AJC Mourns Death of Miep Gies, Anne Frank's Protector

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Jan 12, 2010, 12:30 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC mourned the passing of Miep Gies, the courageous and principled woman who risked her life by helping Anne Frank and her family avoid capture by the Nazis in Amsterdam for more than two years. Ms. Gies died Monday in Holland at the age of 100.

Miep Gies discovered and hid Anne Frank's diary, handing it to her father, the sole surviving member of the family, after the war. The book, "The Diary of Anne Frank," a searing personal account of the horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young girl, became an international best seller and has been translated into dozens of languages.

"Miep Gies exemplified the highest human values during the world's darkest days," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "May we always be inspired by her legacy, even as we mourn her death."

Abidingly modest and unassuming, Miep Gies never considered herself a hero. On her website, she recalled that "more than twenty thousand Dutch people helped to hide Jews and others in need of hiding during those years. I willingly did what I could to help. My husband did as well. It was not enough."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee