My Friend Anne Frank

The Inspiring and Heartbreaking True Story of Best Friends Torn Apart and Reunited Against All Odds

By: Hannah Pick-Goslar, Dina Kraft

Narrated by: Alix Dunmore

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

"Both heartbreaking and life-affirming" (Edith Eger, author of The Choice), the long-awaited memoir of Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick-Goslar, who shares an intimate look into her life and friendship with Anne Frank.

In 1933, Hannah Pick-Goslar and her family fled Nazi Germany to live in Amsterdam, where she struck up a close friendship with her next-door neighbor, an outspoken and fun-loving young girl named Anne Frank. For several years, the inseparable pair enjoyed a carefree childhood of games, sleepovers, and treats with the other children in their neighborhood of Rivierenbuurt. But in 1942, Hannah and Anne's lives abruptly changed forever. As the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam progressed, Anne and the Frank family seemingly vanished, leaving behind unmade beds and dishes in the sink—but no trace of Anne's precious diary. Torn from her dear friend without warning, Hannah spent the next two years tormented by questions about Anne's fate, wondering if she had, by some miracle, managed to escape danger.

In this long‑awaited memoir, Hannah shares the story of her childhood during the Holocaust, from the introduction of anti-Jewish laws in Amsterdam to the gradual disappearance of classmates and, eventually, the Frank family, to Hannah and her family's imprisonment in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. As Hannah chronicles the experiences of her own life during and after the war, she provides a searing look at what countless children endured at the hands of the Nazi regime, as well as an intimate, never‑before‑seen portrait of the most recognizable victim of the Holocaust. Culminating in an astonishing fateful reunion, My Friend Anne Frank is the profoundly moving story of childhood and friendship during one of the darkest periods in the world's history.

©2023 Hannah Pick-Goslar (P)2023 Little, Brown Spark

Critic reviews

“Hannah’s story finally completes what Anne could not. It is both heartbreaking and life-affirming, and we need its truth now more than ever.”—Dr. Edith Eva Eger, author of The Choice

“An extraordinary story of love, loss, and the power of friendship in the darkest time. This book, like its author, is an essential companion to Anne Frank’s life.”—Jack Fairweather, Costa Prize-winning author of The Volunteer

"A profoundly moving account…an immensely valuable contribution not just to our knowledge of Anne Frank, but to the memory of the Holocaust itself."—Dave Rich, author of Everyday Hate

Powerful and a book people need to read.

A very moving memoir about her life and friendship with Anne Frank and more than that too! The compassion shown to her by her fellow Jews who were going through the same experience. Caring for each other and showing empathy towards others.

The first hand account makes history come alive

Incredible to hear historical figures spoken about first hand. To the author, Anne Franke was her next door neighbor and friend. Who knew she would become the most famous victim of the Holocaust

Amazing story!

This book was so well done. As a world
War 2 History buff, this story is one that needs to be heard. As a fellow Jew and friend of the now world famous Anne Frank; this story offers a different aspect of the tragedy Jews faced.

the missing piece to Anne’s story and the complete picture of Hannah’s

My Friend Anne Frank is powerful and moving. This first hand account gives the world a glimpse into Anne’s life before and after she went into hiding. It is the missing piece to Anne’s story and the complete picture of Hannah’s. With so few WWII soldiers and survivors of the Holocaust left, it is so important to read primary accounts like Hannah’s.

The bonds of friendship and family is so very powerful. The “human saints” Hannah encounters are inspiring. What Hannah and her sister, Gigi, endure is heartbreaking. This is Hannah and Gigi’s story. But it is also Hannah’s dear friend, Anne’s. I was very impressed with, and had great respect for, Mr. Frank before reading My Friend Anne Frank. This was only magnified after reading about Hannah’s relationship after being reunited. I was left in awe of him and feeling inspired.

When Anne “disappeared” Hannah believed the Franks escaped to Switzerland. This thought gave Hannah hope and comfort. But it was hard to grapple with her dear friend’s disappearance without a word. This quote expresses Hannah’s feelings and inner turmoil.

The pages of her diary “were a revelation. I lost my best friend Anne when she had just turned 13 and began keeping her diary. In those pages, I felt I was reunited with her. It was such a strange sensation to witness her evolve and mature, all while having a window into her internal life and her life in hiding. The Anne I met in the most terrible of circumstances at Bergen-Belsen was starving and desperate, hardly the vivacious girl I knew. These precious pages allowed me to see her between those two moments. The writing was so rich and vivid I felt like I was right next to her again. It felt both euphoric and heart-shattering.”

My wife and I each bought the book and downloaded the audio version to accompany our reading it. I strongly recommend listening while reading. It makes the experience even more personal, moving, and memorable.

If you have not visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, I strongly suggest it. I believe all people should visit and bear witness. After starting to read. My Friend Anne Frank, we knew we had to go. Two survivors were there sharing their stories. They were quite young, like Hannah’s sister, during the war. It was powerful and moving to witness what was experienced by Hannah, her friends, and family in My Friend Anne Frank at the Memorial. My Friend Anne Frank is such an important account of what must never be forgotten.

wonderful autobiography

I loved this uplifting detailed autobiography and will listen again! I highly recommend this book!

Loved every minute

Such a wonderful story. Beautifully written, and performed. Heartbreakingly wonderful. Will reread again and again!

Deeply moving

Beautifully written and moving memoir. I learned a great deal of details about the holocaust that I’d not known. Hannah and her story will stay with me forever.

Incredibly read.

Well written. Thank you for writing this story. Very sad and troubling. Tragic. A true story to be shared and heard.

Enlightening and very sad

Was very much a learning opportunity. Was informative in many different ways. I will never forget the experience of listening to this book. A lesson for us all.

Totally consuming

So important to hear the first person accounts of the Shoah that are fast disappearing as survivors are dying. Thank goodness Hannah shared her stories with Dina.