Holocaust survivor Hannah Goslar, a friend of Anne Frank, passes away aged 93

Hannah Goslar, a Holocaust survivor and a close friend of Jewish diarist Anne Frank, died at the age of 93, the Anne Frank foundation said in a statement. “We were sad to learn of the death of Hannah Pick-Goslar today at the age of 93. Hannah, or Hanneli as Anne called her in her diary, was one of Anne Frank’s best friends; they had known each other since kindergarten,” the Anne Frank House wrote on Twitter. 

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who died at the age of 15 and posthumously came to be known for documenting her experiences inside a Nazi concentration camp between 1942 and 1944. Much like Frank, Hannah Goslar was also one of the victims held in the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War. Born in 1928, Goslar and her family escaped from Nazi Germany in 1933 and moved to Amsterdam, where she met Frank for the first time. 

However, the duo grew apart in 1942, when Frank and her family went into hiding in fear of the Nazis. The next year, Gosler and her family members were arrested. They were then taken to Bergen-Belsen in 1944. A year later in February, Gosler and Frank reunited, right before the latter’s demise. 

Hannah Goslar passes away at 93, social media users condole her death

After the Holocaust, Goslar moved to the Israeli capital of Jerusalem, where she tied the knot with Walter Pick. The couple began a family which consists of three children, 11 grandchildren, and over 31 great-grandchildren. “This is my answer to Hitler,” Goslar would say, according to the official website of the Anne Frank foundation. “Hannah shared her memories of their friendship and the Holocaust into old age. She believed everyone should know what happened to her and her friend Anne after the last diary entry. No matter how terrible the story,” the foundation said.

Goslar's demise has garnered condolences from several internet users, who have paid homage to her legacy. One Twitter user wrote: "So sorry to hear of her passing. May she be at peace now. May she be remembered and loved. Her legacy will be remembered and talked about. At least she's reunited with her loved ones and Anne." Another user said: "R.I.P Hannah you will always be remembered, we hope you are happy again with you mother father and your best friend Anne."