The book, “The Diary Of a Young Girl” is a compilation of writings from the diary of Anne Frank, a girl who had to resort to hiding along with her family because of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. It is an account of her personal experiences being one of the victims of the Second World War. Retrieved from the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s exceptional diary has since become a strong reminder of the horrors of war. At the same time, it also is a testimony to the unceasing human will to
persist and survive in the face of the most adverse of circumstances. Her diary charts two years of her life from 1942 to 1944, when her family was hiding in Amsterdam from German Nazis. The diary begins just before the family retreated into their ‘Secret Annexe.’ Anne Frank recorded mostly her hopes, frustrations, clashes with her parents and observation of her companions. Its first version, which appeared in 1947, was edited by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, the family’s only known survivor. The book has received widespread critical and popular acclaim worldwide ever since.
About the Author
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany as the second child of Otto and Edith Frank. Anne’s sister, Margot Betti Frank, was three years older.The Franks were a middle-class, liberal Jewish family
whose ancestors had lived in Germany for centuries. The Franks considered Germany their home; thus it was a very difficult decision for them to leave Germany in 1933 and start a new life in the Netherlands, away from the anti-Semitism of the newly empowered Nazis.
After moving his family in with Edith’s mother in Aachen, Germany, Otto Frank moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands in the summer of 1933 so that he could establish a Dutch firm of Opekta, a company which made and sold pectin (a product used to make jelly). The other members of the Frank family followed a bit later, with Anne being the last to arrive in Amsterdam in February 1934.
The Franks quickly settled into life in Amsterdam. While Otto Frank focused on building up his business, Anne and Margot started at their new schools and made a large circle of Jewish and non- Jewish friends. In 1939, Anne’s maternal grandmother also fled Germany and lived with the Franks until her death in January 1942.
On May 10, 1940, Germany attacked the Netherlands. Five days later, the Netherlands officially surrendered. The Nazis were now in control of the Netherlands and quickly began issuing anti- Jewish laws and edicts. In addition to no longer being able to sit on park benches, go to public swimming pools, or take public transportation, Anne could no longer go to a school with non-Jews. In September 1941, Anne had to leave her Montessori school to attend the Jewish Lyceum. In May 1942, a new edict forced all Jews over the age of six to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes.
