The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank

Book Review

The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank was written by Anne Frank herself in the time of World War
II. At first, it was not intended to be about the said war. It was only for her own record, her journal,
but due to an unfortunate turn of events they were invaded by the Nazis and were forced to go into
hiding. She wrote almost every day about her life, family, friends, and what she and her family went
through.

A diary is not made for public viewing but when the war ended, there were people who announced
that they needed notes, pictures, articles or even diaries to make a documentation of the war.

Anne’s father - Otto Frank, fulfilled her daughter’s wish to publish her diary. She mentioned that she
wanted to publish her own book someday and tell the world about her experience of hiding in fear,
facing hunger, the threat of discovery and death, the boredom and the frustrations of going in the
outside world hoping to see the end of the war. It was unfortunate that she didn’t get to do it herself
but he made it happen for her. He published the first version in 1947 and made versions b and c later
on. Each version was revised to introduce more appropriate contents for different readers -
especially young adults. He omitted some parts due to some sensitive issues about her sexuality and
rants about her mother. He made it that way so it would be more appealing to the audience.

Publishing this book was a brave thing to do, for both Anne and her father. It shows how someone
could stand up and show people of all nations and ages the stories of their suffering, how they made
it through all the obstacles, but still made difference to modern day slavery.

“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,” written June 12, 1942.

Anne expressed her feeling when she got her notebook and made it her diary. She knew it herself that
she had no best friend to tell her troubles and feelings so she hoped that by writing in her diary, it
would give her the comfort and support she wanted.
On June 14, 1942, she wrote about her birthday last June 12. It was Friday and she woke up at six
o’clock but she wasn’t allowed to get up at that hour because it was house rules. When she finally got
up and went to the dining room, she went on about what were the presents she got on her birthday.
There were bouquet of roses, some peonies, clothes, snacks, toys, gift certificates for two books and
a notebook. Those presents were given by her family, her father, mother, sister and grandmother
who sent her a letter. Anne went to school with her friend - Hanneli. She also celebrated her birthday
at school. She passed out cookies to her classmates and teachers. They went to the gym and Anne got
to choose what sport her classmates will play. She had a nice time watching them play and went home
at five in the afternoon. Ilse Wagner, Hanneli Goslar and Jacqueline van Maarsen came home with her
and her best friend Sanne Ledermann was already there. Hanneli, Sanne and Anne used to be best of
friends but they went to another school and had friends there. Anne continued to celebrate her
birthday at their home with her friends, and most of them gave her presents which really brought
her joy.

Birthday celebration is one of the most important occasions in your life that you needed to celebrate.
It comes only once a year and it is the time for your family and friends to celebrate the day that you
were born. So it is really a time for happiness and gratitude.

June 15, 1942, Monday. Anne talked about who her classmates were and also told some information
about them. However, it was mostly what she thought about them.

“Writing in the diary is a really strange experience for me. Not only because I’ve never written
anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be
interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like
writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.”

“Paper has more patience than people.”

These lines were written on June 20, 1942, Saturday, when Anne felt to express why she wanted to
write on her diary. There were times that Anne felt a little depressed, bored, listless, so she writes
anything to that day. It was also her way of getting things off her chest for paper has more patience
than people. You can write anything on it because it will never talk back to you. You can write about
your problems, feeling or thoughts of about random things. Paper will just absorb the ink of the pen
you wrote with.

“I’m not planning to let anyone else read this stiff-backed notebook grandly referred to as ‘diary’,
unless I should ever find a real friend. It probably won’t make a bit of difference.”
Writing in her diary was all for herself because she concluded that she doesn’t have a friend and all
that she could do was write all of her troubles. This kind of thing is not uncommon to us. Introvert
people do this often. They don’t believe that they have someone for them and no one understands
them so to be able to express themselves, they write.

Anne said that she’s not totally alone in her life. She had family, friends, admirers and a home. On the
outside, she seems to have everything except her one true friend. When she was out with her friends,
all that she thinks was about them having a good time. She just couldn’t find herself talking to them
about everything.

That’s what we want to find. Someone that will accept us for who we are and will always listen to
everything and anything we say. We all want a friend that will give us advice when we are facing
troubles and will not hit us behind our back. That was what Anne was looking for but she can’t find
one that’s why she started to have a diary. She considered her diary her friend so she named it “Kitty.”

Anne told a brief sketch of her life. Her father did not marry her mother until he was thirty-six and
she was twenty-five. Her only sister - Margot, was born in Franfurtam Main in Germany in 1926. Anne
was born on June 12, 1929. When her father became the Managing Director of the Dutch Opekta
Company in 1933, he immigrated to Holland with their mother while she and Margot were sent to
their grandmother in Aachen. Margot went in Holland in December and Anne followed in February.

Their lives were in anxiety because their relatives live in Germany and were suffering under Hitler’s
anti-Jewish laws. In 1938, her uncles fled Germany and went to North America to find refuge. Their
grandmother came to live with them on the same year.

On May 1940, their good times were few and freedom was restricted. There was the war and the
Germans arrived in Holland. It was the time when all Jews were troubled. They wre required to wear
a yellow star, to turn in their bicycles, to do their shopping between 3 and 5 in the afternoon, to go to
only Jewish barbershops and beauty parlors, to attend only Jewish schools, and forbidden to use and
ride street-cars, to attend movies, theaters or any kind of entertainment, to use swimming pools,
tennis courts, hockey fields or any athletic fields, to be out in the street between 8P.M. And 6A.M., to
sit in their gardens or those of their friends after 8P.M. and to visit Christians in their homes. These
are some of the laws set for the Jews. As Anne said, “You couldn’t do this and you couldn’t do that, but
life went on.”

It was obvious that there were lots of things that they were not allowed to do. It was very hard for
them because it felt like they no more freedom anymore. Her friend, Jacque, told her, “I don’t dare do
anything anymore, ‘cause I’m afraid it’s not allowed,” but as Anne enumerated these things, their life
still went on and tried their best to live normally as much as they can.

In the summer of 1941, her grandma got sick and had to have an operation, she was well but died in
1942. She always think of her and still love her. On her birthday of 1942, she lit a candle for her
grandma, it just shows how she really loves her and respects her.

Anne and her friends formed a Ping-Pong club called “The Little Dipper Minus Two.” They wanted to
make their club name special but it was based on a mistake. They thought that the Little Dipper
consisted of five stars, and their club members were five, but it consisted of seven, so that explains
the “minus two” on their club name. Their friend Ilse had a Ping-Pong set and her parents let them
play at their home. Since the five of them like ice cream, and they get hot by playing Ping-Pong, after
playing they go to the nearest ice cream parlor to the Wagner’s. It’s either Oasis or Delphi, where they
allow Jews. Anne said, “We’ve long since stopped hunting for our purses or money - most of the time
it’s so busy in Oasis that we manage to find a few generous young men of our acquaintance or an
admirer to offer us more ice cream than we could eat in a week.”

It was unusual for Anne to talk about boys or admirers as she would say. She talked about how boys
at her school ask her if they could bicycle home with her and they get to talking. It happened a lot of
times already but she’s not much interested about them. Whenever she felt or observed that a boy
was into her, she knew just what to do to put a line on their friendship.
Anne did talk about boys and admirers but did not really focus on them. It was not on her interest yet
to seriously talk about them. She was more concerned about family and friendship, especially
someone that she will call her true friend.

“If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but
teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on Earth.” It was the time when Anne’s teachers would
announce who will be promoted to next grade and who will be held back for another year. She and
her classmates staked bets who will be held and who will be promoted.

Morning till night, “You’re going to pass. No, I’m not,” “Yes, you are,” “No, I’m not,” were the words
you would hear between them, but Anne was not worried about herself and her girlfriends. They will
make it, she believed. The only thing she’s worried about was her Mathematics. It seems that
Mathematics is the world’s number one subject enemy of students. Until her teacher finally announce
the result, Anne and her friends kept telling themselves not to lose heart for they will pass.

Mr. Keesing, Anne’s Mathematics teacher, was mad at her for being so loud in class. That’s why he
gave her an extra homework, an essay, about “A Chatterbox.” She wrote three pages of the homework
explaining why she was talkative.

