@
P
Anne's beloved father and the person who bought her first diary. After her death, he fulfilled her plans to publish a version of her entire diary and also promoted her ideals until his death.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, he served in the German army in WWI, earning the Iron Cross and the rank of Lieutenant. When the family bank (The Michael Frank Bank) closed in March 1933, he moved to the Netherlands and established a company selling pectin, a gelling agent. Erich Elias, his brother in law, who he had been in business with before, loaned him money to do this, as did a cousin, Armand. In 1934, Otto brought his wife and kids (Margot and Anne) along. At some point after the German occupation of the Netherlands, he tried to emigrate out of the Netherlands with his family, but it was too late, so he devised a plan to go into hiding on the premises of his business.
He was the only person hidden in the secret annexe to survive the war (had been deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp). He returned to work, and worked on getting Anne's rewritten diary published (first published summer 1947). On 10 Nov 1953, he married Elfriede Geiringer-Markovits. They lived in Birsfelden, Switzerland. He founded the Anne Frank Fonds, cooperated with playwrights, and responded to letters from Anne's readers. Died 19 Aug 1980, leaving Anne's diary to the Netherlands. (CE p. 1-9, 55-56, 71; AFB p. 9, 27, 276-7; The Hidden Life of Otto Frank; Anne Frank: the Biography)
