Miep Gies Essay Example for Free

Miep Gies Essay Miep Gies (2/15/1909-1/12/2010) opposed the holocaust by aiding the Jews from the Germans. She was one of many Dutch saviors of the Holocaust. For over two years, she administered food, shelter, companionship, and news of the outside world to eight Jewish people. The Frank Family, the van Pels, and a Jewish dentist named Fritz Pfeffer were taken great care of. By virtue of her gratitude, these Jews were fortunate enough to have Miep in their lives. Miep jeopardized her own life when she assisted in hiding the eight innocent people. She brought food for them secretly and knew that there was serious trouble waiting for her if she were to get caught. Her husband, Jan Gies, also cooperated in aiding Jews. He provided ration cards that he attained illegally so Miep could get more food. She also visited various grocery shops each day to refrain from suspicion and prying among other individuals. The employees in Otto Frank’s business were not aware about the Secret Annex. Due to this, Gies attempted to avoid entering the hiding place during office hours. The hiding place is located in an empty part of Opekta’s premises on the Prinsengracht canal. It had an entrance of a regular door and then the door was replaced with a bookcase to make it less questionable. Work went on as usual and normal in the front part of the building. The frightened people were sealed in the Secret Annex near the rear. They stayed as quiet as possible so the workers and Nazis wouldn’t discover them. Gies also provided something especially valuable in their lives, companionship and news of the outside world. Since the Jews could not make any outside commotion, Miep brought them the most recent news of events during World War II. Although the news became increasingly hopeless, her hope never faded. Her and her husband’s presence helped in providing comfort towards the families. Thankfully, their companionship kept everything stable. Despite knowledge of the possible consequences, Miep was determined to keep the Jews safe from the Nazis. She accompanied the Frank family, the van Pels, and Pfeffer with food, shelter, and companionship. Gies was aware of the dangerous risks she had taken upon herself and her husband. She was more than willing to jeopardize her own life to rescue the lives of others. Miep Gies opposed the Holocaust in a way better than any other, by saving lives.