“Talking is a female trait and I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be
able to break myself of the habit, since my mother talked as much as I did. If not more, and that there’s
not much you can do about inherited traits.”

It was very true. Women tend to be more talkative than men because it is in their nature. They speak
their minds, they talk about everything and say what they want to say.

Mr. Keesing was satisfied with Anne’s work but she was still very talkative that’s why he gave her
again homework. She still needed to write an essay, this time it’s about “An Incorrigible Chatterbox.”

She handed it to him and he had nothing to say for two whole classes but on the third class, Mr.
Keesing finally had enough and gave her a final homework.

“Anne Frank, as punishment for talking in class, write an essay entitled ‘Quack, Quack, Quack’.”
Anne almost ran out of ideas about chatterboxes but her friend Sanne, who’s good at poetry, offered
her some help and created the essay in verse. She made sure that Mr. Keesing had nothing to say
anymore to her. He read it in her class and the other classes too and was allowed to talk in her class
again.

It was a fun experience for Anne because she had a chance to express herself at some point. Some of
us express ourselves too by writing essays, poems, lyrics, songs and such. Writing is one way of
expressing your feelings and though even though you don’t dare to let anyone read it. It’s just getting
off something of our chests.

One hot day, everyone was huffing and puffing. Only then Anne realized how pleasant it was to have
a street-car for they would not have to walk everywhere in heat. Jews are not allowed to have a car,
that’s why their own two feet was good enough for them. There were other means of transportation
too, it was riding a bike or use the ferry. Anne’s bike was stolen during Easter vacation so their only
choice was to walk.

Anne mentioned that she met a guy who introduced himself as “Hello.” He turned out to be a cousin
of her friend, Wilma. He asked her if he could walk her to school.

“As long as you’re headed that way, I’ll go with you.”

She said that she was bored talking about boys but it seemed that Hello was a different matter. It’s
amazing how girls get a change of heart in a second.

After a week, Anne and Hello got to know each other better. She was very enthusiastic telling stories
about him. One Saturday, it was decided that he would come over at Anne’s but called that he couldn’t
make it but rather come pick her up. She fixed herself and got a change of clothes. She told how she
got nervous waiting for him to come pick her up. Time came and there he was. They walked around
the neighborhood and told Anne that his grandparents thought that she was too young for them to
see each other on a regular basis and should be going back to her old girlfriend instead.
“Sometimes old people have really old-fashioned ideas, but that doesn’t mean I have to go along with
them,” said Hello. His grandparents made him sign-up for some class, it would affect the days that he
would come and visit Anne so he doesn’t want to go.

“But if your grandparents don’t want you to, you shouldn’t go behind their backs,” said Anne.

“All is fair in love and war.”

That one phrase got to me. I’ve heard and read that phrase quite a few times already, but this line
from Hello has different impact. He explained everything that happened between him and his family
to Anne. He wanted to let Anne know what changed in his life and that he could not often visit her
anymore. He was also prepared to not follow what his grandparents want just to be with Anne. He
expressed how he really wanted to pursue her.

Hello came over to Anne’s house to meet her father and mother but also went out for a walk together
with Anne. She noticed that everything he do or say showed that he’s in love with her. She liked the
feeling for a change. Her sister and mother told her that he was a fine guy and gave him compliments.
Her friend Jacqueline teases her with him but Anne said, “I’m not in love with him. Not really. It’s all
right for me to have boys as friends. Nobody minds.”

It turns out that Anne doesn’t see Hello as his future boyfriend but a friend. She just liked the feeling
of someone liking her. Her mother always asks her who she’s going to marry someday but her thought
about it was:

“I bet she’ll never guess it’s was Peter. I talked her out of that idea myself without batting an eyelash.
I love Peter as I’ve never loved anyone.”

I was not expecting Anne to tell that she like someone else. I was convinced that she didn’t really have
interest in boys but rather she loved Peter secretly. Teenagers really have the secret of secrets. That’s
the reason why she does not entertain her admirers, she likes someone else but her feelings won’t be
reciprocated if she doesn’t let him know.
Anne and Margot got their report cards on July 3, 1942 - Friday in the Jewish Theater. Her report card
wasn’t bad. She passed. Her parents were please because they’re not like other parents when it comes
to grades.

