Who was Anne Frank?
Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl born in Germany in 1929. She is the author of the book ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, published in June 1947.
When she was little, Anne and her family had to run away to Amsterdam in the Netherlands when Adolf Hitler took control of Germany. This was because Hitler was a real-life villain who harmed many people.
In Amsterdam, the Frank family lived a happy life for some years. Anne loved going to school and chatting with friends. She dreamed of becoming a writer when she grew up.
Soon, Hitler and the Nazi Party came to Amsterdam too. They hated all Jews and wanted to get rid of them. This made things difficult for the Frank family and all the other Jews in the country.
How did the Nazis mistreat the Jews?
The Nazis did not let the Jews visit any shops, schools or places that the Germans visited. The Jews couldn’t even go to parks or the cinema! The Jews were treated like criminals.
Soon, the Nazis started to put Jewish people in cruel concentration camps. To save themselves, the Franks went into hiding. Anne was only 13 years old at the time.
Where did the Franks choose to hide?
The Franks hid in the building that used to be Anne’s father’s office. They found a part of the office that was hidden behind a bookcase. In her diary, Anne calls this hiding place the “Secret Annex”.
Anne was given this diary as a birthday gift. In her diary, she wrote about their new lives in the Secret Annex. She addressed all her diary entries to her imaginary friend ‘Kitty’ as if writing a letter.
What did Anne Frank write in her diary?
Anne wrote about how they lived in the Secret Annex. A few others joined the Frank family in hiding, and it became quite crowded with a total of eight people. During the daytime, when people in the office were working, they had to be extra quiet.
They walked around in socks and had to whisper. They couldn’t even flush the toilet during the day! They had to take care not to fight or even sneeze too loudly. Anne’s father had friends who secretly brought them food, clothes, and news from the outside world. Anne also wrote about how she wished to go outside and play.
What happened to the families of the Secret Annex?
After two years in hiding, the German police finally found all the members of the Secret Annex. They were taken away and put into concentration camps, where they all died. Anne passed away at 15 years of age after falling sick in the camp. Only Anne’s father survived.
He had Anne’s diary printed into a book. It became really famous all over the world. ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ is a sad but inspiring book. In the end, Anne did achieve her dream of becoming a famous writer.
