As one of the helpers in the Secret Annex and responsible for the daily groceries, Miep could well imagine that the occupants had reason to complain when she brought cabbage for the sixth day running. Yet Miep never heard them grumble.

“It had ceased to be interesting to eat. We were forced to make do with anything we had. This meant monotony and boredom and the same fare for days and days in a row. It also meant getting digestive problems, or being left half sick and still hungry after eating.

But never did I hear a complaint from the hiding place. Never a sign of boredom or disappointment as the food was unpacked and stored. Never was a comment made about how tired our friends were of eating kale, more than two weeks of kale, or some other food. Never did they complain to me about ever-decreasing rations of butter and fat.

Likewise, I never mentioned the pasty color my friends had taken on. The children’s clothe were starting to fall apart, too; to fray, and simply wear out. In her own quiet way, Mr. Koophuis’ wife had occasionally gotten hold of some secondhand clothes for the children, and had sent them to the hiding place with Mr. Koophuis.”

Quoted from the book Anne Frank Remembered. The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family. By Miep Gies with Alison Gold. Simon and Schuster, New York 1987. A new edition of the book is expected for early 2009.