The Story of Wartime Diarist Anne Frank

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In honour of the International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th   we thought this would be a good time to tell you about the story and life of the world-famous Jewish refugee and wartime diarist, Anne Frank. In this blog you’ll learn about the history of Anne and her family, why Anne’s diary is so special and where you can learn more about her life.

            “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
            - Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

The story of Anne Frank

Anne Frank was born on June 12th, 1929 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She came from a Jewish family that lived a normal life until Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. With Hitler’s ‘National Socialisme’ (i.e. Nazism), the aversion against Jewish people grew in Germany.

Out of fear for Nazism Anne’s parents, Otto and Edith, decided to move to Amsterdam with their eldest daughter Margot and their baby Anne in that same year, 1933. However, the Netherlands doesn’t stay safe for the Jewish community for long. As Germany occupies the country in May 1940, more and more restrictions are placed on their lives which eventually leads to Jewish persecution. Starting in July 1942, Jewish families receive letters from the German regime to pack their bags and travel to the ‘work camps’ (i.e. Nazi concentration camps). Otto and Edith didn’t want to give in and went into hiding on July 6th, 1942 in the ‘Achterhuis’ (i.e. secret house) behind Otto’s company building in Amsterdam. He already created and decorated this ‘house’ for his family at the beginning of the war.

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About a month before the family goes into hiding, Anne is gifted a diary for her birthday. She names her diary ‘Kitty’ and refers to it as her friend. She tells her new ‘friend’ about her life as a Jewish girl in the war, about her life in a small enclosed space, about love and family, and about her dreams of becoming a writer and journalist after the war. 

Two years after hiding the ‘Ordnungspolizei’ discovers the address of the family and they are transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Once they arrive the family is separated, and Margot and Anne are transported to the Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany. Both girls become ill and pass away in 1945. Otto is the only one who survives and returns to the Netherlands after the war.
 

How Anne’s Diary becomes world-famous

After the family Frank were taken away from their hiding place, family friend and helper, Miep Gies found Anne’s dairy. She took it home with her to keep it safe and to give to Anne after the war. When Anne’s father, Otto, returns to Amsterdam and finds out that his family is not alive anymore, he is invited to live with Miep Gies. That is where Otto is given his daughter’s diary and starts reading it. Otto: “I started to read slowly, only a couple of pages a day, more wasn’t possible. I was engulfed by painful memories”.

Otto shares the diary with a few friends. One of these friends works at a publishing house and convinces him to publish the diary as a book. Even in the diary itself, Anne talks about the idea of getting her work published under the name ‘Het Achterhuis’ (i.e. the secret house). In 1947 Anne’s the diary is indeed published under the name ‘Het Achterhuis’ and would be translated and published in German, French and English, under the name ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, that same year. When the New York Times gives the diary a raving review, it immediately becomes an international bestseller.

An excerpt from ‘The Diary of a Young Girl:

“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.”
- Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

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Since its publication, the Diary of Anne Frank has been transformed by international artists into (Broadway) plays, (Hollywood) movies, animated movies, picture books and ballet performances. Anne’s story touches the heart of many and will do so for years to come.  Even great historic figures, like Nelson Mandela, took courage in Anne’s story:

“[I] read Anne Frank’s diary [while imprisoned] on Robben Island and derived much encouragement from it. […] Because we identified with her in the situation, and therefore, the lessons of that tragedy sunk more deeply in our souls.”
- Nelson Mandela

Where to learn more

  • Read the Book: The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (find it at your local bookshop)
  • Visit the Museum in Amsterdam: https://www.annefrank.org/en/
  • Website: https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/who-was-anne-frank/
  • Entertainment: you can watch drama movie The Diary of Anne Frank for free online via this link:  However, there are many more movies and plays about Anne’s story, some of which are even on the most popular online streaming platforms. I would recommend searching online what movies and plays are available in your area.

Share your thoughts with us

What do you think of Anne Frank’s story? Did you know about her life before you read this blog? What parts of her story particularly touched you? Do you see yourself in Anne? And what lessons are you taking away after reading this article? I encourage you to share your thoughts with the community on the forums here: https://academy.europa.eu/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=8501#p17886



Last modified: Thursday, 2 February 2023, 2:36 PM