What a deeply moving book. It was actually quite hard to read. I read The Diary of Anne Frank as a young teenager and I have to admit that at that time, in my innocence, I thought it somewhat romantic. Now with the knowledge which comes with age, I find this writing both moving, sad and distressing. Amazing to know that such an account has come to light. I believe that such texts should be on a book list for older secondary youth. We still need to remember such history to hopefully bring more compassion and humanity to our world.

This was a moving book that I enjoyed with a fresh look at the holocaust. Well written and very informative

This is a really heartbreaking book and all the more affecting because we know what happens and all through it hold out a weird hope that it doesn’t. Mrs Pick Goslar knew Anne Frank and her family as a young girl. They played happily as neighbours and their families were close. Then Hitler intervened and, as they say, all is history.

The author looks back at her experiences through the war and it is upsetting and raw and you feel what she and her family are going through. The book is beautifully written and needs to be read by anyone who thinks we can ever forget the holocaust.

The ending of the book discusses the children who were around Anne and Hannah and what happened to them. I’ll leave you to read it and contemplate.

This is a very moving and incredible book but have the hankies ready.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

A heart-wrenching beautifully written memoir of loss and survival but also a story of the power of friendship, which stayed with me for days after finishing the book.
I have read many accounts of the Holocaust, (I am myself a first generation child of Holocaust survivors), and have read Anne Frank’s Diary as well as visited her final hiding place, but this book left me in tears.
Seen from the author’s perspective through the eyes of her younger self, Hannah was only twelve when she was deported, and knowing with hindsight how it all ends, makes her story even more poignant.
Despite the title, Anne really only features for one third of the book, yet her spirit pervades throughout. She and Hannah became close friends when Hannah’s family fled Berlin in 1934 and moved to what they thought would be, neutral Amsterdam. The two families were neighbours and were constantly in and out of each other’s apartments. Hannah portrays an idyllic picture of their carefree childhood together, with treats, games and sleepovers with other children. All that was to end as their very existence starts to shrink under the Nazi occupation. With new antisemitic laws passed on a daily basis, barring them from public places, schools, cinemas, even parks. Anne and Hannah were moved to a Jewish school, where pupils and even staff began to disappear. Then one day in 1942, Hannah called round to see her friend, only to be told by the lodger, that the family had moved to Switzerland. From Anne’s diary and a subsequent meeting with Otto Frank later in the book, we learn that in fact the family went into hiding, in an annexe above an Amsterdam warehouse, until they were exposed and arrested in 1944 and ended up in Auschwitz.
The focus of the book then becomes Hannah’s story as a Holocaust survivor - her arrest, eventual transportation to Bergen Belsen, living in unimaginable, grotesque squalor, starvation and surrounded by disease, and left to wonder whether her friend had in fact managed to escape the horror.
Hannah was very briefly reunited at Bergen Belsen when she heard through the camp’s grapevine that Anne and her sister Margot had been transported from Auschwitz and confined in sealed barracks. She managed to track her down and speak to her through a fence. But the meeting was to be heart-wrenchingly short-lived; sick with typhus and starvation, Anne died shortly after meeting her and just a few days before the camp was liberated.
Hannah managed to survive the horrors and continued into her adulthood touring the world giving lectures, telling her story, determined that the Holocaust would not be forgotten. She died in October 2022 shortly before her 94th birthday.
A fitting tribute to a friendship torn apart and reunited against all odds.

Yvonne Maxwell
September 2024

A very good book. It was quite an emotional read and gave an insight in to their lives and experiences. I have never read the Diary of Anne Frank or anything about this era. This book was really moving and emotional as I went on the journey with both of them. What a most horrible awful thing to live through.

"My Friend Anne Frank" by Hannah Pick-Goslar is a poignant and powerful account of friendship, resilience, and the enduring human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity. Through the lens of her own experiences and friendship with Anne Frank, Pick-Goslar provides a deeply moving and personal perspective on the horrors of the Holocaust. The author's unwavering strength and determination to survive, despite the heartbreaking circumstances, is truly inspiring. Readers will be deeply moved by the emotional journey depicted in this book, as well as the enduring bond between two friends torn apart by war. Pick-Goslar's storytelling is both heart-wrenching and uplifting, making this book a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the human experience during one of history's darkest periods.

I have read quite a lot of books on the Holocaust and related subjects over the years and it often it leaves you feeling affected, inspired and moved by what you read. One of my favourite books is “The Diary of Anne Frank” which is all of the above. This book by Hannah Pick-Goslar is another inspiring book that left me feeling in awe.

Hannah Pick-Goslar’s memoir, “My Friend Anne Frank,” is a profoundly moving account of friendship, love, and survival during one of the darkest periods in human history. A memoir by a Holocaust survivor which provides a first hand account into the life of Anne Frank through the eyes of her closest childhood friend. This is a very interesting perspective on a story that is well known to many of us.