“They never worry about report cards, good or bad. As long as I’m healthy and happy and don’t talk
back too much, they’re satisfied. If these three things are all right, everything else will take care of
itself.”

Parents tend to expect big from their children about their studies. They send them to expensive
schools thinking that they will get better education there for they pay more. The problem is not with
the school their children go to but rather with the children if they want to learn or not.
I get what Anne’s parents say. They never worry whether Anne’s or Margot’s report cards were good
or bad as long as they are healthy and happy. When parents expect much from their child, it puts
pressure on them making them perform badly. So, I think what Anne’s parents do is the best for them.

“It must be awful to feel you’re not needed.”

Anne wrote this, telling that her father has been home lately than usual. His business partners took
over some matters and he had nothing to do at the office so he had to go home early. Their family had
a stroll on the neighborhood and her father brought up the topic about them going into hiding.

“It would be very hard for us to live cut off from the rest of the world.”

“You know that for more than a year we’ve been bringing clothes, food and furniture to other people.
We don’t want our belongings to be seized by the Germans. Nor do we want to fall into their clutches
ourselves. So we’ll leave of our own accord and not wait to be hauled away,” Anne’s father said.

Anne’s mind was full of questions that she only asked her father when they’re going to hide.

“Don’t you worry. We’ll take care of everything, just enjoy your carefree life while you can.”
This was the first time Anne told something about their plan going into hiding. She felt scared and
was curious of the day that they will hide from the Nazis. Her father assured her that things will be
taken care of and don’t worry about it. It’s what fathers do, protect their family.

July 8, 1942, Anne told Kitty what happened on Sunday afternoon. Anne was reading in the balcony
when Margot came to her.

“Father has received a call-up notice from the SS. Mother has gone to see Mr. van Daan.”
“A call-up: everyone knows what that means. Visions of concentration camps and lonely cells raced
through my head. How could we let father go to such a fate?” said Anne.

She was obviously terrified at the idea of her father going away. It seems like call-up was made for
Jews to be sent away for camps and be put in cells.

“Of course, he’s not going,” declared Margot, “Mother’s gone to Mr. van Daan to ask whether we can
move to our hiding place tomorrow. The van Daans are going with us. There will be seven of us
altogether.”

Mr. van Daan was Otto Frank’s business partner and a good friend. They will go to hide together with
the Frank Family. Mr. van Daan will go along with his wife and his son.

The call-up was not for their father but for Margot. Anne was shocked and cried because she thought
that Margot was just sixteen and the Germans want to send kids her age far away living on their own.
It was just cruel. However, Margot said that their mother said so that she won’t be going away because
they’ll be leaving. Anne was full of curiosity. Where, when and how would they hide? These were the
questions that run through her mind.

They packed their most important belongings into a schoolbag. The first thing that she stuck inside
it was her diary followed by other necessary things.

“I stuck the craziest things in the bag, but I’m not sorry. Memories mean to me than dresses.”
For some people, things with sentimental value matters the most. Same goes with Anne. It is hard to
replace old and precious memories with new one. She treated her diary as her real one true friend
that’s why she didn’t want to leave it behind.

There were lots of people involved to their hiding. They are the people close to Otto, workmates and
family friends.

In order to bring clothes to their hiding place, they had to wear multiple layers of their clothes
because it would be suspicious for them if they walked around carrying a suitcase full of clothes. It
was a real sacrifice but what’s important is that they wanted to get away and reach their destination
safely.

Anne’s father told them that for months, they have been moving out furniture and apparel to their
hiding place so that when the time comes they’ll have something for themselves. It was agreed that
the date for their hiding will be on July 16 but due to Margot’s call-up notice, they had to go earlier
than the said date.

Their hiding place was located to their father’s office building. The large warehouse on the ground
floor was used as a work room, a store room and was divided into several sections. The second floor
was used as Mr. Kleiman, Miep, Bep, Mr. Kuglar and Mr. van Daan’s offices. The staircase on the
second floor leads to the third floor.

