Diary Of A Young Girl

Sixty-five years ago today, the Nazis arrested the Frank family in Amsterdam, Holland. Although the Nazis took a lot of the Franks' valuables when they searched the attic the Frank family had hidden in for two years, they left behind fifteen year old Anne Frank's diary. Talk about not recognizing a bestseller when you see one.


Anne Frank's diary is a really fascinating read. She kept her diary on-and-off for two years, including the entire time her family hid from the Nazis in the attic of her father's business. Anne's diary is an engrossing description of the Franks' time in hiding. I found it really interesting to follow how the family slowly became more fragmented and argumentative under the strain of their situation. Anne's diary doesn't descend into trivial, tedious descriptions of her homelife, though, mainly because Anne wrote when she felt like it, not every day. I also was interested in following how Anne progressed from a somewhat immature thirteen year old to a very insightful fifteen year old. Funny, optimistic, and wise, Anne wrote some amazing entries for a young teen. (I wish my diary entries were as profound and witty!)

Anne Frank's diary is a a great first hand account of World War Two. Her diary is an excellent source on the experiences of Jewish Europeans under Nazi occupation. Anne's also a good enough writer that her experience hiding in the "Secret Annex" reads almost like an adventure story. Several times in her diary Anne derides her writing as silly and inconsequential. Oh, Anne, if only you knew how wrong you were...

(One note: There are actually two versions of Anne's diary. The first was the original one published in the 1950s; the second is the more modern version which includes entries her father edited out of the original. I am fanatical about reading non-abridged works - it drives me crazy to think I missed something. However, with Anne's diary, it's really not essential to read the full version. The material that was edited out is mainly of a personal nature. Although Anne intended to use her diary as source material for a novel after the war (and also wanted to donate the material to Dutch historians interested in compiling chronicles of Holland's occupation), Anne's diary is still a private diary. I don't think Anne intended to have all of the material published. If you're a big Anne Frank fan, by all means read the full version, but if you don't, you'll still get a good understanding of Anne Frank by reading the abridged version.)