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The decision to go into hiding was not simple. It meant finding a hiding place, having adequate financial means, and being able to count on external help. Initially, all hope was pinned on getting an exemption from deportation. Certain groups of Jews were eligible for an exemption: officials of the Jewish Council, Jews who were married to non-Jews, Jews who were useful to the German war industry, and people whose Jewish status was still under consideration by the Germans. They were given exemption from forced labour 'until further notice', but this type of exemption did not guarantee safety in the long-term. According to estimates, around 25,000 out of the roughly 140,000 Jews in the Netherlands went into hiding. Approximately one third of these were found and rounded up.

Jews in hiding
Personal story: familie Frank

1. The bookcase in Otto Frank's firm; behind it was a hidden door to the back part of the house. Here on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Anne, her sister Margot, and her father and mother were in hiding together with the Van Pels family and Friedrich Pfeffer.
   Photo by Maria Austria (this photo was taken after the war), MAI Collection, Amsterdam
2. The bookcase in Otto Frank's firm; behind it was a hidden door to the back part of the house. Here on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Anne, her sister Margot, and her father and mother were in hiding together with the Van Pels family and Friedrich Pfeffer.
   Photo by Maria Austria (this photo was taken after the war), MAI Collection, Amsterdam