At the top of the stairs, there was a landing with doors on either side. The left door leads to the storage
area while the right door leads to the “Secret Annex.” At first, it didn’t look like it was spacious but it
contains 4 rooms, a bathroom and an attic. It has enough space for the Frank and van Daan family
that consists of seven members.

When the Frank family arrived at the Annex, piles of boxes were on their sight. Those were the boxes
of furniture sent by Otto the past few months for their own needs. It was like they moved into another
neighborhood and house.

“Then for the first time since our arrival to the Secret Annex, I found a moment to tell you all about it
and to realize what had happened to me and what was yet to happen.”
Busy with the unpacking and arranging of the boxes, Anne still managed to write about what
happened with her life. It was certainly a sudden change but she’s going along with it. Their lives
were changed. There were little things that bothered them like the clock that chimes every quarter
of an hour. It bothered Margot and their mother, they can’t get used to it but Anne liked it and found
it reassuring especially at night.

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel at home in this house, but that doesn’t mean I hate it. It’s more like being
in vacation in some strange pension. Kind of odd way to look at life in hiding, but that’s how things
are.”

Some people experience being ‘home-sick’ when sleeping in other’s houses and that’s what they
experienced. It takes time to feel at home to a new place but they should be because they had to.
Acceptance and satisfaction, these are the things that Anne learned living in their new home. Even
though there were some flaws in the Annex, she commented, “The Annex is an ideal place to hide in.
It may be damp and lopsided, but there’s probably not a more comfortable place in all of Amsterdam.
No, in all of Holland.”

Their lives living in the Annex was not that boring. They get to listen to Otto’s radio on his office but
Anne gets terrified thinking that maybe someone will hear it and they’ll be caught. It would be a hard
situation for them if they were heard and be caught. They will be sent at some place far away.
The van Daans were scheduled to arrive at the Annex one Tuesday and Anne was looking forward to
it. She said, “It will be much more fun and also not as quiet. You see, it’s the silence that makes me so
nervous during the evening and nights, and I’d give anything to have one of our helpers sleep here.”

Helping the company also kept them occupied. They’ve helped can loads of fruits and berries. They
also got a supply of reading materials and bought lots of games so they’ll never get bored.
“Not being able to go outside upsets me more than I can say, and I’m terrified our hiding place will be
discovered and that we’ll be shot. That, of course, is a fairly dismal prospect.”

They were not allowed to just go outside the Annex fearing that someone might get to them. It
saddened Anne that she can’t go outside. Boredom was one of the things that they needed to face so
they had to entertain their selves only inside the Annex.
Sometime later, Anne talked about how she felt about her family. She noticed that her parents was
treating her differently from Margot. Whenever that Margot did something wrong, it was just a minor
issue to the family but when she did something wrong, the whole family gets involved. They took
favor of Margot.

“I don’t fit in with them, I’ve felt that dearly for the past few weeks. They’re so sentimental together,
but I’d rather be sentimental on my own. They’re always saying that we get along so well, without
giving a moment’s thought to the fact that I don’t feel that way.”

She stated clearly that she didn’t felt that she belonged to her family’s so-called ‘bond.’ She cannot
relate to the things her family do or feel together, like being sentimental. She also didn’t like how her
parents talk about her in front of other people. Anne felt she was bullied.

“I have plenty of dreams, but the reality is that we’ll have to stay here until the war is over.”
What a poor child Anne was. She was shut out of the world and cannot explore. She can’t do the things
that she wanted to do to reach her dreams. It was a total shut in.

A month later, Anne told that the van Daans arrived a day earlier than the scheduled date because
the Germans were sending out call-up notices right and left. So, they decided that it would be safer to
be a day early than to be a day too late. They came with sorts of things under their arms to the Annex.
After they moved in, they surprisingly became a one big family where they eat meals together and
such.

Many house were searched for hidden bicycles, Mr. Kugler helped the Frank and van Daan Family to
make their hiding place truly a secret. He built a bookshelf on the door of the Secret Annex that was
attached to the door that swings when opened. In spite of the things going out of the outside the
Annex, they still managed make the best out of the day.

