The Diary of Anne Frank

Annelies Marie Frank (1929–1945) was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and fled to Amsterdam with her family in 1933 following the rise of the Nazi Party. She received a plaid red-and-white diary for her 13th birthday, shortly before the family went into hiding in the Secret Annex above her father's business premises in July 1942. Arrested following a raid on August 4, 1944, Anne was deported through Westerbork and Auschwitz before being transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died of typhus in early 1945 at the age of 15. Her diary was recovered by Miep Gies and published by her father in 1947, becoming one of the most widely read accounts of the Holocaust.

Otto Heinrich Frank (1889–1980) was a German-born businessman and decorated World War I veteran of the Imperial German Army who established the Dutch branches of the Opekta and Pectacon businesses in Amsterdam. He spent years planning the hidden Secret Annex to protect his family and associates, directing their survival strategy for over two years until their arrest. Deported to Auschwitz, Otto was the sole survivor among the eight occupants of the Secret Annex, liberated by Soviet troops in January 1945. He devoted the remainder of his life to publishing Anne’s writings, establishing the Anne Frank House foundation, and promoting humanitarian work globally until his death in Switzerland at age 91.

Edith Frank (née Holländer) (1900–1945) was born into an affluent German-Jewish family in Aachen and married Otto Frank in 1925. In the annex, she endured severe emotional strain while managing daily household logistics and protecting her daughters under constant threat of discovery. Following their arrest in August 1944, she was separated from her husband and daughters at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she succumbed to starvation and illness in January 1945, shortly before the camp's liberation.

Margot Betti Frank (1926–1945) was Anne's elder sister, born in Frankfurt, who was known for her academic achievements and quiet, studious nature. Her official call-up notice to report for a Nazi labor camp on July 5, 1942, directly prompted the Frank family to move into the Secret Annex a day earlier than planned. Margot shared her family's deportation route through Westerbork and Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen, where she died of typhus in early 1945, days before Anne.

Hermine "Miep" Gies (née Santrouschitz) (1909–2010) was an Austrian-born Dutch citizen who began working as an administrative employee for Otto Frank’s Opekta company in 1933. As one of the main primary helpers, she risked her life daily for over two years by procuring groceries, books, black-market supplies, and news for the eight occupants of the annex. Immediately following the Gestapo raid on August 4, 1944, in which she was not arrested by SS Oberscharführer Karl Josef Silberbauer due to his recognition of their common Austrian accent, Miep salvaged Anne's scattered diary papers from the floor, preserving them unread in her desk until returning them to Otto after the war. She spent her later decades lecturing on the Holocaust and advocating for human rights before passing away at age 100.

Peter van Pels (1926–1945) (given the pseudonym Peter van Daan in the diary and play) was born in Osnabrück, Germany, and fled to Amsterdam with his parents in 1937. He moved into the Secret Annex with his family in July 1942, where he worked on maintenance tasks and spent time in the attic with Anne. Arrested with the rest of the occupants in 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz and later forced on a "death march" to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where he died shortly before liberation in May 1945.

Victor Kugler (1900–1981) (given the pseudonym Mr. Kraler in the diary and play) was an Austro-Hungarian-born business associate who assisted Otto Frank in establishing his Amsterdam business operations. Alongside Miep Gies, Bep Voskuijl, and Johannes Kleiman, he managed the administrative and financial shielding required to keep the Secret Annex hidden. Arrested during the August 1944 raid, Kugler was held in various labor camps. He escaped during a march in March 1945, in which the Allies attacked, and hid until the liberation of the Netherlands. He later emigrated to Canada, where he lived until his death.

Hermann van Pels (1898–1944) (given the pseudonym Mr. van Daan in the diary and play) was a German-Jewish business partner of Otto Frank who specialized in herbs and sausage spices at the Pectacon firm. He joined the Frank family in hiding in July 1942 along with his wife and son, contributing his practical skills to daily operations in the annex. Following his arrest in August 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz, where he was murdered in the gas chambers in October 1944 after sustaining an injury that rendered him unable to perform heavy labor.

Auguste van Pels (née Röttgen) (1900–1945) (given the pseudonym Mrs. van Daan in the diary and play) fled Nazi Germany for the Netherlands with her husband and son in 1937. In the annex, she assisted with meal preparation and logistics, bringing several cherished family heirlooms into hiding. After her arrest in 1944, she was transported through Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Buchenwald, dying during a forced transit in early 1945.

Friedrich "Fritz" Pfeffer (1889–1944) (given the pseudonym Albert Dussel in the diary and play) was a German dentist, veteran of World War I, and refugee who moved to Amsterdam in 1938. He entered the Secret Annex as its eighth occupant in November 1942, sharing a small bedroom with Anne Frank. Arrested in August 1944, Pfeffer was deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp in northern Germany, where he died of disease in December 1944.

Although the Nazi Officers are unnamed in the play, the are based off the team of Nazis led by Oberscharf. Karl Josef Silberbauer. Silberbauer (1911–1972) was an Austrian SS officer and police inspector who led the August 4, 1944 Gestapo raid on the Secret Annex at Prinsengracht 263, arresting Anne Frank, her family, and the other hidden occupants. During the arrest, he emptied Otto Frank's briefcase onto the floor to carry away confiscated valuables, leaving Anne's diary papers behind. Tracked down in 1963 by Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, Silberbauer was serving as a Vienna police inspector and confirmed his role in the arrest, remembering details of the operation. He avoided prosecution after an investigation concluded he was acting under orders, and he continued living in Vienna until his death in 1972.