An Ordinary Housewife With Extraordinary Courage

From Jay Nordlinger, in National Review:

This is an interesting article, too: It gives the obituary of Miep Gies, who died at 100. She was one of the helpers of Anne Frank and her family — one of the helper-hiders. She was the last living. It was she who saved Anne’s diary, unread, to be presented to Anne’s father later. She explained that she would never read someone else’s diary.

And she “despised praise,” to use old language. She said that others had done the same kind of thing she had, and far more dangerous things. Once, someone, or some group, wanted to make a character study out of her, to teach heroism to the young. She recoiled at this: Young people should not “grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary.”

I don’t know about that.