Anne Frank

Through her diary, Anne Frank is shown to be insightful, humorous, and intelligent. Many entries involve typical adolescent issues—jealousy toward her sister; annoyance with others, especially her mother; and an increasing sexual awareness. Anne also discussed her hopes for the future, which included becoming a journalist or a writer.

On August 4, 1944, Anne Frank’s family’s hiding place was discovered by the Gestapo, and she was taken to Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland before being transferred to Bergen-Belsen in Germany. According to the Dutch government, Anne died during a typhus epidemic in March 1945. Other research suggests she might have perished in February that year.

Of the eight people in the secret annex, only Otto Frank （Anne' s father） survived the war. He subsequently returned to Amsterdam, where Gies gave him various documents she had saved from the annex.

To fulfill Anne’s dream of publication, Otto began sorting through her writings.

After Otto was unable to find a publisher, the work was given to historian Jan Romein, who was so impressed that he wrote about the diary in a front-page article for the newspaper Het Parool in 1946.

In 1952 the first American edition was published under the title Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; it included an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt. The work was eventually translated into more than 65 languages, and it was later adapted for the stage and screen.

Over the next two years, Anne wrote faithfully in the diary, which she came to consider a friend, addressing many of the entries to “Dear Kitty.”

In the journal and later notebooks, Anne recounted the day-to-day life within the annex. The close quarters and sparse supplies led to various arguments among the inhabitants, and the outgoing Anne came to find the conditions stifling.

Heightening tensions was the ever-present concern that they would be discovered. However, many entries involve typical adolescent issues—jealousy toward her sister; annoyance with others, especially her mother; and increasing sexual awareness.

Anne wrote candidly about her developing body, and she experienced a brief romance with Peter van Pels. She also discussed her hopes for the future, which included becoming a journalist or a writer.

In addition to the diary, Anne penned several short stories and compiled a list of “beautiful sentences” from other works.

After learning of plans to collect diaries and other papers to chronicle people’s wartime experiences, Anne began to rework her journal for possible publication as a novel entitled Het Achterhuis (“The Secret Annex”).

Anne’s last diary entry was written on August 1, 1944. Three days later the secret annex was discovered by the Gestapo, which had received a tip from Dutch informers.

All of the inhabitants were taken into custody. In September the Frank family arrived at Auschwitz, though Anne and Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen the following month. In 1945 Anne as well as her mother and sister died.

In 1933 Anne’s family—her father, Otto; her mother, Edith; and her older sister, Margot—moved to Amsterdam from Germany following the rise of Adolf Hitler.

In 1940 the Netherlands was invaded by Germany, which began to enact various anti-Jewish measures, one of which required Anne and her sister to enroll in an all-Jewish school the following year.

On June 12, 1942, Anne received a red-and-white plaid diary for her 13th birthday. That day she began writing in the book: “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.”

The following month Margot received an order to report to a labour camp. Facing arrest if she did not comply, the family went into hiding on July 6, 1942, moving into a “secret annex” at Otto’s business in Amsterdam, the entrance to which was soon hidden behind a moveable bookcase.

The Franks were later joined by four other Jews—Hermann and Auguste van Pels and their son, Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer—and were aided by several friends, including Miep Gies, who brought food and other supplies.