n 1933, Hermine Santruschitz began working for Opekta, a European spice and pectin company that specialized in manufacturing jam.
It was there that she met the man who would become her husband, Jan Gies, and her boss Otto Frank, a businessman who had moved from Germany to the Netherlands to escape from Nazi prosecution. Over the years, Hermine Santruschitz became close with Otto and the rest of the Frank family – particularly his daughter, Anne.
Almost everyone knows of Anne, as her story of living a life in hiding has become one of the world’s most famous books. However, her harrowing story is one that may never have been heard if not for Hermine Santruschitz, who most people know as Miep Gies.
It is thanks to Miep Gies that The Diary of Anne Frank exists today as after the Frank family was found, Gies retrieved the book from the family’s shelter above the Opekta factory. However, Miep Gies’ contribution to her story seemed to have been forgotten.