The book begins with her early years in Amsterdam, where she forms a deep friendship with Anne Frank. A childhood that would shortly be changed by the horrors of the Nazi occupation.

It tells of when the Frank family disappeared in 1942 leaving Hannah confused and concerned about Anne’s fate. We also learn of when Hannah’s own family is captured and taken to Westerbork transit camp, and later to Bergen-Belsen where she faced unimaginable suffering and loss.

Throughout the book there are moments of despair and horror, but it is also tells of incredible defiance and courage as well as friendship.

This is an extraordinary memoir offering a personal insight on the Holocaust as well as her friendship with Anne Frank. Anyone who is interested in this time will be inspired and in awe of what they read in this memoir.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin Random House for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

You know any read featuring Anne Frank is likely to be harrowing.

My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar with Dina Kraft is written by one of Anne Frank’s closest friends who also fled Germany for Amsterdam in order to be safe.

Hannah Pick-Goslar lived in the same apartment block as Anne Frank and they were in the same class at school. Everyone knows Anne Frank's story during the war, but we learn here of life before the war and of life as it was gradually eroded for the Jewish people.

Hannah Pick-Goslar, her sister, father and grandparents were all interred at Westerbork. Many months later they would be transferred to Bergen Belsen which is where Hannah was reacquainted with Anne and her sister Margo.

Anne was broken, believing her whole family dead. Had she known her Father was still alive, she may have clung on to some hope. Unfortunately we all know how Anne's story ends.

Like Anne, Hannah Pick-Goslar was an amazingly brave teenager who endured so much. To her dying breath, aged ninety three, she spoke of the Holocaust, to educate future generations and to keep memories alive.

At the end of the book, we hear of the fates of all of Anne Frank’s friends – only Hannah Pick-Goslar survived, all the others were murdered by the Nazi regime. .

A truly enlightening read. I would urge this to be read by anyone who reads Anne Franks Diary. Hannah gives an insight to Anne the friend and her family plus of course the harrowing tale of her own family and neighbours during the war and the Holocaust.

This book is about Hannah who became friends with Anne Frank

About their friendship
Then she just disappears

This is a sad book I want to say I really enjoyed it, which I did but the subject and the concentration camps etc is so sad and horrific.

Thought provoking

A difficult but incredibly important read. The atrocities of the holocaust are really brought to life and this is a really important read.

This is a story that needs to be told and needs to be read. so that atrocities like these are never repeated. I have read several books about the Holocaust and none of them make for reading pleasure.
This is a harrowing and insightful memoir of the life of Hannah Pick-Goslar who was a playmate of Anne before she went into hiding.
The title may be construed as misleading as there is very little mention of Anne Frank and I may be cynical in thinking that the author is using her fame to sell this book and in all honesty I think it would sell without it.

This is the memoir of Hannah, whose family fled Germany in the 1930s when the Nazis came to power and life was changing for Jewish people living there. They settled in Amsterdam and met the Frank family. Hannah and Anne became friends and were enjoying their childhood. Things changed when the Nazis invaded Holland and introduced laws curbing the rights of Jewish people.
Hannah speaks honestly about the hardships they faced and the fear of being sent to labour camps. One day Anne and her family disappeared. Hannah thought they were safe in Switzerland.
Hannah missed her friend and continued to wonder how she was faring.
Hannah's memoir continues through her own deportation to and internment in Bergen-Belsen. The descriptions and memories are honest and not easy to read, but it is so important for us to have memoirs, like this, of survivors. And Hannah did survive. This is her story, it is one of friendship, hope, strength and survival.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent a copy of My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar to read and review by NetGalley. This is a very important book, telling as it does the plight of German Jews amongst the masses during the Holocaust. Although the story is of course very harrowing I did feel that it was slightly sanitized for the reader, not that I specifically wanted a more in-depth report of the horror – and of course this was an account of Hannah’s memories from when she was a child. It was more that the prose sometimes felt a bit flat, which of course could have been partly due to translation. It was also a shame that my Kindle edition did not contain the photographs. I cannot begin to image the absolute horror that Jewish people went through and even more I cannot believe that with that history behind them there is such an abomination in their name occurring at this present time. I personally feel there is never any justification for war.

An amazing book.I have read many books describing the holocaust, survivors and what they went through but this made more of an impact than all the rest. Hannah's descripions are so vivid that i felt every part of her life. This also gave more information about the historical events than i had alredy discovered. I think that this book shuld be mandatory reading for all school children to understand what rascism, hatred and power does to people.

a different read to the well know novel'the diary of Anne frank'
interesting reading it from a different perspective
recommend to all interested in historical novels

“As a girl I witnessed the world I loved crumble and vanish, destroyed by mindless hatred, and with it, my best friend Anne”

After a wonderful childhood for Hannah and Anne Frank and their friends, things changed irrevocably when the Netherlands came under German occupation in 1940.

