The first residents of Merwedeplein 37-II moved into the then new house in 1931. Otto Frank was the fourth main resident by the end of 1933. The construction and management company of the entire block was the N.V. Bouw en Exploitatie Maatschappij Hilwis and the rent was seventy guilders. That included twenty guilders for the hot water supply and central heating provided by the heating cellar of the nearby so-called 'Wolkenkrabber' (Skyscraper), the residential tower that is still part of the complex.^[1]

Domestic workers

Apart from the Frank family, numerous other Germans, including many Jews, came to the Netherlands after Adolf Hitler and his NSDAP came to power. Organisations that had long been active in helping Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe responded to these new developments. For example, the Committee for Jewish Refugees created jobs in domestic service to give women and girls opportunities to settle in the Netherlands.^[2]

In the Frank family home, some of these women found work or shelter for shorter or longer periods of time. A couple of them, Renate Wolf and Malli Aschenbrand, were also from Frankfurt. Ilse Windesheim, Gerda Einstein, Julie van Groningen and Rosel Goldschmidt came from other parts of Germany.

Subtenants

The later 1930s saw a change in the family's economic circumstances. Otto Frank travelled to England several times in 1937 in fruitless attempts to get a business initiative off the ground there. In June 1938, Jo Kleiman founded the new firm Pectacon in collaboration with Otto Frank. The last domestic help left in mid-October 1937, and in June 1938 the first subtenant Ernst Katz appeared. He was to be the first of four: after him came Johanna Briels, Paul Wronker and Werner Goldschmidt. About the subtenants, Anne wrote her story 'Boarders or lodgers'.^[3] Wronker and Goldschmidt also appear in her diary.^[4]

Grandmother Holländer

Otto and Edith Frank applied for grandmother Holländer's admission to the Netherlands in September 1938 so that she could join her daughter's family in Amsterdam. The Justice Ministry turned this down because the government closed the border to refugees in May that year. A limited widening after the November pogroms eventually allowed her to come and in March 1939 she settled here after all.^[5] Her arrival brought the number of people in the house to six.

Moortje

Moortje the cat was added in the autumn of 1941.^[6] Anne wrote about her in a letter to her grandmother, and later mentioned her repeatedly in her diary. Moortje did not come with her to the Secret Annex, but according to the diary, Werner Goldschmidt took her to the neighbours.^[7] The neighbouring Kupers family at 39-III would take care of her after this.

Kohnke family

The last to appear were the three members of the Kohnke-Leyens family. Leni Kohnke was a close acquaintance of Edith and had to leave their hometown of Hilversum with her husband and young daughter. Around May 1942, they lived with the family for a few weeks.^[8] Grandma Holländer had died in January, so during these weeks the number of people in the house was eight.

Evacuees

After the Frank family left, subtenant Werner Goldschmidt stayed behind. Later evacuees from other places settled in the house who were obliged to move to Amsterdam.^[9] Although sources are lacking, the Jewish Council seems to have played a role here. Hilwis rent records show that the last evacuee left on 20 June 1943 and that the house was empty on the 28th.^[10] The new main occupant Tim Choy was registered in the population register at this address from 3 September 1943.^[11] Nevertheless, all four members of the Frank family retained their registrations at the house until 27 October 1944, almost two months after their deportation to Auschwitz.^[12]