Miep Gies Character Analysis in The Freedom Writers Diary

Miep Gies was Anne Frank’s father’s secretary before the war. She is responsible for hiding Anne Frank’s family as well as other Jews in an annex of the building where Anne’s father worked. After the Franks are arrested, Gies tries (but fails) to bribe German officers into letting them go—a bold act that could have gotten her killed. She is responsible for finding Anne’s diary and keeping it until Anne’s father returns from the concentration camps. She is characterized by humility and righteousness, as she believes that she should not be seen as a hero for what she did, but, instead, that she only did what she felt was right. She inspires many Freedom Writers to commit to Anne Frank’s message of peace and tolerance, and to believe that they, too, can change the world.

Miep Gies Quotes in The Freedom Writers Diary

The The Freedom Writers Diary quotes below are all either spoken by Miep Gies or refer to Miep Gies. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Race, Ethnicity, and Tolerance Theme Icon

).

“Do not let Anne’s death be in vain,” Miep said, using her words to bring it all together. Miep wanted us to keep Anne’s message alive, it was up to us to remember it. Miep and Ms. Gruwell had had the same purpose all along. They wanted us to seize the moment. Ms. Gruwell wanted us to realize that we could change the way things were, and Miep wanted to take Anne’s message and share it with the world.

Related Characters: The Freedom Writers (speaker), Erin Gruwell, Miep Gies

Related Symbols: The Diary of Anne Frank

Page Number and Citation: 89

Explanation and Analysis: