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Hermann van Pels
HermannvanPels
Historical Figure
Nationality: Germany, later
Year of Birth: 1898
Year of Death: 1944
Cause of Death: Gassed to death
Religion: Judaism
Occupation: Business man
Spouse: Auguste van Pels
Children: Peter van Pels
Fictional Appearances:
"The Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging"
POD: July, 1944
Type of Appearance: Posthumous reference
Date of Death: Unrevealed

Hermann van Pels (31 March 1898 - September or October 1944) was a German-Jewish businessman. He, his wife, Auguste, and their son Peter fled Germany for the Netherlands in 1937. They joined Anne Frank's family in hiding from 1942 to 1944, when they were betrayed. Hermann was sent directly to Auschwitz, where he was worked until his hand was injured, and he was selected for gassing mere months after his arrival; conflicting reports disagree whether this happened in September or October.

Hermann van Pels in "The Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging"

Hermann van Pels and his family joined the Frank family in hiding from 1942 for the duration of World War II, emerging from their hiding place, the Secret Annexe, only after the Netherlands were liberated in 1945. The eight people quickly dispersed.

In 2013, an elderly Anne Berkowitz (nee Frank), now living in Hebrew Home for the Aging in Palmdale, shared some of her experiences with the eighth-grade history class from nearby Junipero Middle School. She had little to say about Hermann, but described his wife Auguste as an "airhead" and a "ditz," words that she did not have in her youth.


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