Jacqueline van Maarsen
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Yvonne Meta van Maarsen (Born January 30, 1929), simply known as "Jacque van Maarsen" is a Dutch
bookbinder and writer. She is best known for her friendship with diarist Anne Frank
. Jacque's Christian
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, an act which helped the van Maarsens to escape from the Nazis.
to a Dutch Jewish father, Hijman van Maarsen, and a French
Christian
mother, Elline van Maarsen. Jacque has a sister, Christiane. Jacque studied in a normal school in Amsterdam until 1940, when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Then Jacque had to move to a Jewish school. In the Jewish school, Jacqueline befriended many girls, including Anne Frank, Nanette Blitz, and Hanneli Goslar
. Anne and Jacque became best friends, and they often visited each others' houses and did their homework together. Jacque was the secretary of the ping-pong club started by her friends, Little Dipper Minus Two.
In July 1942, Anne's family went into hiding, but Jacque did not know about this.
Meanwhile, the Nazis were arresting Jews throughout the country. Jacque, who was half-Jewish, felt the threat of arrest. Because she was Christian, Jacque'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 Jacque to transfer out of the Jewish school and back into the normal school.
, Anne's father, got in touch with Jacque. Jacque was one of the first people to whom Otto Frank showed Anne's diary. In 1947 The Diary of a Young Girl
was published.
Jacque became a bookbinder. She married her childhood friend, Ruud Sanders, in 1954. They had three children.
and the United States
.
Jacque has written four books about her friendship with Anne Frank. Jacque still lives in Amsterdam and has seven grandchildren.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
bookbinder and writer. She is best known for her friendship with diarist Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
. Jacque's Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
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, an act which helped the van Maarsens to escape from the Nazis.
Early life
Jacque was born in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to a Dutch Jewish father, Hijman van Maarsen, and a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
mother, Elline van Maarsen. Jacque has a sister, Christiane. Jacque studied in a normal school in Amsterdam until 1940, when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Then Jacque had to move to a Jewish school. In the Jewish school, Jacqueline befriended many girls, including Anne Frank, Nanette Blitz, and Hanneli Goslar
Hanneli Goslar
Hannah 'Hanneli' Elisabeth Goslar is best known for her friendship with diarist Anne Frank. Both Hannah and Anne attended the Sixth Public Montessori School in Amsterdam and then the Jewish Lyceum....
. Anne and Jacque became best friends, and they often visited each others' houses and did their homework together. Jacque was the secretary of the ping-pong club started by her friends, Little Dipper Minus Two.
In July 1942, Anne's family went into hiding, but Jacque did not know about this.
Meanwhile, the Nazis were arresting Jews throughout the country. Jacque, who was half-Jewish, felt the threat of arrest. Because she was Christian, Jacque'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 Jacque to transfer out of the Jewish school and back into the normal school.
After the Second World War
After the war, Jacque came to know Anne had not survived. Otto FrankOtto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
, Anne's father, got in touch with Jacque. Jacque 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
The Diary of a Young Girl 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 Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
was published.
Jacque became a bookbinder. She married her childhood friend, Ruud Sanders, in 1954. They had three children.
Present life
Since 1987, Jacque has been giving speeches about Anne Frank in different schools in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Jacque has written four books about her friendship with Anne Frank. Jacque still lives in Amsterdam and has seven grandchildren.
Books by Jacqueline van Maarsen
- Anne and Jopie (1990)
- My Friend, Anne Frank (1996)
- My Name Is Anne, She Said, Anne FrankMy Name Is Anne, She Said, Anne FrankMy Name Is Anne, She Said, Anne Frank is a 2003 memoir-book written by :Jacqueline van Maarsen. The book was about the friendship of the author with the famous diarist, Anne Frank. Van Maarsen, who had previously written two books about Anne, had been giving lectures about her childhood friend...
(2003) - Inheriting Anne Frank (2009)