July 1944 was a warm month, and a languorous mood hung in the office. One day, when Miep had finished work early, she decided on an impulse to visit the Secret Annex, just to socialize. In the room of Mr. and Mrs. Frank she came upon Anne, deeply engrossed in writing. As it was not usual for Miep to visit at this hour, and Anne was so engrossed, she did not hear Miep enter. Miep quickly turned back and wanted to leave when Anne noticed her presence.

" In our many encounters over the years, I’d seen Anne, like a chameleon, go from mood to mood, but always with friendliness. She’d never been anything but effusive, admiring, and adoring with me. But I saw a look on her face at this moment that I’d never seen before. I was a look of dark concentration, as if she had a throbbing headache. This look pierced me, and I was speechless. She was suddenly another person there writing at the table. I couldn’t say a word. My eyes were locked with Anne’s brooding ones.

Mrs. Frank must have heard me come in, and I heard her soft step behind me. I could tell from the sound of her voice when she finally spoke that she’d summed up the situation. She spoke in German, which she used only when a situation was difficult. Her voice was ironic, and yet kind. “Yes, Miep, as you know, we have a daughter who writes.

At this, Anne stood up. She shut the book she was writing in and, with that look still on her face, she said, in a dark voice that I’d also never heard before, “Yes, and I write about you, too.”

She continued to look at me, and I thought, I must say something; but all I could say, in as dry a tone as I could muster, was “That will be very nice.”

Miep felt very uncomfortable and immediately returned to the office. She realized that the diary was extremely important to Anne, and it felt as if she had interrupted an intimate moment between two friends. When the Germans arrested the hiders two months later, Miep did not hesitate for a second to save Anne's writings from falling into German hands as soon as the opportunity presented itself. She also did not for one second consider reading the diaries. She stored them in her desk drawer unread, with the idea of returning the bundle of papers to Anne after the war. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

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.