Anne’s mother, Editha, and Mrs. van Daan didn’t go along well. Mrs. van Daan used the Franks’
belongings without asking first so as a payback, Editha used Mrs. van Daans plates and hid her own
so Mrs. van Daan wouldn’t find it. Anne also broke the last soup bow of Mrs. van Daan but it was
merely an accident.
“Mrs. Van Daan is unbearable. I’m continually being scolded for my incessant chatter when I’m
upstairs.”

Anne couldn’t stand Mrs. van Daan. She acts like she was the boss around the Annex and scolds
Margot and her. It was just a little too difficult to live together with someone else in the house.
Anne and Margot had to home study. They couldn’t go to school anymore but still they wanted to
study. Their father bought them books for studying and sometimes teaches them too.

The Annex Committee, the men’s section, as Anne would call it, came up with the scheme of getting a
message sent to Mr. Broks of the Opekta Company in southern New Zealand to inform him that Otto
Frank was alive. They are forbidden to send or receive mails outside the country.

“Mother and I had a so-called ‘discussion’ today, but the annoying part is that I burst into tears. I can’t
help it. Daddy is always nice to me and he also understands me much better. At moments like these I
can’t stand mother. It’s obvious that I’m a stranger to her; she doesn’t even know what I think about
the most ordinary things.”

It can’t be helped that Anne felt that way towards her mother. It was too obvious for her that she was
not that loved by her mother and so she seeks comfort with her father who treats her nicely.
“I’ve learned one thing: you really only get to know a person after a fight. Only then you can judge
their true character!”

Someday in the Annex, Mrs. van Daan and Anne’s mother got into a discussion about Anne but then
changed the discussion about themselves. They were talking about each other’s behavior and how
they are towards each other. Mrs. van Daan was just unbelievable because she had everything to say
to whatever what was said to her. She was a little irritating and the discussion became heated. From
then on, Anne officially didn’t like Mrs. van Daan.

“I simply can’t stand mother, and I have to force myself not to snap at her all the time, and to stay
calm but I’d rather slap her across the face. I don’t know why I’ve taken such terrible dislike to her. I
don’t love her and don’t enjoy doing it. I can imagine mother dying someday; but daddy’s death seems
inconceivable. It’s very mean of me, but that’s how I feel. I hope mother will never read this or
anything else I’ve written.”
The relationship between Anne and her mother worsened. Anne just couldn’t bring herself to love
and accept her mother anymore. She just feel worthless to her mother because whatever she says
doesn’t seem to be acceptable.

“Hitler took our nationality long ago. And besides, there are no greater enemies on Earth than the
German and the Jews.”

On October of 1942, their fellow Jews were raided, caught and taken away in the camp of Drenthe.
Miep said that there was someone who escaped from there and told what the situation on the camp
was. It was terrible. There are less food to eat, you can get drinking water for only an hour and there
was only one washroom for the thousands of people there. Men and women sleep together and have
their heads shaved. Escaping was impossible.

Anne’s father was sick, he had spots all over him and has a high fever. It looked like it was measles. It
was sad that they can’t even call a doctor because of their situation. All that they can do for him was
to treat him with home remedies.

“All we can do is wait, as calmly as possible, for it to end. Jews and Christians alike are waiting, and
many are waiting for death.”

There was lot of suffering the war has brought and they’ve got no other choice but to go through it
especially their friends and relatives that had been caught.

On July 23, 1943, Anne writes down everybody’s wishes: "Margot and Mr. Van Pel’s wish, above all
else, to have a hot bath filled to the brim, which they can lie in for more than half an hour. Mrs. Van
Pels would like a cake, Pfeffer can think of nothing but seeing his Charlotte and Mother is dying for a
cup of real coffee. Father would like to visit Mr. Voskuijl, Peter would go downtown, and as for me,
I'd be so overjoyed I wouldn't know where to begin. Most of all I long to have a home of our own, to
be able to move around freely and have someone help me with my homework again, at last. In other
words, to go back to school!"
At this time, both families get to talk about what they wish for. If ever the war has ended and they
got out of that mess, these were the things they wanted to do or have.