After three gruelling years of occupation, when Nazi officers arrived at the home of 15-year-old Hannah Pick-Goslar, on 20th June 1943, she had no real idea just what awaited her family, but she’d heard tales and was understandably terrified. The Nazis had sealed off their neighbourhood, blocking roads and stationing soldiers on every bridge. Early in the morning, loudspeakers blared in the streets, telling Jewish residents to prepare for departure. Then a member of the green police, the wing of the German army tasked with policing civilians, banged on the Goslars’ door and told them: “You have 20 minutes to pack your things.” Hannah had her suitcase all ready and waiting for the threatened deportation. Anne Frank and her family were safely in Switzerland with family as far as Hannah knew and she was happy for Anne. She was so wrong.

Hannah’s family were told they were being sent to Bergen-Belsen, at which Hannah’s father was pleased, expecting it to be an ‘ideal’ camp whilst awaiting a prisoner exchange for which they were eligible.
The family eventually arrived there and were placed in the Sternlager camp, otherwise known as ‘Star Camp’ under the pretext that they would be exchanged for German nationals held by the Western Allies. Hannah’s father thought this meant that they were valuable and would be treated in a humane manner, but it soon became clear that apart from a few privileges, (they could keep their own clothes, and didn’t have to have their hair shorn like others) it wasn’t actually going to be the case.

Hannah would eventually meet her best friend Anne Frank again, years after they’d last seen each other, but of course it was in completely different circumstances - the events of their happy idyllic childhood gone forever.

Throughout their ordeal, Hannah’s father always tried to look on the bright side - he always had hope, and let’s face it, without hope you have nothing.

A tremendously moving memoir that I can highly recommend.

What a emotional read. Hannah's story is so poignant and heartbreaking ,when she and her Jewish family go to Amsterdam where they think they will be safe she becomes friends with Ann Frank and though things are difficult they try and live as normal a life as they can.When the Germans start to take over Ann and her family suddenly disappear and Hannah thinks they have gone to Switzerland and soon she and her family and other Jews are sent to the concentration camps where the conditions are horrendous. Hannah's journey is remarkable as she tries to look after her young sister as the family's are segregated and what they went through and the courage and bravery as they battled diseases, lack of food and cruelty that is unimaginable had me in tears and I think she was so brave to relive all that and tell her story and about her relationship with Ann should never be forgotten but unfortunately even today Jews are still being persecuted. Highly recommend this book and people should never forget what happened to these remarkable people and their stories

My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar with Dina Kraft is a powerful and heartbreaking account of a time of great evil. The book is written by one of Anne Frank’s closest friends who also fled Germany for Amsterdam in order to be safe. Hannah Pick-Goslar lived in the same apartment block as Anne Frank and they were in the same class at school.
The author tells of life before the war and of life as it was gradually eroded for the Jewish people.
Even before captivity Hannah Pick-Goslar faced personal tragedy as she was forced to grow up and become mother to her two year old sister.
As the grip of the Nazis tightened on Jewish lives, the author, her sister, father and grandparents were all interred at Westerbork. The only thing that saved them from even harsher treatment was their passports for Israel. Many months later they would be transferred to Bergen Belsen which was hell on earth. We hear of the awful conditions which just got worse and worse. It is in Belsen that Hannah Pick-Goslar briefly met Anne Frank who was in even worse conditions with her sister Margo. The optimistic Anne was broken, without hope, believing all her family had perished. Had she known her father Otto was alive, she would have had hope.
Hannah Pick-Goslar and her sister were put on the ‘lost train’ which wandered for nearly two weeks before liberation by the Russians.
It was a long trek back to Amsterdam, before briefly joining relatives in Switzerland. The author then fulfilled her father’s wishes and travelled to Israel, only to later be caught up in the Jewish Palestinian war. Her sister would later join Hannah Pick-Goslar when she was old enough.
Hannah Pick-Goslar made it her life’s mission to tell everyone about the Holocaust, in memory of the six million innocents. She believed in keeping their memory alive. Even in lockdown, and in her nineties, Hannah Pick-Goslar spoke to children on Zoom.
Hannah Pick-Goslar was an amazingly brave teenager who endured so much. To her dying breath, aged ninety three, she spoke of the Holocaust, to educate future generations and to keep memories alive. She said of Anne Frank: she was “a symbol… of all the hope and promise that was lost to hatred and murder.”
At the end of the book, we hear of the fates of all of Anne Frank’s friends – only Hannah Pick-Goslar survived, all the others were murdered by the Nazi regime. It is beyond awful. It is beyond heartbreaking. It should never have been allowed to happen. All those lives lost. This book must be read in memory of the six million innocents. We must never forget.
I received a free copy. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

A powerful and moving read. A childhood tainted and stolen by a regime that took away their liberty and when they'd done that they took them too.

Hannah Pick-Goslars biography is a superbly written tale of survival against the odds, of friendship and family. Its not an easy read as it doesn't shy away from the atrocities but its a very inspiring one.

Read it and weep, totally recommended.