My gratitude goes as well to the Ymere Corporation and communications adviser Andre Bakker for a tour of the Frank family flat in the Merwedeplein in Amsterdam South. Andre was quite generous with his time and expertise, and extended his tour beyond the Merwedeplein to a number of spots of historic interest across the town, including the former Jewish Quarter and the building that housed the so-called Joods Lyceum. He was a tremendous resource for me. But, at his request, I must also mention that he did his best to persuade me not to write about Anne Frank. As he pointed out, there were many Jewish families such as Anne’s in Amsterdam who suffered under the Nazis and came to tragic ends in places such as Birkenau and Belsen. And wouldn’t it be of greater benefit to explore their struggles instead? This was, he explained, the position of the Ymere Corporation, and why he had extended his tour beyond Anne Frank’s story, to the larger tragedy that engulfed the Jewish community during the war. My only response is that, though I both understood and deeply respected this point of view, that was not the book I was writing, and I hope that other writers take up his challenge and do justice to all the other stories that comprise the tragedy that befell Amsterdam’s Jewish population.
Finally, I cannot forget my family, who not only supported me throughout the process but provided me with respite and encouragement: my mother, Marcia Gillham; my sister, Lisa Gillham; and my boys, Cameron Gemmell and Alexander Pavlova-Gillham.
And as always, I must thank, from the depth of my being, my life’s partner and wife, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, who is still my touchstone in all things.
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David R. Gillham is the
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