What a beautifully written book and how vividly it brought to life that terrible time. Highly emotional yet never self pitying despite the deprivation and loss suffered.

Books like this should be compulsory reading for the youth of today.

In this moving memoir, Hannah Pick-Goslar narrates her extraordinary life from the time she and her parents moved from Germany in the wake of Hitler's rise to power and their new life in Amsterdam to the start of WW2 and the increased tensions and fear Jewish people felt all over the world, and the Gosslar's family incarceration in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Through the horror, Hannah holds on to her happy memories with her family and her friends, including Anne Frank whose diary would become famous following her death.

This was a brilliant book, and really well written and paced. Hannah's story is so hard to read at times and it's so hard to believe that these atrocities happened and not just to her family but to millions of Jewish people, and others Hitler opposed. But Hannah's strength, intelligence and positive attitude prevails throughout the story even as she is faced with increased restrictions as a Jewish person in the Netherlands, the death of her beloved mother and their her teenage years snatched away due to her imprisonment in the camps. I loved Hannah's family from her mother and father, to her gentle grandparents and her ever loving aunts and uncles living abroad and always searching for trapped family. I also really felt emotional at Hannah's relationship with Otto Frank following the war and how he helped the girl who was his daughter's best friend and he became a grandfather figure for her children.

I just thought this was a brilliant book, and Dina Kraft who wrote this book for Hannah Pick-Gosslar did an amazing job and helped a wonderful woman put her unbelievable life journey into words to share with the world.

A very good book. It was quite an emotional read and gave an insight in to their lives and experiences.

The extraordinary, powerful and haunting account of the woman who enjoyed a brief but strong friendship with Anne Frank.

When Hannah was five, she and her family were forced to leave Germany. It was 1933 and, as Jews, they realised the growing threat of the Nazis so sought a new home in Amsterdam.

Here, Hannah soon found a new friend, a young girl similar in age who was also bright, lively and fun-loving. This was Anne Frank.

In June 1942 the Nazi occupation of Europe intensified and Amsterdam was no longer the safe refuge. One day, without warning, Anne and her family disappeared. It was said that they had escaped to Switzerland. Though Hannah was sad at losing her friend, she was comforted in knowing that she would be safe.

For Hannah and her family, there was transportation to Westerbork and then Bergen-Belsen. They endured terrible conditions and personal tragedies, but ultimately Hannah received the incredible news that Anne was nearby, they were in the same camp. Hannah did all she could to help her dear friend.

Of course we know that Anne Frank did not survive the concentration camp. But her father, in receipt of the diary Anne kept during their time hidden in the attic, contacted Hannah and together they shared Anne's story, and their own experiences, to audiences all over the world.

Hannah died last year, just a few months before the book was published, at the age of 93. She had lived in Israel, had worked as a children's nurse, had been married and widowed twice and enjoyed a large family. She was tireless in talking about her wartime experience, the hardships, grief, loss and trauma. This book is her story as told to author Dina Kraft. It is beautifully written, with a light, sensitive touch, but is nonetheless poignant, powerful and important.

An important addition to Anne Frank books and scholarship in general. I also enjoyed Melissa Muller's biography which would be a few years old now, in which material we did not previously know about Anne was largely provided by another friend of young Anne's, Nanny Konig-Blitz. Both of the women confirm that Anne thought both her parents were dead before she perished herself, which is just one of the most heartbreaking things; she never knew her father was still alive. Rich with period detail, this is a timely reminder to push back against the othering of innocent people and the global rise of the far right.

If like me you grew up reading the heartbreaking diary of Anne Frank then this book will not only add to her story but also tell the story of another young girl who survived through horrific circumstances and to help tell not only her own story but more about the young girl behind the diary. What an amazing woman who survived through things I can’t even begin to imagine.

What a beautifully written book. Hannah’s lifetime dedication to sharing her life is beyond incredible. This book took me there with her and brought me to tears several times. What an inspirational woman.

I am a Greta lover of the Anne Frank books I have read and this was no different. This is a different story and one from a survivor and friend. I just couldn't get enough of this book and loved the story of Hannah and the friendship between these two young girls.

This is such a personal story to tell but one which was needed to be told. You feel everything on the pages of this book, the fun of friendship, the horror of losing that friendship to war and the not knowing.

This is a heartfelt yet heart-wrenching story, so well written you can feel the emotion in it. I feel privileged to have read this story and would have no hesitation in recommending it to one and all.

Thank you NetGalley and Ebury Publishing, Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

An poignant real life story beautifully written and a definite must read. Whilst it is amazing that anyone could survive the atrocities of the Nazi concentration camp and live to tell the tale. Despite the many books from the survivors it is still a shock that such despicable things could possibly happen, but which must serve as a reminder to us all. This book also gives us more of the life of a well known victim of the Holocaust, Anne Frank, from the perspective of a contemporary which in itself is interesting. Also that Anne and came across each other in Bergen-Belsen even if not face to face. This book tells the story of Hannah's courage throughout her ordeal whilst helping her much younger sister to survive when all other family members and friends perished.

Thank you to Ebury Publishing for this ARC. It is a well written book about not only the horrors of the holocaust, but also of friendship. This book is so real, I felt like I was there with Hannah and Anne. It definitely comes with recommendations from myself (you may need tissues!).

My Friend Anne Frank is very touching and emotional read, this book will stay with me for a long time.
5 stars.

Beautifully written about early childhood memories with the infamous Anne Frank. Told with such poignantly and integrity. Great read!

The Diary of Anne Frank one of those books i emotionally connected to and ever since it has remained very special to me. My Friend Anne Frank is both a beautiful companion to Anne’s diary and yet also it’s a book that deserves to be considered in its own right, such is the magic of this book.

