Peter van Pels and his parents

Auguste van Pels-Röttgen and Hermann van Pels had one son: Peter, born on 8 November 1926 in Osnabrück, Germany.^[1] He was an only child.

An important source on the relationship between Peter and his parents is Anne's diary. This source is obviously limited to the period in hiding and is subjective. For instance, Anne makes several negative comments about the relationship between Peter and his parents.^[2] Nevertheless, it gives some insight into the dealings between father, mother and son.

In September 1942, when Johannes Kleiman brought a book deemed unsuitable for young people, Peter was not allowed to read it. It was the trilogy Gij Vrouwen...!, Vrouwen in nood en Vrouwenroeping by Helen Zenna Smith, which had been published by Arbeiderspers in 1938. When he finally got hold of the book, his mother gave in, while his father stood firm.^[3] Later, Anne writes that Auguste had not told her husband that Peter was reading the book anyway. When the latter found out, according to Anne, "a slap, a whack and a tug-of-war, the book lay on the table and Peter was in the loft.^[4]

In a conversation with Edith Frank, Auguste van Pels described her son as "extraordinarily modest" (as, incidentally, did her husband and Margot).^[5]

When Auguste wanted to cut Peter's hair in May '44, it led to some pushing and pulling that Anne describes in detail in her diary as "a new sketch to make you laugh".^[6]

Otto Frank expressed very negative views on the Van Pels couple's parenting in an interview conducted in 1977: 'Peter’s parents were absolutely no good parents for Peter. They hit him and threw him out. Peter didn't have the backing of his parents at all and you see that also in his answers to Anna. To me he said I’ am much more kind to help his nature.' ^[7]