The Only Existing Footage Of Anne Frank Just Released

The only existing film images of Anne Frank have been loaded on to YouTube by Amsterdam museum the Anne Frank House. The footage, from 1941, is the only time Anne has been captured on film. The 20-second footage uploaded to the museum's recently launched Anne Frank Channel shows Anne's neighbour on her wedding day. A 13-year-old Anne is seen nine seconds into the video, leaning out of a second-floor window to get a better look at the bride and groom. At the time of the wedding the bride-to-be lived at No 37 Merwedeplein, next door to the Franks at No 39. The scene was filmed on 22 July 1941, just under a year before the Frank family went into hiding above the family business. The family were discovered in August 1944 and Anne died in a Nazi concentration camp in March 1945. A shorter, five-second version of the video was given to Otto Frank, Anne's father, by the married couple in the 1950s. After Anne's published diary became widely known in the 1950s the couple recognised her in the film and contacted Otto.Annemarie Bekker, from the Anne Frank House, said using YouTube was a way to introduce the life of Anne Frank to people who may never have heard of her diaries. "The footage is very moving and very unique because these are the only moving images of Anne Frank," Bekker said. "The museum has had the footage for some time, but thought YouTube would be a good platform to show the film and the other films about her life. It's another way to bring the life of Anne Frank to the attention of younger people, and all people worldwide." The husband and wife, who are still alive and living in the Netherlands, were contacted by the Anne Frank House in the 1990s and provided the longer video. The video channel also includes excerpts from interviews with Otto Frank and Miep Gies, who helped to hide the Franks from the Nazis. The film has already attracted more than 275,000 views, with scores of comments. One read: "Gave me chills to see her in the video." Another user wrote: "Who knows what she could have become."