Savvy Sightseer - tips and insights for seasoned travelers!

Every aspect of the Anne Frank museum is powerful and very moving. Stepping behind the movable bookcase that had hidden the entrance to the Jewish Frank family's living quarters evokes an immediate respect for what the inhabitants endured as they hoped for the end of Nazi terrorism in Amsterdam. To avoid being shipped off to camps the family took refuge in a little-known set of rooms at the back end of the Frank-owned warehouse facing the Prinsengracht canal.

The barely 800 sq. ft. area ultimately served as home to two families, the Franks and Van Pels (former co-owners of the spice and pectin business run in the warehouse), and a friend, Fritz Pfeffer. How cramped and spartan the conditions are is immediately driven home when walking from tiny room to even tinier room. That eight people could live in virtual silence here for more than two years, while beyond the bookcase a business bustled with potential whistle-blowers, is difficult to comprehend.

Little remains of the families' personal belongings, which were carted out by the Nazis after the hiding place was discovered in 1944. Only some small family articles and documents - and the now world-famous diary chronicling the ordeal through the eyes of young teen Anne - were preserved by family friends and former employees who helped the refugees. A poignant display of clipped photos of stars of the day - Anne's favorite hobby in hiding - mark that area was Anne's side of the roughly 16x7'room she shared with Pfeffer.

This is not a museum to rush through. It's compelling to read excerpts of Anne's diary, to see the pencil marks etched on the wall that marked the changing heights of Anne and her sister Margot during hiding, and to listen to the chiming of nearby Westerkerk church bells or carillon, so prominently mentioned by Anne in her diary. It's humbling to step into Anne's world and consider her belief: "Despite everything, I believe people really are good at heart." It's touching to experience Otto Frank's loving tribute to his daughter, and to know that despite feeling broken as the only member of the eight to survive the concentration camps, he fulfilled his daughter's dream of having her diary published, and immersed himself in a cause to make sure the world never forgets the horrors of non-tolerance.

While this museum is well worth the sometimes several hour wait on a line that stretches beyond the museum, waiting is unnecessary. Tickets are sold online, and ticket-holders bypass the wait to enter at their appointed time.

Mouse over photos for more information, or click the set to view as a slideshow.

To go to the Anne Frank website's virtual tour, click here: Behind the Bookcase.