Seeing Anne through the eyes of her closest friend is so enlightening, Hannah talks of her stubbornness, her abruptness, through the friendship you experience how mighty Anne’s will and dreams were, both good and bad, you see her actions alongside the thoughts you get to experience in her own words via her diary. There are some truly heartbreaking moments with Anne, in particular Anne’s birthday party with her friends where, hauntingly at the end you are reminded the fate of each child since that last moment spent all together full of joy, promise and innocence. You are there for Anne being gifted her famous diary. You are there when Anne disappears to Switzerland with her family for safety, when sadly we know she never left, she was in hiding. And in their last exchange as friends, you are there for Hannah and Anne’s last encounter in the camp when, cold and starving, Anne needs Hannah’s help through the fence for a feeble parcel of food. You truly experience the childhood that was robbed, the wings that were clipped, the happiness and dreams that were robbed. And it’s devastating to read.
The book truly captures the moments the normalcy of childhood and living in Amsterdam, starts to become poisoned by prejudice and fear and the suffocating fear and confusion as sanctions are introduced and start to increase.

While Anne Frank is in the title and getting to ‘know’ Anne and her family (in particular her extraordinary father Otto) is truly one of the gems of this book, Hannah’s story in her own right is worth just as much respect. We follow Hannah’s family attempting freedom and the obstacles and losses they face, the confusion and lies of the concentration camp, the protectiveness of Hannah with her younger sister and the allies she finds along the way. You follow Hannah’s brave fight for survival and the life she builds following her freedom. Hannah was an incredible girl and a mighty woman (I say was as she sadly passed away before the book was published, but at a grand age) and it’s an honour to be able to read her words and know her too. This book is heartbreaking, touching, enraging and enlightening and it’s a must read. This isn’t a book about war or the Holocaust, it’s a book about people, it’s a book about children, it’s a book about innocence and hope and waking up each day and those who took that away from so many. It’s written intimately and beautifully and while we have lost Hannah Pick-Goslar, we will forever have these words.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I have been to Auschwitz and seen the horror of what occurred and the results left behind. I have read lots of stories since visiting Auschwitz and have a different mindset reading these now. It is now 2023 and each time I read a book about this point in history, I am always transported back to when I first visited Auschwitz and I am always just as shocked reading the details every time. I believe it is always important to remember this point in history. Hence, we know what extreme hate looks like, what humanity is capable of, what humans are capable of and how we can avoid this ever happening again.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

My friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar, Dina Kraft

When Hannah Goslar fled Nazi Germany in 1933 with her family, they moved to Amsterdam - then a neutral country. Her next door neighbour was a young girl called Anne Frank and they became close friends.

One day, Anne and her family vanished, and they heard that the family had moved to Switzerland. Whilst Hannah was sad that her friend had left without saying goodbye, it brought her comfort to think of her safe in Switzerland.

Hannah and her family were herded onto a cattle train back to Germany, and she and her little sister completed the war in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Hannah was on the side of the camp reserved for prisoners that the Germans were hoping to trade for prisoners of war and were cordened off from the rest of the camp by a fence they couldn't see past. But one day Hannah did hear from Anne again - from the other side of that fence.

Hannah's is an extraordinary story, from pre war Germany, to Amsterdam, to A concentration camp in Germany, and then back to Amsterdam for a short while. Still a child after the war, Hannah went to stay with her family in Switzerland with the help of Anne's father Mr Frank, and then on to a fledgling Israel.

Hannah spent the rest of her life talking about her experiences during the war, and her friendship with Anne Frank, and it's a truly amazing story. Well worth reading.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62874040-my-friend-anne-frank

I've read so many personal accounts of the holocaust, yet each has its own unique story. This was very much Hannah's story and I thought the title misleading (but good for the publisher of course). My interest lay in what happened to Hannah and her family, especially the little girl - heart-stopping moments as she became ill in the worst possible places. Anne Frank's part was very interesting of course, but this is Hannah's story and another one that deserves to be heard.

A very touching and emotional account of being Jewish during Nazi uprising. The author touches on her friendship in the early years of the occupation, then describes her own journey/survival through to her encounter with Anne in the final stages of WW2 . A captivating read of heartbreak, love and human endurance.

A phenomenal and heartbreaking read - this book has left a big impression on me!

Published posthumously, this memoir by Hannah Pick-Goslar tells the story of her childhood in Amsterdam, having fled there following the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany.

I think it's difficult to "review" someone's life story, so I won't try - but what I will say is that this book was truly informative and written with immense clarity, whilst retaining an incredibly human touch.

Gosh. This was a tough book to read. I have been to Auschwitz and the Anne Frank House but neither hit as hard as this. I actually had to take breaks when I was reading, get up and walk around for 10/15 minutes before being drawn back in. I couldn’t stay away for longer than that and stayed up reading way into the night. It was as captivating as it was horrific. Incredibly emotional and heartbreaking but the clearest view I’ve had of what the Holocaust meant to the people living it. It was a harrowing read but you could really feel Hannah’s personality shine through. I went away to research more after reading. This isn’t a book I would necessarily have chosen to read but it’s ended up being one of the best books I’ve read this year.

This book is an incredible addition to the Holocaust Memorial cannon and I hope that it becomes as well known as The Diary of Anne Frank - Pick-Goslar's story is as tragic as that despite her surviving forced transports and concentration camps.
My only wish is that it didn't include Anne Frank's name in the title as the book doesn't deserve to be seen as important only because the author knew Frank.

I've read and studied the Holocaust and this is one of the most moving accounts I've ever read and told me so many new things about this period in history.