Jacqueline Yvonne Meta van Maarsen (; born 30 January 1929) is a Dutch author and former

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, ...

. She is best known for her friendship with diarist

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

. Jacque's

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

mother was able to remove the ''J'' (Jew) signs from the family's identity cards (Jacque's father was Jewish) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, thereby helping the van Maarsens escape the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

Early life

Van Maarsen was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

to a Dutch-

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

father, Samuel "Hijman" van Maarsen (1884–1952), and a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

mother, Eulalie Julienne Alice "Eline" van Maarsen (née Verlhac) (1891–1992). Van Maarsen has a sister, Christiane. Van Maarsen studied in a regular school in Amsterdam until 1940, when the

invaded the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Most of her father's side of the family perished in Nazi concentration camps including

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

and Sobibor. Then she had to move to a Jewish

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

. In the Jewish school, she befriended many girls, including

Nanette Blitz Nanette Konig-Blitz (born 6 April 1929) is a Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivor and former classmate of Anne Frank. She has lived in São Paulo, Brazil since 1953. In 2015, she published a book about being a Belsen survivor called ''Eu Sobre ...

, Sanne Ledermann and Hanneli Goslar. Van Maarsen was the secretary of the ping-pong club started by her friends, Little Dipper Minus Two. Anne Frank and Van Maarsen became best friends, and they often visited each other's houses and did their homework together. Van Maarsen sincerely liked Anne, but found her at times too demanding in her friendship. In July 1942, Anne's family went into hiding, but Van Maarsen did not know about this. Anne, in her diary later, was remorseful for her own attitude toward Van Maarsen, regarding with better understanding Van Maarsen's desire to have other close girlfriends as well – "I just want to apologize and explain things", Anne wrote. After two and a half months in hiding, Anne composed a farewell letter to Van Maarsen in her diary, vowing her lifelong friendship. Van Maarsen read this passage much later, after the publication of the diary. Meanwhile, the Nazis were arresting Jews throughout the country. Van Maarsen, who was half-Jewish by Nazi standards, felt the threat of arrest. Because she was Christian, Van Maarsen's mother was able to remove the "J" (Jew) signs from the family's ID cards. This act helped the Van Maarsens to escape from the Nazis, and it allowed Van Maarsen to transfer out of the Jewish school and back into general education.

After the Second World War

After the war, Van Maarsen came to know Anne had not survived.

Otto Frank Otto Heinrich Frank (12 May 1889 – 19 August 1980) was a German businessman who later became a resident of the Netherlands and Switzerland. He was the father of Anne and Margot Frank and husband of Edith Frank, and was the sole member o ...

, Anne's father, got in touch with Van Maarsen, and she was one of the first people to whom Otto Frank showed Anne's diary. In 1947, ''

The Diary of a Young Girl ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...

'' was published. Van Maarsen became an award-winning

. She married her childhood friend, Ruud Sanders, in 1954. They had three children. She has written five books on her notable friendship with Anne Frank (see below),

Present life

Van Maarsen still lives in Amsterdam and has seven grandchildren. Since 1987, she has been giving speeches about Anne Frank in different schools in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Additionally, she appeared in the 28 November 2008, documentar
''Classmates of Anne Frank''
Van Maarsen has also written five books about her and Anne's notable strong and close friendship. At present, Jacque is writing a book of short stories, inspired by her travels.

Books

*''Anne and Jopie'' (1990) *''My Friend, Anne Frank'' (1996) *'' My Name Is Anne, She Said, Anne Frank'' (2003) *''A Friend called Anne'' (2004) *''Inheriting Anne Frank'' (2009)

References

External links