Sunday, February 15, 2009

Miep Gies at 100

One last word for today ... Miep Gies, one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank and her family hide from the Nazis during World War II and preserved Anne's famous diary for publication, turned 100 years old today. In a world where "hero" has become such a blasé word, Mrs. Gies was and still is one in every sense.

On Miep Gies' personal website, however (yes, she has one!), she continues to downplay her role:
I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more – much more - during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the hearts of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then.

We have allowed too many mass murders to take place since the Holocaust. Mrs. Gies is a reminder of the good we must do and to make sure it never happens again.

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1 comment:

skdadl said...

Thanks so much for this notice, Robert.

I've admired Miep since I was a teenager reading Anne's diary at about the same age she was as she wrote it. I wondered then and I still wonder where people find the courage and strength and faith to do what Miep did.

Happy birthday, Miep.