Anne Frank, a Jewish girl from a well to do family, who was merely 13 years old, when her family had to go and live in a secret place with their two teenage daughters, leaving everything behind. The life was filled with anxiety. Along with them, there were four more people, who joined them in the hidden place- Annie’s father’s business partner, his wife and their son Peter, and a dentist.
Anne was presented with a diary on her 13th Birthday, which she named Kitty, and wrote everything that came to her mind without any hesitation, as if Kitty was her best trusted friend. She recorded the vivid memories of her experiences of dreadfulness of war during 14th June 1942 to 1st August 1944 (25 months) in this diary, which included her life in the secret place, her relationship with her family, her longing for a friend, her aspirations and dreams, her struggles to live in such a place even for the basic needs, how Jews were treated during that time, and above all her fears of being discovered their stay there. In spite of all these, Anne looked forward to a peaceful life after the end of the war, and had hoped to become a journalist and a writer one day, and wanted to be remembered even after her death. She used to read books to enrich her knowledge even during that time, and it seemed writing came to her more naturally.
Her own words - I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!
Anne is like any other young girl and a growing up girl’s animosity with her mother is well recorded. She has managed to capture her deepest thoughts and emotions in this diary.
In August 1944, the most dreaded thing happened. They were discovered by the Gestapo (German Street Police) and taken to concentration camp in Germany. During that time, her mother and sister perished, then their friends, and Annie died in March 1945, before seeing her country being freed. The war ended in May 1945. Among the 8 member team, only her father Otto Frank survived. After the war, he came back to the hiding place where he found his daughter’s precious diary.
I feel that everyone should read this book. It is the story of a normal and happy family whose life was suddenly unfairly interrupted and uprooted to an unusual circumstances. Even after 60 years of publishing, this book remains one of the world classics!
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