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Writer's pictureThe CLV Phoenix

History Week: Anne Frank's Diary

Updated: Jan 20, 2020

By Layla Chalder, Past Writer

 

This article is on the life of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a girl who was Jewish. However, as this was during the Second World War, Anne and her family were in mortal danger because all those who were Jewish were to be captured and put into concentration camps.


Anne Frank in 1940


This article is on the life of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a girl who was Jewish. However, as this was during the Second World War, Anne and her family were in mortal danger because all those who were Jewish were to be captured and put into concentration camps. Anne and her family had to hide in a building where Anne’s dad, Otto Frank, worked. As they hid behind a bookcase which lead to a secret room, time passed slowly; in fact they lived there for two of Anne’s birthdays. She had gotten a notebook for her 13th birthday which was her last birthday at home. Anne used the book as a diary and wrote in it what happened daily.

As you continue to read this article, you hear more on how the Franks survived and what life was like when living in the office of Otto’s work.


Anne Frank’s Family


Anne’s family  consisted of her Mother, Edith, her Father, Otto, and her sister, Margot. Together they lived in Amsterdam happily until the Nazis invaded Holland in May 1940. Many Nazi soldiers were constantly on the lookout for anyone who may be Jew. The Jewish people in Holland grew worried and some left the country. Soon, people were getting curious about the Franks. In fact, Margot nearly got caught by a German Soldier on her way back from school! Many were persecuted by being sent to Concentration camps where they were tortured and many were killed. Otto was afraid that his family were going to get caught and that they would not survive so he went to the office he worked in. He was a business person for a company.  Otto knew that that was going to be the place that he and his family were to live in. The famous bookcase they hid behind was added in later on.


Moving in


Anne and her family moved into the place a little while after Otto had found it. It had three floors, the first was a bathroom and kitchen. The second was were the family slept. It was separated into two rooms. Apparently, the rooms were once used as storerooms for different supplies but they weren’t used much and were very small. These were to be the bedrooms; one for Margot and Anne and the second one was for Otto and Edith. The attic was to store food in but Anne used it as a place to write in her diary which she named Kitty. Anne wrote many things in her diary such as her feelings, the books she read and the people around her. Most of the time, she was scared, afraid and isolated. She wrote about her life and how scary the war was. Anne also wrote about life in the Annex and how small it was.

A week later, the Van Pels moved in. They were a Jewish family who had moved into the Annex with the Franks. Then, Mr. Pfeffer moved in.  He was also Jewish and his wife had died. The Van Pels moved in July 1942. Mr Pfeffer moved in in November. This made the small cramped space feel even smaller than before.


The Capturing of the Franks


The Franks had been living in the small house for nearly two years. The war was coming to an end and Germany was losing.The radio in the Annex was on one day and a radio broadcast swept over the country, telling them that the war was nearly over.  Anne was finally hopeful as it looked like the family were to be free from the Germans at long last. That was until August 4, 1944, when Germans stormed into the hideout and captured everyone.

The men and women were separated. The women were sent off to a camp. Sadly, Anne and Margot died from Typhus in March, 1995. They died just a month before the camp’s liberation.

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The only family member that survived was Otto. He went back to Amsterdam after the war and he found Anne’s diary. The diary was published in 1947 and is now a widely famous book throughout the world. It has been published in 65 languages and has had many different names.  

 

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