In her diary, Anne describes a particular evening when she uses a pair of binoculars to take a peek at
the neighbors, "I never knew that neighbors could be so interesting. Ours are, at any rate. I've come
across a couple at dinner, one family was making home movies and the dentist across the way was
working on a frightened old lady.”

This is one of the things Anne did to spend her time. She was not allowed to go out but was curious
about it so she would sneak a look outside through the windows but was careful not to be seen.
Mr. Frank thinks the war will end soon, but the level of anxiety in the annex increases. Anne is
frightened by the sound of gunfire one night, so she crawls into her father’s bed for comfort. Another
night, Peter climbs up into the loft and a rat bites his arm. Mr. Dussel often writes letters to his wife
and to others outside, and Mr. Frank demands that he stop. The residents have another scare when
they think they hear burglars in the building. After that incident, the clock suddenly stops chiming,
which also upsets Anne. Later, the residents hear a radio announcement that all Jews must be
deported from Utrecht and the other provinces of the Netherlands by the beginning of July of 1943.

By the middle of 1943, Anne started to change moods. She seemed to be more gloomy, frustrated and
angry. The pressure of being inside the Secret Annex was affecting her attitude towards the members
of the family.

While Anne tries to act like a brave adult, she still jumps into her father’s bed during air raids and
takes medication for her depression. Anne is still just a young girl and can no longer pretend to be
strong.

Although the Franks are mistreated because of their religious beliefs, they still see themselves as a
part of the whole community. Anne opened this topic to her father, he shared his open-mindedness
to Anne, and gave her a Bible. Even though they were Jews, they still celebrate both Jewish and
Christian holidays. Their citizenship became unclear when Hitler came to power and they lost their
German Citizenship.
In this part of the diary, Anne used more figurative language. She compared herself as a bird with a
broken wing and the eight residents in the Secret Annex as clouds caught in between peace and war.

Sometime in November 1943, Anne dreamt of Hanneli asking her to rescue her. She felt guilty that
she didn’t treat Hanneli better in the past and that she lived relatively safe in the Annex while Hanneli
did not. This was the time when Anne thought of the memories she had before going in the Annex.
She missed her old friends and old life but she had to accept the fact that she can’t go back to the past
anymore and continue living in their current situation.

Later, Anne reads through her diary and saw how bad she wrote about her mother. She realized that
after a year of being trapped inside the Annex, she should act like an adolescent and make less
mistakes.

After having her menstruation, she became a little sensitive towards herself and her body. She
mentioned that she feels an ecstasy whenever she sees a nude female body, such as the Venus de Milo
statue, and she talked about how she once had a “terrible desire” to kiss a female friend. She had no
female friends and was desperate to confide these things to someone so she had Peter van Daan to
listen to her.

Anne and Peter talked about a cat, Boche. They were open about everything and even talked about
the cat’s genitals. Anne said she knew what the female organ was called but not the male. She was
impressed that Peter was not ashamed to talk about those things.

Anne wrote that she grew bored in the annex and was tired of listening to the same stories over and
over again. The adults constantly repeat the stories about other Jews who are in hiding. Anne was
very impressed by the Dutch people who helped the Jews hide, since they risked their own lives in an
attempt to save others.

One night, Anne felt that she cannot count on anyone else to support her. However, her fears vanished
as she prayed and put her faith in God. She had an intense desire to be alone, but she was worried
that someday she will be more alone than she would like.
Anne noticed that Peter looked at her “not in the usual way.” Peter said that he was often too nervous
to speak to people and that he used to beat up people instead of talking to them. Anne was happy to
learn that Peter could open up to her like that.

This was the time when their relationship was changing slowly without them realizing it due to their
friendship and openness to each other.

However, she added in her diary that she was not in love. Anne’s mother also did not like the idea of
her going upstairs to Peter. A few days later, Anne wrote that she thinks about Peter all the time and
that Peter van Daan and Peter Schiff, her previous crush, have melted into one Peter.
Anne wrote about love saying that, “Emotional love eventually leads to physical love,” and that she
considered it as a natural progression.

