Miep Gies (1945)Initially, Miep tried to keep the Secret Annex occupants fully informed about the world outside. However, as the news became increasingly grim, inconceivable and contradictory, she decided for herself to only believe the good news and to only take that news to the Secret Annex. She took this decision toward the end of October 1942, after she had seen the Van Pels home cleared out. But Anne in particular did not make it easy for her.

"By chance one day I’d seen the Van Pels house emptied. Mrs. Van Pels hadn’t taken the news well; she had become distraught. I promised myself to guard against bringing news that would cause any upset. This wasn’t easy to do. Anne would have made a great detective. She’d sense that something was being withheld and she’d pull and squeeze, probe and stare me down, until I’d hear myself revealing just what I had decided not to reveal.."

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.