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Otto and Margot Frank

Otto Frank's relationship with his daughter Margot.

Subject
Vervaardiger onbekend. Fotocollectie Anne Frank Stichting, Amsterdam

Edith, Margot en Otto, Aken 1927

Vervaardiger onbekend. Fotocollectie Anne Frank Stichting, Amsterdam Copyright: Status onduidelijk

Below are some sources that say something about Otto Frank's relationship with his daughter Margot. Note that what we know of this rapport is strongly coloured by the comparisons with Anne.

  • Following family tradition, Otto Frank wrote a poem for Margot's 16th birthday on 16 February 1941 in which he characterised her as a "modest girl", but also as a "real teenage girl" and "fond of babies".[1]
  • He indicated the difference between his daughters in the letter Anne received from him on 11 May 1939: 'Ja einfach wie mit Deinen Schwesterchen geht es nicht immer, wenn auch im allgemeinen Dein lustiger Sinn, Dein liebenswürdiges Wesen Dich spielerisch über vieles hinwegtänzeln lassen.'
  • An entry in Anne's diary shows that Otto also wrote a letter to Margot, but it was lost. The letter itself is dated 5 May 1942, Otto Frank's fiftieth birthday, as well as his fourteenth wedding anniversary.[2]
  • According to Anne's diary, Otto participated in the Latin course Margot took while in hiding.[3]
  • After his return from Auschwitz, he tried in every possible way to get information about the fate of his daughters. He kept checking Red Cross lists and made enquiries everywhere.[4]
  • On 18 July 1945, he came into contact with Lientje Brilleslijper through Isa Cauvern, who informed him of the death of his daughters in Bergen Belsen.[5]
  • On 19 July 1945, he informed his mother of 'den fürchtbaren Nachricht' by postcard.[6]
  • He placed an appeal requesting information on Margot and Ann in Het Vrije Volk of 1 August 1945: 'In Jan. on transp. from Bergen-Belsen.'[7]
  • On behalf of Otto Frank, Johannes Kleiman asked the Red Cross for death certificates for Margot and Anne. This was followed on 7 May 1954 by a request that the certificates received be published in the Nederlandsche Staatscourant as soon as possible, as this was necessary for the preparation of an inheritance certificate.[8]
  • Otto Frank regularly expressed himself in letters regarding the loss of his children.[9] He tried to find out as much as possible about his children by seeking and maintaining contact with their former girlfriends, friends, classmates and teachers. In relation to Margot, these included: Jetteke Frijda, Barbara Ledermann, Anco Mali, Bella Kohlwey.[10]
  • In a letter to Jetteke Frijda, Margot's classmate, Otto characterises Margot as understanding, very closed, not as vain as Anne, but smarter and more balanced, shy and reserved.[11]
  • On 17 November 1966, Otto Frank filed an application for compensation: ' (...) aus Schaden im beruflichen Fortkomen (Ausbildungsschaden)' for Margot, who had been unable to do her intended medical studies. He was awarded compensation of DM4,000.[12]
  • Otto continued to note Margot's birthday in his diaries on 16 February for the rest of his life. Usually with the pet name 'Mutz' meaning little bear, and sometimes with 'M.'[13]
  • In 1968, Otto Frank wrote that he felt "besser verstand" with Anne "als mit Margot". According to him, Margot needed less support because she did not suffer as much from mood swings.[14]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Margot schreef dit gedicht over in een brief aan haar grootmoeder in Bazel, 21 februari 1941. Familiearchief Anne Frank-Fonds (AFF), Bazel, Alice Frank, AFF_AlF_corr_018.
  2. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 28 September 1942 (4th), in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019. 
  3. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 11 November 1943, 16 May 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  4. ^ AFS, AFC, Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg.code OFA_071: Brief 7 juli 1945, Otto Frank aan Robert en Lotti Frank: 'I do all to find out more about it and I waver between hope and fear'between hope and fear'.
  5. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_071: Brief Otto Frank aan Robert en Lotti Frank, 26 juli 1945, AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_002: Agenda Otto Frank 1945.
  6. ^ Dit blijkt uit een kaart van Alice Stern van 4 augustus 1945. AFF, Alice Frank, AFF_AlF_corr_010. Op dat moment was er met Bazel alleen nog maar postkaartenverkeer mogelijk.
  7. ^ Het Vrije Volk, Woensdag 1 augustus 1945.
  8. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_069 (ongedateerd), 109.
  9. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_100: Otto Frank aan Jetteke Frijda, 16 december 1945 ('mijn streven was altijd met mijn kinderen te leven en te trachten hun te begrijpen en te helpen'); AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_085: Otto Frank aan Joseph Spronz, 13 juni 1947, als hij die gelukwenst met zijn huwelijk en de komende baby ('Ich lebe mit Freunden zusammen, so áusserlich geht es mir ordentlich, aber das eigentliche Leben ist doch vorbei. Ohne Kinder kein Leben!').
  10. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_085, 100, alsmede het Getuigenarchief.
  11. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_100: Brief aan Jetteke Frijda, 16 december 1945; AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_070: Bitte schreiben Sie mir etwas über Anne Frank.
  12. ^ Op 22 januari 1968 maakte F. Fafflok DM 3.6000 (4.000 minus het honorarium van DM 400,– over op Otto Franks rekening 276485-1 bij de Schweizerischen Bankverein in Bazel. AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_069.
  13. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_003 t/m 037. Agenda 1972 ontbreekt.