Anne looked back over her time in the annex and distinguished different periods in her maturity. In
1942, she said that the transition of her life was “filled with sunshine”. It was the time when all is well
and they haven’t gone into hiding. In 1943, she was sad and lonely but gained a deeper insight into
her family and the members of the Annex and began to feel emotionally independent. The recent date
on her entry, in 1944, she discovered the feeling of longing for someone.
“Not a girlfriend, but for a boyfriend.”

People who helped to bring food to the Annex were arrested. Their food supply had to come from the
black-market and it was horrible.

Anne complained that their parents were not open about sex and sexuality. She asked Peter about it
thinking that he knew about “everything”. Not obtaining the answers she seek, she wrote and drew
the female’s genital.

At the end of the March, Anne heard from the radio that an exiled member of the Dutch government
proposed to collect letters and diaries after the war so they could write a documentation of it. Anne
was excited about it and planned to give her diary, so she made some revisions and re-wrote her
diary.
One night, Anne was talking to Peter when the burglars broke-in and Mr. van Daan shouted, “Police!”
to scare them off. Anne was terrified and the members of the Annex lay on the ground so that they
will be hidden. The noises outside the door stopped, but they left a light on in front the bookcase.

“If my diary goes, I go too.”

“If God lets me live . . . I’ll make my voice heard.”

“I keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if. If only there were
no other people in the world.”

Tensions in the annex run high after the break-in, and no one can shake the feeling of impending
doom. On top of that, Peter forgot to unbolt the front door, so Mr. Kugler had to smash the window
to get in. The air raids on the city were incredibly heavy. The Registry of Births, Deaths, and
Marriages in The Hague was bombed, requiring new ration cards to be issued.

On April 1 5 , 1 9 44 , Anne got her first kiss. Although Peter only kissed her “half on her left cheek,
half on her ear,” Anne felt that she was very advanced for her age. She wrote that the longer the war
dragged on, the more difficulty she had imagined ever being liberated. Anne talked to Peter about
female anatomy, which she wanted him to do for a while. She then talked about trying to have a
fairy-tale published in a magazine.

She asked Peter if he thought she should tell her father about their relationship, and he believed
they should. Mr. Frank said that he thought it was not a good idea to carry on a romance in the
annex, and he asked Anne if Peter was in love with her. Mr. Frank told her not to take it too
seriously and that it was her responsibility to show restraint.

Anne wrote that she was “young and strong and living through a big adventure.” Her father
complained that she was going upstairs to see Peter too much. Anne wanted to explain why she
visited Peter a lot, so she wrote her father a letter, which made him very upset. He told her it was
the most hurtful letter he had ever received. Anne felt deeply ashamed and decided to try to
improve herself.
Anne told her diary the story of her family, including her parents’ biographies. She wrote that her
wish was to become a famous journalist and writer. She grows depressed again and wondered if it
would not have been better to suffer a quick death rather than go into hiding. She counteracted this
thought by writing that they all love life too much.

On June 6 , 1 9 4 4 , D-Day, the BBC announced that the Allied invasion of France has begun. The
residents of the annex were very excited. Anne turned fifteen and wrote that the liberation was
going “splendidly.” Her mood improved, and she contemplated her love for nature and the question
of why women were thought of as inferior to men. Near the end of July, Anne wrote about an
assassination attempt on Hitler and hoped it was a proof that the Germans wanted to stop the war
themselves.

On August 1 , 1 9 44 , Anne described her new insights into her own character and mused that
perhaps she could become the kind of person she wanted to be, “If only there were no other people
in the world.” This statement ended Anne Frank’s last diary entry, written on August 1 , 1 94 4 .
Anne did not intend to end her diary at this point. To her, it was just the end of a regular day of
hiding in the annex. However, it turned out to be her last entry because the Nazis arrested her and
her family just three days later.

This was how Anne’s diary ended. Her life was an incredible one even though it was full of
struggles. It showed how a teenager like her thought of such little things and about the world.
Living in the Annex confined her but it did not stop her to explore and dream. Anne can be one of
the models of the youngsters could look up to in terms of self-improvement because Anne realized
some aspects of her life that needed to improve. It’s just that she did not get to express herself
more.