5] In 1917, this part of the street was first renamed Mertonstraße and then Dantestrasse in 1933.[6] The phone number of the Frank family was: Taunus 689.[7]
Interrupted by periods in Heidelberg, Düsseldorf, New York, Plettenberg and by his military service during World War I, Otto Frank was registered at this address until he moved to Marbachweg 307 on 12 March 1927. Edith Holländer was registered at the address Mertonstrasse as of 8 July 1925.[3] Correspondence shows that Cornelia Kahn, Otto's maternal grandmother, also lived here.[8] After the death of Michael Frank on 17 September 1909, his family continued to live at this address. According to the address books and the family card Robert Frank lived at this address in the early twenties, and Herbert Frank lived there until 1930.[7] Helene Frank and Erich Elias lived with their sons Stephan and Bernd (Buddy) Elias at this address until their emigration to Basel, Switzerland, around 1929.[9]
Footnotes
- ^ Institut für Stadtgeschichte (IfS, voorheen: Stadtarchiv), Frankfurt am Main: Einwohnermeldekartei, Michael Frank. Daarvoor woonde het gezin sinds 26 januari 1886 in de Leerbachstrasse 58.
- ^ IfS: Mikrofiches Adressbucher 1890 en 1896. De telefoonaansluiting in de Leerbachstrasse had eveneens nummer 189.
- a, b IfS, Frankfurt am Main: Einwohnermeldekartei, Michael Frank.
- ^ IfS: Mikrofiches Adressbucher 1897.
- ^ IfS, Frankfurt am Main: Grundbuch 24/8 en 20/9/1901. Aankoop door Michael Frank van perceel Jordanstrasse 4, aangehaald in: Jürgen Steen (Bearb.), 'Früher wohnten wir in Frankfurt'. Frankfurt am Main und Anne Frank, Frankfurt am Main: Historisches Museum, 1985. Verhuizing vond plaats omstreeks 1902. Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg. code OFA_060. Zie ook de foto van de Jordanstrasse 4 in: AFS, AFC, reg. code A_familieledenFrank_III_030.
- ^ De straat was vernoemd naar de Joodse industrieel, weldoener en oprichter van de universiteit Wilhelm Merton (1848-1916). In de periode 1933-1938 was er een grootscheepse hernoeming van straten en pleinen genoemd naar Joodse personen: Mertonstrasse werd hernoemd in deels Universitätsstrasse en deels Dantestrasse. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog bleef de naam Dantestrasse gehandhaafd, de Universitätsstrasse werd weer Mertonstrasse. IfS, Stadvermessungsamt 428: Tabelle Aloys Molter. De precieze data van deze veranderingen zijn vooralsnog niet bekend. In het telefoonboek van 1920 stond nog Jordanstrasse: Januar 1920. Verzeichnis der Teilnehmer an den Fernsprechnetzen im Ober-Postdirektionsbezirk Frankfurt (Main).
- a, b IfS, Frankfurt am Main: Adressbucher Frankfurt am Main.
- ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_072: Diverse ansichtkaarten en andere stukken.
- ^ AFS, Getuigenarchief, Elias, Buddy: Interview met Buddy Elias, 23 september 1992, afgenomen door Dienke Hondius en Dineke Stam.