Hannah Pick-Goslar was one of Anne Frank’s (1929–1945) best friends and was often mentioned in her famous diary.
- Died: October 28, 2022 (Who else died on October 28?)
- Details of death: Died at her home in Jerusalem at the age of 93.
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Holocaust survivor
Pick-Goslar moved to the Netherlands with her family in 1933, where she soon became friends with Anne Frank. Frank called her Hannali as they grew up together. After Frank went into hiding with her family in 1942, she often referred to Pick-Goslar in the diary that would later be published as the famous “The Diary of a Young Girl.” In the diary, Frank wrote about imagining her friend while she was in hiding. Both Frank and Pick-Goslar were Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944. Though they were held captive in separate sections, the two friends were able occasionally able to meet, with a fence separating them. Pick-Gosar once brought socks and a loaf of bread for her friend, which she threw over the fence when guards weren’t looking.
Frank died later in 1944, but Pick-Goslar and one of her sisters survived and were liberated in 1945. Pick-Goslar settled in Israel after the war, training to become a nurse. She worked at Bikkur Cholim Hospital and had three children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Author Alison Leslie Gold wrote “Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend” based on her interviews with Pick-Goslar. The 2021 film “My Best Friend Anne Frank” also tells the story of Pick-Goslar and Frank.
Pick-Goslar on meeting Frank
“Anna and I met for the first time in 1934 when both our families came from Germany to Holland. We met in a grocery store. My mother and Anne’s mother started to speak German because both ladies didn’t know how to speak Dutch. Mrs. Frank came with her younger daughter and it came out that she’s half a year younger than I am. When my mother brought me to kindergarten the next day, I didn’t know the language or anybody and I saw only Anna’s back. She was making music with bells. Anna turned around and ran into my arms and I ran into hers, and from then on we were friends.” —from an interview for Scholastic
Tributes to Hannah Pick-Goslar
Full obituary: NPR
